This stuff is lush, Like others have said it is expensive but worth its weight in gold when hit by flu. I wouldn't recommend taking for general headache, tickly cough or runny nose as cheaper medicine will do just fine.

I love the taste as it kind of sits in your throat well Ive got nothing else to say.. just took a capsule & felt like reviewing =) I'll copy & paste a review I found of another site as it pretty much says it all

Advantages: Safe, helps you sleep

Disadvantages: But drowsy the next day

Fortunately, I haven't been unwell for a while, but I am a big fan of this product, and always ensure I have some at the back of my medication drawer. Night nurse is a fantastic medication to take if you are unfortunate enough to be hit by the lurgies.

WHAT IS IT FOR?

I personally only use it when I have a bad cold (also known as a flu-like illness, or man-flu to most women!) The box claims that it is useful for the relief of tickly cough, shivers, aches and pains, runny nose, sore throat pain and headache. It probably works for all of the above other than the cough as there isn't much evidence for medications helping with cough.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

It delivers a three-pronged attack against your symptoms, each delivered by one of the three 'active ingredients' (i.e. the ingredients in the pill which affect the body).

Paracetamol -

The old favourite, Paracetamol gets rid of all the aches and pains, high temperatures and that heavy feeling you get in your head when you have a bad cold. The dose in Night Nurse is the same as taking two of the usual Paracetamol tablets.

Promethazine -

This is essentially a sedating antihistamine. It is included to make you feel drowsy and therefore promote a good nights sleep. I feel that the worst problem with having a flu like illness is that it is often hard to get to sleep, and I am sure that lack of sleep makes the whole situation a heck of a lot worse!

Dextromethorphan -

This is a cough suppressant. This is supposed to raise the body's threshold before you cough. I am not 100% convinced this works, but I like the idea anyway. I think they have opted for this instead of codeine linctus (the usual old wives cough remedy), as codeine is addictive (and doesn't work either)

Night nurse also contains a host of inactive ingredients. These are constituents which hold the pill together, form the coating etc.. They are not actual medications. These are; lactose, dimethicone, colloidal anhydrous silica, gelatin and colours erythrosine (E127), patent blue V (E131), quinoline yellow (E104) and titanium dioxide (El71). No, doesn't mean much to me either!

HOW MUCH AND WHEN SHOULD I TAKE THEM?

This review is for the tablets, but you can also get the same medication in a suspension form. A pack has 10 tablets, and you should take 2 tablets at a time. I would only advise taking them at night to avoid daytime drowsiness.

WHERE CAN I BUY IT?

Night nurse is only available at chemists, and is sold as an 'over the counter' drug. This means you do not need a prescription, but you need to ask a pharmacist for it. They will ask some screening questions before handing it to you (namely - are you taking other products with Paracetamol in them?)

Night nurse isn't that cheap compared to Ibuprofen or Paracetamol. It costs about £3.30 at your average pharmacy.

WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS?

If you read the patient information leaflet you will be greeted with a host of side effects, and it will probably scare the life out of you. They have to include every possible side effect reported to cover themselves, and most have only been experienced by one or two people. So I would ignore most of them! The only likely side effect is that you may still feel a tad drowsy the next day, and they therefore advise caution with driving and using large machinary (and I guess small machines like chain-saws too!)

Some people complain of nightmares with it.

You also shouldn't take it with Paracetamol at the same time as it also contains Paracetamol, and therefore you would be overdosing! However, you can safely take Paracetamol four or more hours earlier, so long as you do not exceed 4 grams in 24 hours.

IN SUMMARY

I hope you do not need to use this stuff, but if you do get ill, its the best way to ensure a good night's sleep and quicker recovery! If you have problems getting to sleep because you feel ill, this will totally sort you out, and it also contains a decent dose of Paracetamol to get rid of the fevers and other flu symptoms.

During the day, I feel that simple Paracetamol is enough (and I'm not sure why you should be conned into parting with more cash on products like 'Day Nurse'.)

Obviously, it is always better to avoid medications, and homeopathy is always worth a go, but if all else fails, its better to take this than feel totally awful!

If you get a real stinking horrible cold with all the trimmings of runny nose, sneezing, headache and sore throat you often feel like giving up.

Well don't, just get a bottle of night nurse and you will be fine. Take about half an hour before bed and you will sleep like a baby. So what if you wake up with a mouth full of dust caked in that dry stuff, at least you slept and sleep is good when you're ill!