Have you ever come down with a bad case of an allergy or cold together? Well, then, you would know that you would take just about any over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to relieve the pain.
The mixture of symptoms could create extreme discomfort. But before you decide to go with OTC medicines, you might wanna ask yourself: Is it really safe to take cold and allergy medicines together?
Remember the infamous “Benadryl Challenge?” When most of the world was locked inside their rooms, teenagers ended up in an emergency after participating in the challenge. The Food and Drug Administration swiftly issued a warning against consuming higher doses of the common allergy medicine diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl). ‘
The FDA also warned against overlapping this drug with cold medicine, especially if both have the same active ingredient. The National Capitol Poison Center explains that if your allergy and cold medicines both have antihistamines, the double dose can cause sedation or more severe symptoms like shortness of breath.
So before you reach for your medicine cabinet, it is important to have expert advice like this one from endocrinologist Erica Patel, MD. Dr. Patel says technically, cold and allergy medicines could be taken simultaneously. But here’s the catch, since both have similar symptoms, mostly there’s no need to double down on the drugs.
“Many over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines and allergy medicines may have similar ingredients. Only take medication that directly treats the symptoms you are having,” Dr. Patel warns, echoing FDA.
“If you have a cough, for example, then just take a cough suppressant. Don’t choose a combination medication that also has a decongestant and a pain reliever if you don’t also have those symptoms.”
Dr. Erica Patel further explains that comparing the labels of two medicines could help you avoid overdosing on a particular ingredient. “For example, if one medication has acetaminophen as an ingredient, then avoid taking other medications with acetaminophen in them,” she elaborates.
The health expert also recommends checking the label for contraindications, as most medicine packages issue warnings about which other drugs to avoid while taking it. “It should be relatively safe to take cold and allergy medication together as long as you’re following the dosing instructions on the package,” Dr. Patel concluded.
She further explained which cold and allergy medicines could be taken together and which you should not mix. Dr. Patel notes Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) and Benadryl (diphenhydramine) could be consumed together. Sudafed is a decongestant, while Benadryl is an antihistamine, and they work differently.
On the other hand, combining Sudafed with Claritin (loratadine) could be tricky, depending on the latter’s type. According to the NCPC, “There is no drug interaction between pseudoephedrine and loratadine, but medicines such as Claritin-D contain both loratadine and pseudoephedrine.”
Meanwhile, Zyrtec, which is an antihistamine like Benadryl and Claritin, could be mixed with Standard Mucinex, which contains cough suppressant guaifenesin. However, certain Mucinex products also contain antihistamines, so you should check the labels before doubling down on the dose.
Lastly, the National Capitol Poison Center says, “Fluticasone (Flonase) and loratadine (Claritin) are sometimes used together for relieving allergies and do not have any significant drug interactions.”
Overall, reading your medicine labels is important to avoid taking a higher dose of a drug. However, if you are unsure of whether your cold and allergy medicines both have the same ingredients, reach out to your doctor or pharmacist for assistance.
