Anything like Nyquil here?

Why do are all the medicines here non-drowsy?! I miss Nyquil. Is there anything similar to it here? I asked DH and he was surprised that I actually wanted something to put me to sleep. I explained Nyquil and he said, "Oh. Sounds like a good idea! You should ask the forum-ites. They'll know what that Nyquil is, and they'll know if there's anything like it." So, here I am. *fingers crossed!*

Try Night Nurse.

Try Night Nurse.

Yep, Night Nurse is almost exactly the same as Nyquil (the exact ingredients are just slightly different). You need to get it from behind the pharmacy counter though.

Nyquil ingredients (per 30 ml dose):
Acetaminophen 650 mg (painkiller)
Dextromethorphan 30 mg (cough suppressant)
Doxylamine 12.5 mg (drowsy antihistamine)

Night Nurse ingredients (per 20 ml dose):
Paracetamol 1000 mg (painkiller. Same as acetaminophen 1000 mg)
Dextromethorphan 15 mg (cough suppressant)
Promethazine 20 mg (drowsy antihistamine)

 my partner has trouble sleeping, hes tried some nytol. but that doesnt work for him.
But regarding night nurse, since its a cough suppressant, would it still be ok for him to use even though he doesnt have any sort of cough?

But regarding night nurse, since its a cough suppressant, would it still be ok for him to use even though he doesnt have any sort of cough?

I don't think it will do him any harm, but he'll be taking unnecessary medicine (the paracetamol and the cough suppressant), so it's probably not a wise idea.

If it's just the sleeping aid he needs, he might want to try Sominex instead (also from behind the counter) - one Sominex tablet contains 20 mg of promethazine, which is the same antihistamine as in Night Nurse.

(Just note here if anyone's interested: Sominex in the US contains diphenhydramine 50mg, which is the same as Nytol One-A-Night in the UK, but Sominex in the UK contains promethazine 20 mg... just to confuse everyone, lol!)

Sominex.. ok awesome will pick some up tomorrow, thanks!

he'll be taking unnecessary medicine (the paracetamol ...), so it's probably not a wise idea.

I avoid paracetamol (acitenamophen) as much as possible since somebody close to me died of an overdose. A slight overdose can fatally damage the liver, and you don't find out until it's too late. The toxic dose of paracetamol is highly variable.

I take diphenhydramine (in generic form) occasionally to sleep here in the US.  Looking on the Boots web site, I see they sell this as their own brand 'Sleepeaze' as well as Nytol.

I take diphenhydramine (in generic form) occasionally to sleep here in the US.  Looking on the Boots web site, I see they sell this as their own brand 'Sleepeaze' as well as Nytol.

Yeah, they do (or maybe I should say we do, because I work for Boots ). It comes in 2 strengths, 25 mg or 50 mg (50 mg is the full dose, but the lower strength gives you the option to only take half a dose if you don't need the full strength).

I know this sound silly, but I find Night Nurse doesn't work as well as Nyquil.    It takes me far longer to fall asleep on Night Nurse.

That said, I don't wake up feeling stoned like I do sometimes with Nyquil. 

I know this sound silly, but I find Night Nurse doesn't work as well as Nyquil.    It takes me far longer to fall asleep on Night Nurse.

That said, I don't wake up feeling stoned like I do sometimes with Nyquil. 

That's probably because the dowsy antihistamines are different in the two products - the doxylamine in Nyquil probably works better for you than the promethazine in Night Nurse. How effective an antihistamine is (and how drowsy it makes you) depends on how each individual person reacts to it, so what works well for one person may not work at all for the next person.

Ah, interesting!  Good to know.

I would like to create something in the middle.  Something that knocks me out like Nyquil, but with the wake up effects (or lack therof) of Night Nurse. 

I found some Lemsip cold pills that were labelled to be taken at night,at Wilko's. They worked ok and I'm feeling much better. I passed on the Night Nurse because I wasn't keen on having to go up to the pharmacist's desk to ask for it. It had the green cross on the boots website, so, I figured that only people with a prescription in hand would be able to pick one up. I may be wrong on that, though.

I found some Lemsip cold pills that were labelled to be taken at night,at Wilko's. They worked ok and I'm feeling much better. I passed on the Night Nurse because I wasn't keen on having to go up to the pharmacist's desk to ask for it.

Random fact: there are actually no Lemsip pills available on the shelf that contain any type of drowsy ingredients at all (in fact Lemsip does not even make drowsy products)!

The only difference between daytime and nighttime Lemsip tablets is that they put caffeine in the day ones and there is no caffeine in the night ones. If you want something that will make you sleepy you have to go to the pharmacy counter to buy it (it's a legal thing) - as Wilkos are not a pharmacy, it is illegal for them to sell any medicine intended to make you sleepy.

Please don't be worried about asking for it at the pharmacy counter though - we're all very nice people, honest, and we try not to be intimidating . You don't even have to speak to the pharmacist to buy it - the healthcare counter assistants are very well trained (at least we are at Boots... not sure how much training other pharmacies gives - Boots healthcare staff have to pass 6 exams to be allowed to sell pharmacy products without pharmacist supervision).

We are required to ask certain questions though, to ensure that the product is suitable for you and won't interfere with any medication you already take or condition you already have (such as: Who is the product for? What symptoms do you wish to treat? How long have you had the symptoms? What other medication do you currently take? What have you taken for the symptoms already?), but we're not trying to prevent you from buying a product, we're only making sure that we sell products safely, give the correct advice and follow the legal guidelines.

It had the green cross on the boots website, so, I figured that only people with a prescription in hand would be able to pick one up. I may be wrong on that, though.

Nope - as far as I'm aware that green cross/prescription warning is for online purchases only because it won't be a face-to-face sale and extra precautions have to be taken when selling it online. Night Nurse does not contain anything that requires a prescription.

I found the Pharmacy workers at Boots to very friendly and helpful (especially in explaining differences in meds) when I had to get something from the counter last summer. This was even in big city London where you'd expect they'd be too busy to help someone with so many questions. I heart Boots and actually miss it! (Especially their 2 for 1 Lukozade specials and sandwiches in a box! )