Night Nurse Liquid

...the chemist to fetch some Night Nurse liquid. I badly wanted a good night's sleep, and given the name of the product, thought Night Nurse might be the (figurative) prescription I needed. I was right...but with reservations.

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'''What Night Nurse is'''
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Night Nurse is a green viscous liquid that comes in a dark coloured glass bottle. It contains paracetamol to kill pain and ...
...would prevent you from using Night Nurse.

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'''How to use Night Nurse - and when not to use it.'''
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Before going to bed, pour 20ml into the handily provided cup. Drink. Go to bed. Sleep. Make sure you have LOTS of water near you, though, as you will wake up thirsty (more on that in a minute).

As with any medication, there are contraindications and side effects. ... more

Tis the season to be sickly, it seems - or at least that seemed to be the case over Christmas. My husband and boss kindly gave me their colds for Christmas. I struggled womanfully through Christmas day, and then felt absolutely dire Boxing Day, and stayed dire for a good week and a half after that. In addition to the stuffy nose, incredibly sore throat and slight fever, I also developed a cough that was keeping me (and my husband and daughter) awake at night. I was not a happy bunny. Not even my favourite tried and true remedy helped much - Lemsip Hot Toddies failed miserably to alleviate my symptoms.

After a few days of this, I sent my husband to the chemist to fetch some Night Nurse liquid. I badly wanted a good night's sleep, and given the name of the product, thought Night Nurse might be the (figurative) prescription I needed. I was right...but with reservations.

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What Night Nurse is
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Night Nurse is a green viscous liquid that comes in a dark coloured glass bottle. It contains paracetamol to kill pain and reduce fever, promethazine to clear your blocked nose and aid sleep and dextromethorphan to suppress coughs. It also has a good slug of alcohol, also aiding sleep (ish). There is a fair amount of detail about how each component of the preparation works here: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100004136.htm l - it will tell you, amongst other things, how scientists think paracetamol reduces fever, that promethazine belongs to a class of drugs called 'sedating antihistamines' and how dextromethorphan suppresses the cough reflex. This information is interesting (to me), and possibly very useful if you suffer from allergies to any of the key components, or have any other contraindications that would prevent you from using Night Nurse.

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How to use Night Nurse - and when not to use it.
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Before going to bed, pour 20ml into the handily provided cup. Drink. Go to bed. Sleep. Make sure you have LOTS of water near you, though, as you will wake up thirsty (more on that in a minute).As with any medication, there are contraindications and side effects. The above referenced site details these, as does the information leaflet provided in the box, but in summary:

• as Night Nurse contains a fair slug of alcohol, you should exercise caution if you have already tried the hot toddy route (or had anything else to drink);
• my favourite warning on this type of medication - 'this medicine may cause drowsiness'. You think?! But seriously, as it WILL almost certainly cause drowsiness (given that is part of the stated purpose of the stuff), you should make sure you can get a good eight hours' sleep, and that you don't need to drive anywhere (or operate heavy machinery - another one of my favourite phrases). You should also avoid other medications that can cause drowsiness (like tranquilisers, antihistamines, sleeping pills (honestly, who writes this stuff), strong opiods (codeine, for example), certain types of antidepressants;
• some medications may increase the risk of certain side effects (feel free to visit the website or product leaflet to find out which ones);
• as the product contains paracetamol which can irreparably damage the liver if taken in excess, you should not have maxed out your doses for the day (from either tablets or Day Nurse or Lemsip - make sure you read the ingredients of any preparations you are taking);
• there are certain antidepressants (monoamine oxidase inhibitors, if you really must know) that should not be combined with Night Nurse - check the labelling for details.

This medicine is not without its side effects. Some are more common than others, and some people will suffer few or none, whilst others may suffer the gamut.The only two I suffered were drowsiness (again, duh) and dry mouth. The drowsiness continued into the next morning (though no doubt the cold itself helped with that) and I did find it difficult to start my day. As I was off work (it was between Christmas and New Year, and we were shut), this wasn't a major issue, but you might want to keep it in mind if you have a particular early start the next morning.

Dry mouth was a real problem for me. I was getting through two pints of squash/water each night, and then again the next morning. Having said that, dry mouth is not an uncommon side effect of having a cold (because you're often sleeping with your mouth wide open due to a blocked nose). Like the drowsiness, this is a side effect of both the condition and the treatment.

Other reported side effects that I did not suffer include dizziness, blurred vision, stomach issues, headache (surely this stuff is meant to treat headaches), rashes, and difficulties urinating. As I said, I suffered none of those.

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But does it work?
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In a word, yes. For me it did, and superbly. Apart from the raging thirst, I slept through the night - far better than I did in the nights before using Night Nurse. My throat was eased (though was a bit rough due to the dry mouth in the morning), my nose cleared, my coughing abated, and I slept.

Yes, getting up was a trial, and I spent several mornings in bed (arising around 11.00), but as I had no responsibilities other than recovery that was fine. I would, though, it must be said, be wary of taking Night Nurse if I had to rise at 6.00 as I do when I'm working.

The other downside is that it's easy to get used to it. I'm not saying, nor even implying that it's addictive, but it is rather easy to use it as a sleeping aid whilst still poorly. Having said that, you'll struggle to get more than a week out of the bottle even if you're using it nightly whilst you are still full of streaming cold.

It does taste slightly vile, but no more so than other liquid medicines. The reason these preparations taste so awful is that the actual drug (or, in this case, drugs) is very bitter. Therefore, the manufacturers need to disguise the bitterness with sugar, sweeteners and flavours. Because the bitterness can be quite strong, they need to use strong flavours. Those flavours combined with the underlying taste of the drug make for a nasty taste. In addition, there is often loads of sugar in the suspension. It is therefore advisable to rinse and brush your teeth after taking the medication but before retiring.

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And Finally
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Night Nurse liquid is only available from pharmacies (though both real world and on line) - not in supermarkets. Boots sell it online for £4.49 (it's on special offer) for 160ml - other online pharmacies sell it for around £5.00. If you don't have to get up early the next morning, and can put up with the astonishingly dry mouth the next day (and don't have any conditions or take any drugs that would contraindicate this preparation), Night Nurse is a good temporary night-time reliever of cold symptoms. For that (and that alone) I'd recommend it. It worked for me.

* And double finally, I'd like to point out that I'm not a doctor nor a health professional. If you have any of the conditions mentioned in the leaflet (or the website) or take the drugs mentioned above, or have any worries that this may not be suitable for you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. 

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