Can You Take Benzonatate With Nyquil? (+6 Safety Tips)

If taking just Benzonatate (Tessalon Perles) is not doing much for your cough and associated cold symptoms, you may be considering combining it with another cough and cold medicine. Nyquil wouldn’t be bad in this case, as it’s proven to be an effective cough and cold medication. 

However, there is always a question of safety when two different medications are to be used together. In this article, the pharmacist will let you know if it is safe to take benzonatate with Nyquil. He will also give recommendations on how to use the two together while minimizing side effects.

Can You Take Benzonatate With Nyquil?

It is safe to take benzonatate with Nyquil because they do not interact with each other. However, you may experience excessive sedation or tiredness after using these two medications together.

Benzonatate is a cough medication commonly known by the brand name Tessalon Perles. It belongs to a class of drugs called antitussives or cough suppressants. Drugs in this class usually work by suppressing the cough reflex thereby preventing you from coughing. 

Nyquil on the other hand is a combination cough and cold product consisting of 3 active ingredients – acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine. These three ingredients serve the following purpose:

• Acetaminophen – relieves pain and also reduces fever
• Dextromethorphan – suppresses cough reflex thereby preventing cough.
• Doxylamine – treats symptoms of cold such as sneezing, runny nose, and red, itchy, watery eyes.

The Dextromethorphan present in Nyquil is also an antitussive just like Benzonatate. So in actual sense, the two products – benzonatate and Nyquil, contain ingredients that perform similar functions. 

Hence, taking them together will produce an additive effect. This means that the cough-suppressing effect of benzonatate will be added to that of the dextromethorphan in Nyquil. Thus producing a greater cough-quenching effect.

This combined effect can be quite beneficial if your cough is very serious. But with enhanced effects come a heightened risk of you experiencing more drowsiness and dizziness as side effects. 

I’ll explain why the sedation side effect is greater when you take benzonatate and Nyquil together in the section below.

Pharmacist Recommendation

As I earlier stated, it is safe for you to take Benzonatate with Nyquil because there is no known interaction between the two medications. The safety here resides only in the fact that there is no established negative interaction in using the two together but not in terms of side effects.

Two of the active ingredients – Doxylamine and dextromethorphan, present in Nyquil both have sedative effects. This means they can make you feel tired, sleepy, and very difficult to concentrate. It can also affect your productivity in both physical and mental tasks. 

Doxylamine is a first-generation antihistamine. First-generation antihistamines are known for crossing into the brain to cause sedation. This effect makes them to be used as a sleep aid in people experiencing sleeplessness.

Benzonatate also has a sedative effect but the degree to which it occurs is lesser than that produced by the two ingredients in NyQuil. So, to paint a clearer picture for you.

When you take Benzonatate and Nyquil together, you are combining three different ingredients with a similar side effect which is sedation. The resultant effect of this is excessive sedation which can manifest as:

• increased sleepiness
• tiredness even after you’ve gotten enough sleep, 
• heavy, drooping eyelids
• slowed reflexes and delayed responses
• impaired judgment and also, 
• impaired ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

This will not be a problem if you are just going to stay at home all day. However, things take a different turn if you plan to engage in activities that require full alertness and concentration. Examples are activities like driving a vehicle and operating machinery.

If you intend to drive, go to work, operate a machine, or take part in activities that will require your full attention and alertness, I recommend that you either combine Nyquil with benzonatate only at night or you switch to a non-drowsy alternative such as Dayquil.

Dayquil As a Better Alternative

Dayquil is also a cough and cold formulation produced by the manufacturer of Nyquil. It is the non-drowsy version of Nyquil, only that it does not contain the sedating first-generation antihistamine doxylamine. 

Dayquil cold and flu contains phenylephrine which is a nasal decongestant. Phenylephrine can raise blood pressure, as such,  it is only suitable for people without hypertension. 

People with hypertension can take Dayquil High Blood Pressure which does not contain phenylephrine. I wrote a detailed article on whether or not it is safe to take Dayquil and Benzonatate together. You can check it out for more details.

How Long After Taking Benzonatate Can I Take Nyquil?

It is not necessary to space Benzonatate and Nyquil as you can safely take the two together at the same time. However, if you are trying to prevent excessive sedation, you can use benzonatate during the day since its sedative effect is much milder than that of Nyquil. 

And then combine it with Nyquil at bedtime. This will allow the sedative effect to wear off overnight so that you’re less likely to feel drowsy or sleepy the next morning. But if you must separate them by a specific time, we can still work something out.

Benzonatate begins to work 15 to 20 minutes after taking it, and its effect can last for 3 to 8 hours. Hence, you can take Nyquil at least 8 hours after taking Benzonatate. I must say that this is really unnecessary as you are more likely to benefit more from taking the two together than spacing them. 

Spacing them by 8 hours doesn’t guarantee that you still won’t feel drowsy, it may be milder though. Your best bet is to either combine both at night or swap Nyquil for Dayquil which is a non-drowsy alternative.

Can You Take Nyquil Severe With Benzonatate?

Yes, it is safe to take Nyquil Severe with Benzonatate since they don’t contain ingredients that are known to negatively interact with each other.

Nyquil Severe contains phenylephrine in addition to the three other active ingredients in Nyquil cold and flu. Phenylephrine is a nasal decongestant. It can help with congested nose though its effectiveness in this regard has been questioned recently.

Safety Tips When Taking Nyquil With Benzonatate

1. Avoid taking alcohol while combining Nyquil with benzonatate. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant which means it slows down the activity of the brain. Taking it together with Benzonatate and Nyquil can cause increased sedation, making it extremely difficult to stay alert or concentrate.
2. Do not drive or operate a machine if you take Nyquil and Benzonatate together. These activities require alertness and these drugs can alter your alertness, hence putting you at physical risk.
3. Do not chew, break, split, or drink the content of Benzonatate capsule. Benzonatate has an anesthetic effect which means it causes numbness. Drinking the content will numb your tongue and oropharynx, thereby putting you at risk of choking.
4. The recommended dose of Nyquil for adults is 30 ml to be taken four times a day. You are not to exceed these 4 doses in 24 hours.
5. The recommended dose of Benzonatate is 100 to 200 mg three times a day. You are not to exceed 600 mg in a day. 
6. Benzonatate is only recommended for adults and children above 10 years of age. Children below this age should be given an alternative cough syrup.

Final Thoughts

Benzonatate and Nyquil can be safely taken together but due to the risk of excessive sedation from the combined effect of the two. I will recommend that you either take benzonatate during the day and then combine it with Nyquil at night or swap Nyquil with Dayquil which is non-drowsy and less likely to cause amplified sedation. I hope you find this article helpful.

References

• NyQuil. (Internet). Vicks NyQuil Cold & Flu Nighttime Relief. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
• Oral phenylephrine: An ineffective replacement for pseudoephedrine? Hendeles, Leslie et al. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 118, Issue 1, 279 – 280 
• MedlinePlus: Benzonatate drug information
• Oh SR, Agrawal S, Sabir S, et al. Dextromethorphan. [Updated 2023 May 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-.