Overdose - Worst effects of diphenhydramine and paracetamol containing sleep aids

[lunar_strain]

A friend of mine took 10 Panadol Night and 10 Nytol One-A-Night a few weeks ago. The next day she didn't look so bad and this seemed weird to me. She didn't even go to the hospital. How many pills (of that combination) are enough to damage/kill someone? And what would the damage be? I read something might happen to the liver and one could slowly die, could that be happening to my friend without her knowing about it? What's the worst that could happen?

[blackie]

Not a good idea, but if after a few weeks swim is still looking fine then she has probably got away with it, but i would suggest swim be advised not to do it again.

[dizzy0225]

True, not a good idea. Swim knows that with certain medication especially ones containing Tylenol that the effects may not me immediate. which makes medications containing tylenol very dangerous. someone may feel fine that night, the next day but the true danger is aprox. 3 days later that the person may actually have true problems.... when it will actually be the most dangerous to the liver and the person who took the medication will start to experience problems. Having said that... Swim also knows that some people build up a tolerance for rx sleep aids and can handle more than others .... Although this does not discount the Tylenol problems and the 3 day rule.

[Herbal Healer 019]

Please use the actual chemical name rather than the brand name. People in other countries that dont sell "panadol" & "nytol" have no idea what these substances are.

[lunar_strain]

Sorry i don't really know the chemical name

[Grabnar]

its on the box ^_^ diph won't rly kill u unless u eat a gram or 2 (20 or more pills 25mg) and go into respiratory arrest , acetaminophen is ok unless u are over the 3gram/day mark then its possibly toxic to your liver don't know what else is in those particular brands as they aren't local to swim

[Man5onite]

4grams a day is considered safe.
Don't know if it is safe, but that's the max daily dosage.

[RaverHippie]

for future reference a way to minimize potential damage is to find a pharmacy"s store brand sleeping aids and they will likely contain only diphenhydramine. It is the best idea to avoid taking acetaminophen whenever possible and taking diphenhydramine only containing products is very easy considering the abundant supply of these products.

Short answer: never take apap when you don"t have to. Generic store brands carry diphenhydramine only containing products.

[ConcertaXL]

Panadol NightPain contains 500mg PARACETAMOL and 25mg DIPHENHYDRAMINE per pill.
Nytol One-A-Night contains 50mg DIPHENHYDRAMINE per pill. It DOES NOT contain any APAP/acetaminophen/paracetamol whatsoever.
These are UK brands and the combo described contains 750mg Diph. which can cause a very deep sleep but is unlikely to create any toxic effects; and 5g (5000mg) Paracetamol which is 25% over the safe limit but highly unlikely to cause severe effects unless there is a pre-existing liver problem.