SUCH a stupid ?. What does non-drowsy mean?

Zed58 · April 2011

I know, stupid right? Obviously non-drowsy isn't going to knock you out, make you sleepy, groggy, etc.

I ask because last night dh was up coughing from 3-4 am...SO annoying. We both are having some major sinus with sneezes and all the yuck. The past couple nights he has taken NyQuill and lucky him, he's slept great. However, last night we were out of NyQuill. When he woke up coughing and sneezing for an hour in the middle of the night he didn't know if he should take DayQuill cause he didn't want it to wake him up. Obviously, he wanted to take something, snuggle back into bed and get some more sleep.

So, with that I ask...what is non-drowsy??

If you're already tired and you take non-drowsy, will it actually wake you up or will you still have be tired and ready to go back to sleep? I get the whole thing about it not making you sleepy, I'm just wondering if affects your awakeness/sleepiness in any way.

Does this question make any sense??

DowagerCountessofNJ · April 2011

I don't think non-drowsy meds have an ingredient to wake you up, I think they exclude an ingredient that would make you drowsy. Regardless of what I take I usually end up sleepy.

If he can, he should try taking a Benadryl about an hour before bed and get a full 8 hours. I always wake up feeling really good and I find that the effects on my sinus and allergies carry over through most of the day.

camdenfaithful · April 2011

Some non drowsy stuff has small doses of caffeine in it which can make you feel more awake.

For me, if I take something that is non drowsy I don't feel any more alert or awake, but hopefully if the meds kick in, I feel a lot better.

TigerFan · April 2011

My thought would be that taking the medication doesn't make you tired, but if you are already tired or have been sleeping that it won't wake you up.

Gummybear · April 2011

I've wondered this myself, because anything that makes you amped up has a 10,000x effect on me (I can't take anything with pseudoephedrine).

I THINK it's just missing the diphenhydramine/doxylamine which is the "sleep" inducing ingredient in Nyquil and other cold meds, since it also acts as antihistimine/decongestant. Oh, and I think the non-drowsy meds also don't have alcohol.

ColleenS629 · April 2011

DH swears that non-drowsy does not make you more awake but it does for me.

jamilynn9 · April 2011

I can't take decongestants b/c I have a minor heart condition and they are stimulants. DayQuill is among the many I cannot have so it's possible it's the cause of him being up.

Clerk9 · April 2011

camdenfaithful:
Some non drowsy stuff has small doses of caffeine in it which can make you feel more awake.

This is one possibility. Caffeine actually can help with some headaches, so they put a little of it in things like Excedrin.

The other reason some drugs are non-drowsy is because of their choice of antihistamines. Some antihistamines (most of the older ones: Benadryl, etc.) cross the blood-brain barrier, so they affect your brain & make you tired. Other antihistamines (newer ones like Claritin) DON'T cross the blood-brain barrier so they work on all of your allergy targets (sinuses, etc.) without affecting your brain.

Antihistamines tend to raise your blood pressure, so sometimes your body responds with an increased heart rate. They're not technically stimulants (they shouldn't amp up your nervous system), but they can make you feel like your heart is racing.

SO, this is probably WAAAY more than you cared to know, but if you went with a non-drowsy cold/allergy medicine that does NOT contain caffeine, it probably wouldn't cause you to feel more awake. (Of course, everyone responds to drugs differently--some people do feel like Benadryl makes them hyper--so you never know for sure until you try!)

HTH & hope everyone feels better soon!

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