Nyquil And Alcohol

Nyquil is one of the most common medicinal substances in the country, used to treat the symptoms of mild cough, cold and allergies. You can probably find a bottle of Nyquil in every medicine cabinet, alongside bottles of expired melatonin and boxes of Band-Aid. It’s an over-the-counter medicine like aspirin or ketoconazole, which means you don’t need a doctor’s prescription to acquire it, which is why it’s so common and easy to acquire. At high doses, drinking alcohol with NyQuil is extremely dangerous and can lead to overdose and death. If you take prescription medication or use a specific medication every day, ask your doctor if it is okay for you to drink alcohol.

Here is what you need to know about the possible unsafe interactions between alcohol and common prescription and over-the-counter medications. Headaches and an aching sore throat often accompany a cold or flu virus. NyQuil SEVERE Maximum Strength Cough, Cold & Flu Nighttime Relief Liquid contains acetaminophen, to relieve your headache and sore throat pain. This medicine may pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Do not use cough and cold medicine without a doctor’s advice if you are breast-feeding a baby. It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby.

Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex , Cerner Multum™ , ASHP and others. A single occurrence of mixing NyQuil and alcohol is unlikely to cause severe side effects. Frequently mixing them can cause liver damage and other serious medical issues.

Acetaminophen

A normal dose of NyQuil can help you sleep for four to eight hours. Estimated number of prescriptions for dextromethorphan in the United States. It’s not safe to use alcohol and Nyquil together, but why not? Vicks states that people taking this medication should exercise extra caution while driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery. This article lists 17 evidence-based tips to sleep better at night.

• Having an alcoholic drink while you are taking medications to treat prostate conditions can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting.
• In addition, there are hundreds of mental health medications that interact with alcohol.
• For example, in high doses, DXM can causehallucinations, which is one of the reasons why DXM is abused, as the effect is similar to being high onketamineorLSD.
• This is not all the information you need to know about NyQuil for safe and effective use and does not take the place of the directions on the label.

But if you take more than the recommended amount of NyQuil, or drink a lot of alcohol, you may overdose. Procter & Gamble also produces DayQuil, a daytime cold medicine. Its formula is similar to NyQuil without the sedative effects. The dissociative effects of Dayquil lead to greater alcohol consumption. Mixing Dayquil and alcohol results in decreased liver function so the body is unable to breakdown alcohol at a normal rate.

The long-term dangers of Dayquil and alcohol’s side effects are well researched; specifically, the dangers of liver damage, hypertension, and convulsions. Because of the many effects of mixing Dayquil and alcohol, an overdose can occur in even the healthiest of individuals. Drowsiness and dizziness are common side effects of medications used to treat allergies, colds, and the flu.

How NyQuil Works for Nighttime Cold & Flu Symptom Relief

MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid, linezolid, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, and tranylcypromine. And according to ConsumerMedSafety.org, a site run by the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices, liquid medicines often contain alcohol in order to help preserve the product 3. A person who uses NyQuil correctly almost certainly will not become addicted, but someone who misuses NyQuil may develop dependence on the medication. Someone can misuse NyQuil by taking too much of it or by taking it for the wrong reasons, such as to treat asthma or chronic bronchitis, or for recreation. NyQuil is only designed to treat short-term symptoms, not cure long-term health problems. NyQuil is not a cure for insomnia and it should not be used just to fall asleep.

If you have any questions or concerns contact your local pharmacy or healthcare provider. Many over-the-counter and prescription drugs have acetaminophen in them. Tylenol is the most common brand name for acetaminophen in the United States.

It is not identification of optimal therapeutic window to drink alcohol when you are using Nyquil, especially if you’re taking Nyquil Liquid, which already contains some alcohol. However, the alcohol is not an active ingredient, which means that its purpose is not to relieve flu and cold symptoms. Rather, Vicks uses the substance as a solution to dissolve the active ingredients.

An alcohol-free version of liquid NyQuil Cold & Flu Nighttime Relief Liquid is available, according to the manufacturer. Normally, the liver produces a powerful antioxidant called glutathione that neutralizes NAPQI and prevents it from hurting liver cells. But heavy drinking causes a drop in glutathione, allowing NAPQI to wreak havoc on the liver.

Dextromethorphan (DXM)

Do not use cough and cold medicine without a doctor’s advice if you are pregnant. Vicks also manufactures and sells DayQuil, a similar medication for users who want to relieve cold symptoms without feeling drowsy during the workday. DayQuil contains acetaminophen and dextromethorphan, but it does not contain doxylamine. Instead, DayQuil contains phenylephrine, a non-drowsy nasal decongestant. There are many NyQuil brand products available at the pharmacy.

By combining effective ingredients to treat the toughest cold and flu symptoms, NyQuil became a household name that’s still a trusted nighttime cold medicine today. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

If taken without need and in excessive dosages, Nyquil can be addictive, thanks to the alcohol content. In fact, there are people who have to get treatment for Nyquil addiction and have to learn how to cope with drug abuse. Taking other medications that contain the same drug may cause you to take more than the recommended daily dose.

Generally speaking, it takes Doxylamine about 40 to 50 hours to come out of your system. The other ingredients don’t stay as long in your system, but because of Doxylamine, NyQuil can stay in your system for up to 4 to 5 days. However, the recommended dose of NyQuil is much smaller than a typical glass of wine, so you only consume the equivalent of a sip or two of wine when you take NyQuil as directed.

NyQuil is helpful when you’re feeling under the weather, but as with most medications, there are risks. If you or someone you know is using NyQuil to have DXM trips or to fall asleep every night, it’s time to get some help. Please contact a treatment provider today to learn more about the options available. With support, it is possible to recover from a destructive NyQuil habit.

It’s important to know what these side effects are, so you can tell a physician should they become serious. All unique content created by the Addiction Group team is sourced from current scientific research and fact-checked by an addiction counseling expert before publication. However, the information provided by Addiction Group is not a substitute for professional treatment advice.