Night Nurse Liquid 160ml
Night-time cold and flu relief. Each 20ml dose contains paracetamol 1000mg, promethazine 20mg and dextromethorphan 15mg to ease symptoms so you can rest.
- Eases aches, sore throat, runny nose and coughing at night
- Helps you get to sleep when a cold or flu keeps you awake
- Triple action: pain reliever, antihistamine and cough suppressant
- One 20ml dose at bedtime — taken only at night
- Pharmacy medicine supplied by a GPhC-registered UK pharmacy
£8.79
Night Nurse Liquid is a night-time cold and flu remedy that combines three active ingredients in every 20ml dose — paracetamol 1000mg, promethazine hydrochloride 20mg and dextromethorphan hydrobromide 15mg — to ease the aches, sore throat, blocked or runny nose and coughing that keep you awake when you have a cold or flu, so you can get the rest you need to recover.
What is Night Nurse?
It is a Pharmacy (P) medicine made by Haleon for the symptomatic relief of colds, chills and influenza at night. This triple-action oral solution works in three ways: paracetamol relieves pain and lowers a high temperature, promethazine hydrochloride is a sedating antihistamine that eases a runny nose and helps you settle, and dextromethorphan hydrobromide calms a dry, tickly cough. Because it contains a sedating antihistamine, it is designed to be taken only at bedtime.
What is it used for?
Night Nurse is licensed to relieve the night-time symptoms of a cold, chill or flu, including:
- aches and pains
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose and sneezing
- a dry, tickly cough
- a high temperature (fever)
It is intended to ease these symptoms so you can sleep. It does not cure a cold or flu or shorten how long it lasts, and it is not an antibiotic.
How it works
Each 20ml dose works in three ways. Paracetamol 1000mg is a well-established painkiller and antipyretic that eases headache, body aches and a sore throat and brings down a fever. Promethazine 20mg is a first-generation antihistamine that dries up a runny nose and, as a side effect, causes drowsiness — helpful when a cold is keeping you awake. Dextromethorphan 15mg is a cough suppressant that quietens a dry, unproductive cough.
How to use Night Nurse Liquid
- Adults and children aged 16 and over: take one 20ml dose (or four 5ml spoonfuls) using the cup provided, just before going to bed.
- Take only one dose per night. Do not exceed the stated dose.
- Do not use it for more than 3 days without speaking to your doctor or pharmacist.
- Do not give to children under 16 except on the advice of a doctor.
- This medicine contains paracetamol. Do not take it with any other paracetamol-containing product, and keep your total paracetamol below 4000mg (4g) in 24 hours, leaving at least 4 hours between paracetamol products.
- Do not use alongside other cough, cold or antihistamine medicines, including antihistamines applied to the skin.
How long does it take to work?
Because it is taken at bedtime, most people feel it working within about 20–30 minutes as the paracetamol eases aches and the antihistamine helps them settle. A single dose is designed to last through the night; take the next dose the following night if you still need it, up to a maximum of three nights without medical advice.
Side effects
Like all medicines, it can cause side effects, though not everyone gets them. Drowsiness is expected — that is why it is a night-time medicine. Other effects can include dizziness, a dry mouth, blurred vision, headache and occasionally a faster heartbeat. Stop use and seek medical advice if you have a serious allergic reaction such as a rash, swelling or difficulty breathing. Prolonged use can lead to dependence, so do not take it for longer than needed. Seek immediate medical advice in the event of an overdose, even if you feel well, because of the risk of delayed liver damage from paracetamol.
Who should not take it
Do not take this medicine if you are allergic to paracetamol, promethazine, dextromethorphan or any other ingredient; if you have or are at risk of breathing problems such as COPD, pneumonia or an asthma attack; or if you are taking, or have taken in the last two weeks, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressant. Speak to your pharmacist or doctor first if you have liver or kidney problems, a long-term or chesty cough, glaucoma, heart problems, an enlarged prostate, difficulty passing urine or epilepsy, or if you take antidepressants (SSRIs or tricyclics) or other medicines that make you sleepy. It is not recommended in pregnancy or while breastfeeding without medical advice.
Alcohol and driving
Do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine — the liquid itself contains 18% alcohol, and combining it with more can increase drowsiness. It can affect your ability to drive or use machinery; do not drive until you know how it affects you. This medicine is covered by the drug-driving law, but you have a ‘statutory defence’ if you have taken it as directed and it is not affecting your driving.
Buy Night Nurse online
You can buy Night Nurse Liquid 160ml online from Bury Healthcare Online, a UK pharmacy registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC 1126145). As a Pharmacy medicine, your order includes a few short suitability questions so our pharmacy team can check it is right for you. You may also want a decongestant nasal spray such as Otrivine for a blocked nose, or a sore throat spray like Difflam, and you can browse our full cold, flu and pain relief range. For general advice on treating a cold, see the NHS guide to colds.
Always read the label and the patient information leaflet before use. If your symptoms do not improve within 3 days, or are accompanied by a high fever or persistent headache, speak to your pharmacist or doctor.
Medically reviewed by Hassan Khan, MPharm, Independent Prescriber — Superintendent Pharmacist, Bury Healthcare Online (GPhC-registered pharmacy 1126145). Last reviewed: July 2026.
