I know, I was going to say, “Well, isn’t that Narcos, or maybe Hypnos?”
It can be very dangerous if you don’t read the label and also pop those two extra strength Tylenol.
They would and do. The maximum recommended dosage of acetaminophen is 4000 mg in a day. 7000 mg is considered a minimum toxic dosage. An extra strength Tylenol tablet contains 500 mg. The recommended dosage (30 ml) of NyQuil contains 1000 mg.
The recommended dosage of NyQuil is 30 ml every six hours. The recommended dosage of Tylenol is two pills every four to six hours, up to a maximum of eight pills a day. Even if you follow these directions to the letter, you’re getting a daily dose of 8000 mg. If you ignore that eight pill daily maximum and take two Tylenols every four hours, your daily dose would be 10000 mg.
It IS a bad idea. Hell, the little plastic cup would melt right away!
You switched units from pills to doses and so your numbers are off. (Bolding above mine.) Eight tylenol pills = 500mg x 8 = 4000mg = maximum recommended dosage. If you ignore the eight pill maximum, you’ll end up taking 12 pills in one day, resulting in a 6000 mg dose, which is still below your minimum toxic dose of 7000 mg. It looks like Tylenol thought this through!
So, in summary, taking the maximum allowed Tylenol will give you 4000 mg of acetaminophen per day. Taking the maximum NyQuil dosage will give you 4000 mg of acetaminophen per day. As you point out, that is exactly the maximum recommended dosage.
And taking both puts you right over the minimum toxic dose, and too often into the ER with liver failure.
We were talking about people taking NyQuil and Tylenol in the same day. My figures are accurate. If you take the recommended dosage of Tylenol and the recommended dosage of NyQuil in the same day, you will take enough acetaminophen to exceed the minimum toxic dosage.
As for just taking NyQuil, the question asked was “Do you really think they would sell a cold remedy with a dangerous amount of acetaminophen in it?” Being as a standard 295 ml bottle contains over 9800 mg of acetaminophen, I’d say the answer to that question is yes. You can overdose on a single bottle of NyQuil.
I think there has been some miscommunication. I was refuting an earlier poster who claimed NyQuil had twice the acetaminophen as Tylenol. It does not; it has exactly the same amount. I further stated that they wouldn’t sell NyQuil if it contained a dangerous amount of acetaminophen. You disputed this. Why? Because taking Tylenol in addition to NyQuil would put you over the limit! Well, that doesn’t mean NyQuil is dangerous in and of itself or when used correctly. It is dangerous when people who don’t realize there is acetaminophen in NyQuil also take Tylenol.
There are warnings on all cold medicines that contain acetaminophen not to take Tylenol concurrently. Sadly, some people do not read the warnings and get sick. I agree that this is a real problem and should be taken seriously. It does not change my initial point that NyQuil is not dangerous when used correctly. (I swear, I’d better get a free case of this shit for standing up for their product!)
Sure, and you can overdose on a single bottle of Tylenol. What’s your point? Any drug is dangerous if you take a massive overdose of it.
A single standard bottle of NyQuil contains enough acetaminophen to overdose on. How do you define a dangerous amount in a way that doesn’t apply here? Sure, you’d have to actually consume the contents of the bottle, but that seems quibbling. Sort of like claiming a single bullet can’t hurt anybody and then adding the proviso “unless you get shot with it”.
Seriously? By your standard, every single drug in the supermarket has a dangerous amount of drugs in it. After all, your standard is consuming the entire package! What a ridiculous tangent this thread has got derailed on.
Me: Taking NyQuil in the proper dosage and without other drugs is safe.
You: You are completely wrong! Taking NyQuil in the wrong dosage or with other drugs is dangerous.
We are both correct. I think it’s time to move on.
The real question is whether NyQuil, with only 15% alcohol, would ignite if put in a plastic cup with three coffee beans.