Sick as a dog all week. Head hurts, cold, cough, everything. YANMD.

December 1, 2022 3:41 PM

Headache is bad, want to take Ibuprofen for the headache, then NyQuil severe tonight, but not sure if it's safe (seems the baseline is ~4 hours?)? Took a full 30ml DayQuil earlier this afternoon. Kaiser advice nurse was useless — asked what the ingredients are in NyQuil. After Googling this, was told to call. I'm Deaf, so calling is a hassle. I'm annoyed, cranky, in pain. Please advise, and yes, I know, YANMD, but this should be a simple straightforward question. Tried Googling but Google sucks these days.
posted by dubious_dude to Health & Fitness (16 answers total)

Have you taken a COVID test? That might be a good idea, just to get a better sense of what you might be dealing with.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:46 PM on December 1, 2022 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Not intended to threadsit, but realized my summary is a bit vague/jumbled.

My question is simply this: Is it safe for me to take Ibuprofen now, then take NyQuil Severe later tonight? Got a bad headache but heard it's not safe to mix the two drugs together, also heard 4 hours between both drugs, AND 12 hours between. Which is right?

Again, YANMD.
posted by dubious_dude at 3:48 PM on December 1, 2022

Whatever you do, make sure you eat something with the Ibuprofen, even if all you can get down is something simple. Probably the NyQuil, too, but Ibuprofen is what a nurse told me about once.
posted by aniola at 3:48 PM on December 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

When I was in a similar situation I got a lot of use from drugs.com
posted by happy_cat at 3:49 PM on December 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

This says you can take NyQuil every six hours. If Ibuprofen is also 4-6 hours, I'd wait until the 6 hour mark if it were me.
posted by aniola at 3:51 PM on December 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

There’s nothing that contraindicates talking ibuprofen and acetaminophen together.
posted by rhymedirective at 3:55 PM on December 1, 2022 [35 favorites]

NyQuil and DayQuil contain Acetaminophen as the fever reducing/pain relieving agent, which is generally safe (and sometimes recommended) to take with Ibuprofen. For maximum fever reduction, you can alternate doses of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen so that one is in full effect when the other is wearing off at dosing time. Acetaminophen is the same active ingredient as Tylenol, and can be dangerous at too high a dose so DO NOT combine NyQuil with Tylenol or any other drug that lists Acetaminophen as an active ingredient.
posted by duien at 3:57 PM on December 1, 2022 [26 favorites]

From what I can find online, NyQuil Severe contains acetaminophen, no ibuprofen or other NSAIDs. If that’s correct, you can take ibuprofen any time, with it or spaced out - alternating them 3 hours apart might be most effective, but it’s not dangerous to take them together. The one you DON’T want to take with it is Tylenol, since that’s also acetaminophen and it’s important to stay within the maximum daily dose for that.
posted by songs about trains at 4:00 PM on December 1, 2022 [7 favorites]

It's okay to alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but write down how much you're taking and the time so you can keep track of not taking too much of either. I once had to alternate them for an injury and the doctor told me to space them out six hours.
posted by pinochiette at 4:12 PM on December 1, 2022 [7 favorites]

Nyquil contains alcohol and ibuprofen can be a stomach irritant. Taking together does have a increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. It's contraindicated the more alcohol you drink and if you have stomach ulcers and things like that. Personally as a non drinker with a sensitive stomach I'd do this by staggering the ibuprofen with food 2 hours before the nyquil. You can Google on your own if you desire to read more about this particular risk. This is not medical advice, this is me doing my thing based off of random internet information. Ymmv

In terms of tylenol and ibuprofen these can be taken together, sometimes are even given together. Most advice I hear suggests staggering for overlapping effect. Do keep track of how much you are taking.

Anyway, stay safe, take care
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:19 PM on December 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

*the liquid version of Nyquil severe med contains alcohol, the pill version dies not)
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:29 PM on December 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yes, it is fine.

Don't do it for weeks on end. Eat a little something every time you take either of them, to pad your stomach from upset. Drink water just because you should. I hope you feel better soon.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:46 PM on December 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

N-thing that your plan is OK.

Just wanted to chime in that for what it’s worth not all liquid versions of Nyquil Severe contain alcohol. The honey flavor and berry flavor don’t list it, the cherry and the green versions do.
posted by Kriesa at 5:33 PM on December 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, all :) Ibuprofen helped and took the edge off my headache, much needed. I'll wait 4-5 hours or so from when I took the Ibuprofen until taking the NyQuil. I had some soothing chicken soup too, which really helped.

Apologies if I sounded curt in my initial Ask. As you might have surmised, I felt like hell, was frustrated with the unhelpfulness of the advice nurse, and needed information. I knew there was a medicine that conflicted with NyQuil, it was Tylenol, which I never take anyway. Must have gotten that mixed up with Ibuprofen.

Here's to hoping for a quick healing journey!
posted by dubious_dude at 6:29 PM on December 1, 2022 [6 favorites]

Here's hoping you had a restful night and are feeling better in the morning....hugs
posted by mightshould at 1:52 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

Just my experience with NyQuil Severe. When I took some a while back thinking it was going to knock me out and let me rest to recover from my cold/flu/whatever it had the opposite effect. It had the same effect as caffeine on me, made me jittery and actually prevented from sleeping/resting.
posted by eatcake at 6:14 AM on December 2, 2022