Video: About Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids

About Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids

Common over-the-counter sleep aids include antihistamines, such as Tylenol PM, but it's important to consult a physician or psychiatrist before using such medications. Find out why over-the-counter medications may not be 100-percent safe with help from a psychologist in this free video on sleeping aids.

Video Transcript

Hello, my name is Dr. Robert Hernandez. I'm a psychologist in Miami, Florida, and I'm president and owner of La Farfalla Retreat House. Over-the-counter sleep aids, such as antihistamines -- a lot of my patients do take these -- or Tylenol PM, for example -- or any types of those medications. That doesn't mean that they're 100 percent safe to use just because they're over-the-counter. What you want to do is you consult with your primary care physician or your psychiatrist to kind of review the different benefits that you're looking for to achieve from these medications. You need to follow the directions on the label and to a T, and you also want to make sure you stay away from alcoholic beverages because that could also increase the effects of taking these over-the-counter medications. So again, just because they're over-the-counter and they're not under a prescription of a medical doctor doesn't make them 100 percent safe. So be careful when you're using them, and make sure you're following the instructions to a T.

About Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids

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