Are OTC Sleeping aids bad for you?  

OTC sleeping aids aren't good to use every night. I use a prescription called Ambien for sleep, as I have insomnia. I have been taking them for about a year and there are no side effects for me. I wake up refreshed the next day and at night (provided my kids don't wake me) I get a good full night of sleep in spite of severe pain. So if she has a chronic problem with sleep, I would recommend her talking to her doctor and getting a prescription. The otc drugs use a combination of cold medicine ingredients to induce sleep and that is not good for daily, longterm use. Don't confront her in a confrontational way though, as it really isn't your problem or your place to intrude. Just suggest a trip to the doc and maybe the mention of Ambien or another effective med.

yes they can become habit forming and they SHOULD ONLY be used short term! If this person is taking them every night they soon become dependent upon them to get to sleep and will not be able to sleep at all without them! Talk to them about this and tell them they should really try to stop taking them every night.

Like anything else if you take medication of any time over an extended period of tme it can have side effects. Everything depends of course on other drugs being used and your health state etc. I do not believe that any sleep medication, if you read the directions for use is recommended to be taken every day of a persons life.I would suggest she ask her family doctor of possible consequences or side effects to continued use.

TOPIC : OVER-THE-COUNTER (OTC) Sleeping


Over-the-counter sleep aids or supplements may help when;
Stress, travel or other disruptions keep you awake. If you have chronic insomnia, though, a better approach is to remove the cause — most often, by changing your lifestyle.

caroll30, just edify them with the knowledge of taking those common OTC sleep aids such as; Diphenhydramine (Sominex, Nytol) and Doxylamine (Unisom); by surfing together with your friends at this web site;

http://www.drugdigest.org/wps/portal/ddigest

On that web page, type the name of those medical-aids-drugs that they are taking at the left-hand-side in the "Search box" and click "Go" button; on there it will discern them about the advantages and disadvantages of taking those pills. The good things are, they also will know how to put halt the intake and the self-fight steps.

Normally, in this case; when they read expert's explanations, they will listen.

I use them every night. There's nothing wrong with it. All it is is a small dose of dypehnhydramine (Benadryl). I've taken them for 20 years. I have had insomnia since I was a very young kid. I lived with insomnia my whole life. I didn't want to take some prescription sleeping med that will be addicting. I take just two tylenol PM before going to bed and it allows me to fall asleep naturally. If I have to get up to potty in the night I go right back to sleep.

I would really suggest your friend takes something the doctor recommends instead of using otc sleeping pills. Am sure there is some sort of dependence on the pills over a period of time. Get a good night of sleep, it feels good and want to do it again to feel rested. Personally I never used anything otc to sleep at night. When it got to the point I couldn't sleep but 2 hours at a time, I let my doctor know that I was worn out and he prescribed something. Still take a pill but it's a very low dose so my body can atleast get some sleep. That's a tough call whether you should confront your friend or not about this situation. Might make him/her angry especially if they think you are accusing them of being addicted. I would let it go unless I thought there was a safety issue.

To my knowledge OTC (Over-The-Counter) sleeping aids be through medication and normally it is antihistamine, It may be taken for an occassional OTC sleep but if some one take continuously it will be really harmful, because once nerve system can tolerate this medicine, My provence link- http://www.mayoclinic.com...

Have a fresh sleep with out any sleeping aids. Get happier life.