Suffering From Sleep Less Night. Taking Zzzquil. What Are The Side Effects?

Posted on Wed, 19 Dec 2012

Question: My 16yo son has difficulties falling asleep. Is it safe to take an over the counter medication called zzzquil regularly? It is the only thing that helps him sleep. Adavan did not help when it was prescribed.

On further look, it turns out this product is the same medication as Benadryl. no additional chemicals.

Are there any concerns for side effects... can it become addictive?

Thanks you...

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (56 minutes later)

Hi,
I understand your concern.
You're right that this drug contains Diphenhydramine, the active agent in Benadryl. While this is not addicting, we do run the risk of your son developing tolerance. This means that with time higher doses would be required to produce the same effects. Also, if we start giving higher doses , and then stop, he might have severe withdrawal symptoms. There are other side effects like a dry mouth and nose; constipation but these are generally not very serious.
But it is intriguing that your young son has such a condition. He does need a basic psychiatric evaluation to rule out other causes of sleep issues (like anxiety or depression.
Apart from that, I hope he has been taught about basic sleep hygiene measures which can make a substantial difference to the quality of sleep.
I hope I have addressed your concern
Let me know if you have any more questions
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aparna Kohli (2 days later)

Dr. Kohli;

You mentioned "basic sleep hygiene measures which can make a substantial difference to the quality of sleep". Could you please elaborate?

Thank you very much,
XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (22 hours later)

Hi XXXXXXX
Thanks for writing back.
Sleep hygiene measures include:
a. The room in which he sleeps should be as dark and quiet as a cave
b. Drinking chamomile tea in the evening
c. No exercise or tea/coffee 2-3 hours before bedtime
d. He should avoid watching TV or surfing the net while sitting or lying down on his bed. He should be sitting on a chair and doing this
e. A cup of warm milk at night helps a lot of people sleep
f. Having a light dinner and exercising for 1-1.5 hours during the day also helps
These basic measures can help a lot of people with their sleep problems.
I hope this clarifies.
Let me know if you have any more questions
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar