Is there an equivalent to Nyquil in China?

June 13, 2011 12:59 AM

Is there a commonly available equivalent of Nyquil in China? Something with same or similar active ingredients available at any of the huge local pharmacies.
posted by crawltopslow to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Not a doctor, right off the bat. I believe Nyquil has different formulations, like many of the multi-symptom cold/flu relievers, with combinations of decongestants and/or antihistamines and/or pain relievers and/or cough suppressants etc. The sleep-inducing ingredient is almost always diphenhydramine, the antihistamine (same as in Benadryl). If you're looking for help sleeping, mix that stuff with something to address your other symptoms. Or not- I believe there's some downside to antihistamines with sinus infections, and you have to be careful what you mix together of course. There are standard doses and mixes of the above-mentioned classes of drugs if you look at the back of most boxes of drugs. Other than that it's just syrup and coloring, I believe. But again, I'm certainly no doctor.
posted by Red Loop at 3:26 AM on June 13, 2011

Here's the Wikipedia page for the active ingredients in NyQuil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NyQuil

So:

Cold/Flu multisymptom:

Acetaminophen (325 mg/15 mL) (pain reliever/fever reducer)
Dextromethorphan (15 mg/15 mL) (cough suppressant)
Doxylamine succinate (6.25 mg/15 mL) (antihistamine/hypnotic)

NyQuil D is:

Acetaminophen (500 mg/15 mL) (pain reliever/fever reducer)
Dextromethorphan (15 mg/15 mL) (cough suppressant)
Doxylamine succinate (6.25 mg/15 mL) (antihistamine/hypnotic)
Pseudoephedrine (30 mg/15 mL) (nasal decongestant)

Note that Pseudophedrine is slightly difficult to get in the US because it can be used as a base material in meth production. Apparently, NyQuil D hasn't been made in the US since September 2010, possible for that reason.

The alternative formulation is with Phenylephrine (nasal decongestant), though Wikipedia doesn't list the quantity.
posted by chengjih at 6:01 AM on June 13, 2011

Best answer: The thing that alawys made Nyquil work for me is the pseudoephedrine, which is no longer in regular Nyquil in the US.

According to this forum post, maybe you could try the Chinese version of Sudafed tablets?

The active ingredient in Sudafed is pseudoephedrine hydrochloride. In China this is commonly available in the tablets sold under the name "White and Black" (白加黑). Should be about 15RMB for pack of 15 tablets.

As far as I remember the white and black tablets contain the same amount of pseudoephedrine, but the black ones contain an additional chemical (I am guessing something to do with helping you to sleep, since the the black ones are meant to be taken at night-time).

posted by bcwinters at 6:03 AM on June 13, 2011

Best answer: The most common brand of pseudoephedrine I've seen is ContacNT (康泰克 / kangtaike). Sorry, I don't know of a Chinese Nyquil-equivalent.
posted by twisted mister at 6:11 AM on June 13, 2011

Cold/Flu multisymptom:

Acetaminophen (325 mg/15 mL) (pain reliever/fever reducer)
Dextromethorphan (15 mg/15 mL) (cough suppressant)
Doxylamine succinate (6.25 mg/15 mL) (antihistamine/hypnotic)

NyQuil D is:

Acetaminophen (500 mg/15 mL) (pain reliever/fever reducer)
Dextromethorphan (15 mg/15 mL) (cough suppressant)
Doxylamine succinate (6.25 mg/15 mL) (antihistamine/hypnotic)
Pseudoephedrine (30 mg/15 mL) (nasal decongestant)

It should be noted that the Wikipedia article does not list Nyquil's alcohol content. And, at about 25%, should not be discounted.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:50 AM on June 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

My Mom took ill with something that sounded like bronchitis or pneumonia (she wouldn't go to a doctor because we were on vacation, dammit). We were also in Canada where NyQuil wasn't sold over the counter at the time. We ended up getting a bottle of ginger brandy at the liquor store and that was the only thing that stopped her cough for periods of time allowed her to get some significant sleep (which helped her to get better in about four days). None of the OTC meds really helped. So I believe that that 25% alcohol contained in NyQuil plays a big part in its healing power.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:11 AM on June 13, 2011