Taking Benadryl With Dayquil

Hello and thank you for your question!

Yes, you can take Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and Dayquil together as they do not interact.

However, most people take Dayquil to alleviate cough/cold symptoms without sedation, and taking Benadryl would defeat that purpose (since Benadryl tends to cause drowsiness).

What Is In Dayquil?

DayQuil contains:

• Acetaminophen - Pain reliever/fever reducer
• Dextromethorphan - Cough suppressant
• Phenylephrine - Nasal decongestant

None of the above ingredients cause sedation and provide effective relief of many cough/cold symptoms.

Dayquil is a good option for those who need a cold/flu medication and need to be active after administration or operate heavy machinery.

What Is Benadryl?

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is a sedating antihistamine that is used for a variety of purposes.

Although it works well as an antihistamine, it has a short duration of action (4 to 8 hours) and tends to cause pronounced sedation, which means other antihistamine options are generally better for treating allergies on a daily basis.

Benadryl is more commonly used as a sleep aid and to help stem mild allergic reactions.

While you can take Benadryl with DayQuil, the reason why people take DayQuil is to be alert during the day. Again, Benadryl may cause problems here.

Alternatives To Benadryl

If you are looking for the benefits of an antihistamine in addition to taking Dayquil, we recommend trying the following antihistamines as they will not cause sedation:

• Claritin
• Allegra
• Xyzal

If you are looking for help sleeping while taking Dayquil, try 'Nyquil Severe' instead, as it combines all of the ingredients of Dayquil with the sedating antihistamine doxylamine.

Final Words

Thanks again for reaching out and contact us if you need anything else!