guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine

Brand name(s):

guaifenesin/phenylephrine/pyrilamine, A-Tan 12X, Ryna-12X

What is the most important information I should know about guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine?

Always ask a doctor before giving a cough or cold medicine to a child. Death can occur from the misuse of cough and cold medicines in very young children. This medication can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Tell your doctor if you regularly use other medicines that make you sleepy (such as pain medication, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety). They can add to sleepiness caused by pyrilamine. Avoid drinking alcohol while you are taking this medication. Alcohol can add to drowsiness caused by an antihistamine.

Avoid taking diet pills, caffeine pills, or other stimulants (such as ADHD medications) without your doctor's advice. Taking a stimulant together with a decongestant can increase your risk of unpleasant side effects.

Do not use any other over-the-counter cough, cold, allergy, or sleep medication without first asking your doctor or pharmacist. If you take certain products together you may accidentally take too much of one or more types of medicine. Read the label of any other medicine you are using to see if it contains guaifenesin, phenylephrine, or pyrilamine.

What is guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine?

Guaifenesin is an expectorant. It helps loosen congestion in your chest and throat, making it easier to cough out through your mouth.

Phenylephrine is a decongestant that shrinks blood vessels in the nasal passages. Dilated blood vessels can cause nasal congestion (stuffy nose).

Pyrilamine is an antihistamine that reduces the natural chemical histamine in the body. Histamine can produce symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose.

The combination of guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine is used to treat runny or stuffy nose, sinus congestion, sneezing, watery eyes, and cough caused by allergies, the common cold, or the flu.

Guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking guaifenesin, phenylephrine, and pyrilamine?

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to guaifenesin, pyrilamine, phenylephrine or to other antihistamines, decongestants, diet pills, stimulants, or ADHD medications. Do not use a cough or cold medicine if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take cough or cold medicine before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any other drugs, or if you have:

heart disease or high blood pressure;
diabetes;
a thyroid disorder;
glaucoma;
a peripheral vascular disorder (poor circulation);
kidney disease;
an enlarged prostate; or
problems with urination.

If you have any of these conditions, may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take this medication.

This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. This medication may pass into breast milk and could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Page: 1 2 3 Next >

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.