Night Nurse Capsules

If you've got a cold or are coming down with the flu, unfortunately, you might be struggling with your sleep, too. Night Nurse is a cold and flu remedy formulated to alleviate symptoms like congestion, sneezing, a heavy head, coughing and aches and pains to help you get a peaceful night of sleep.

Night Nurse tablets contain active ingredients specifically designed to counteract common cold and flu symptoms and to help you get a restful, tranquil night in the land of nod. The active ingredients are as follows:

• Paracetamol, an analgesic painkiller to ease aches and pains. It can also help to reduce any feverish symptoms you may be experiencing, particularly if you're feeling hot and sweaty/shivery
• Promethazine, an antihistamine to prevent runny noses that can also help to relieve coughs. It does this by helping to dry up those secretions that come from the back of your nose and run down your throat, which can cause a tickly cough
• Dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, which suppresses an unproductive cough, An unproductive cough is one that is particularly dry, or tickly, and is characterised by one which that doesn't produce any phlegm. This cough suppressant quite literally suppresses the cough centre within the brain, and reduces the nerve signals sent from there to the muscular structure around the chest wall that produce coughs. This can help to prevent coughs that keep you up at night.
• Promethazine has a mild sedating effect, which together with the paracetamol and dextromethorphan for further relief of symptoms means that Night Nurse can help to provide you with a peaceful night's sleep.

To help prevent the further spread of flu and the common cold, take care to wash your hands regularly, particularly after having touched your nose, blown your nose, going to the toilet or before or after preparing food, particularly poultry. This should also help to prevent re-infection whilst you're recovering.

Read the warnings below carefully to ensure that Night Nurse is the appropriate product for you.

Do not take Night Nurse if:

• If you currently have asthma, respiratory problems or a chest infection
• If you have ever experienced a hypersensitivity or allergic reaction to promethazine, dextromethorphan, paracetamol or any of the inactive ingredients in Night Nurse
• If you're taking or have taken MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), prescribed for depression, within the previous two weeks
• If you need to take a pregnancy test, that is taken on your urine, as this medicine could throw up inconclusive results

Further Warnings

Be careful when taking other paracetamol-containing products while taking Night Nurse. Four doses of paracetamol is the daily maximum and this includes a Night Nurse dose. You should wait four hours between each dose and this includes your Night Nurse dose.

Be careful when taking any other cough or cold medicines while taking Night Nurse, especially those containing antihistamines, as they have a sedating effect. Night Nurse also has a sedating effect and combining the two can increase drowsiness. Seek the advice of a doctor or pharmacist when using antihistamine products on your skin whilst taking Night Nurse.

It is not advised to drink alcohol whilst taking Night Nurse.

If your cold and flu symptoms are also accompanied by rashes on the skin, a persistent migraine or headache or a high temperature, seek the immediate advice of your doctor.

Night Nurse has a sedating effect and can cause dizziness, drowsiness, problems with movements, difficulty with concentration and blurry vision. If you experience any of those problems, do not drive or operate machinery. Do not drive until you know how Night Nurse affects you.

It could be an offence to drive whilst taking Night Nurse if taken for recreational purposes. It is not an offence to take this medicine if taken to treat a dental or medical problem, provided that it has been taken in accordance with the guidelines given by your doctor and on the leaflet, and provided that the medicine was not in any way directly hindering your ability to operate your vehicle safely.

Ask your doctor before you take Night Nurse if:

• You have been informed by your primary health physician that you are intolerant to some sugars
• You are diabetic
• You have a persistent or chronic cough, excessive phlegm, or recurrent respiratory problems
• You have liver, heart or kidney problems
• You have prostate problems or difficulty when passing urine
• You have epilepsy or glaucoma
• You are elderly or caring for an elderly patient that may be suffering with confusion or disorientation

Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Night Nurse if you are currently taking any of the following prescribe medicines:

• Domperidone or metoclopramide (prescribed for vomiting or nausea)
• Colestyramine (prescribed to lower cholesterol)
• Any medicines which may have the side effects of drowsiness, dry mouth, or blurred vision
• Warfarin (an anticoagulant blood thinning drug)
• Amiodarone or quinidine (prescribed to help maintain a regular heart rhythm)
• SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants) and tricyclic antidepressants
• Any medicines to help you sleep

Read any product information before taking Night Nurse and speak to your doctor before taking any new medications.

If taking Night Nurse capsules, correct dosage for adults, plus children ages 12 and over is simply two tablets before you go to bed. Do not take Night Nurse if you have taken any medicine that contains paracetamol in the four hours preceeding, such as Day Nurse.

• Do not use Night Nurse for three or more nights unless you have sought the advice of your pharmacist or doctor.
• Night Nurse should be taken with water only, and can be taken with food or without food.

The active ingredients contained in this medicine is/are:

Paracetemol 500mg, Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg, Dextromethorphan hydrobromide 7.5mg.

The medicine also contains the following inactive ingredients to make up the complete product:

Lactose, dimeticone, colloidal anhydrous silica, gelatin, and colours erythrosine (E127), patent blue V (E131), quinoline yellow (E104) and titanium dioxide (E171).

Side effects are rare when taking Night Nurse, but if you do, they may include:

• Drowsiness
• Blurred vision
• Unsteadiness or unsteady movements
• Dizziness
• Clumsiness
• Dry mouth
• Headache
• Difficulty concentrating

If you experience any side effects, or any other side effects not mentioned here, cease use and speak to your pharmacist or doctor.