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What should I discuss with my health care provider before taking chlorpheniramine, methscopolamine, and phenylephrine?

Do not take this medication if you are allergic to chlorpheniramine, methscopolamine, phenylephrine, or to other cold or allergy medicines, diet pills, stimulants, or ADHD medications.

Do not use this 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 a cold or allergy medicine before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

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

• heart disease, high blood pressure, or a heart rhythm disorder;
• a blood vessel disorder or circulation problems;
• glaucoma;
• diabetes;
• a thyroid disorder;
• kidney disease;
• asthma;
• an enlarged prostate; or
• problems with urination.

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 can decrease breast milk production, and also 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.

Artificially-sweetened liquid forms of cold medicine may contain phenylalanine. This would be important to know if you have phenylketonuria (PKU). Check the ingredients and warnings on the medication label if you are concerned about phenylalanine.

How should I take chlorpheniramine, methscopolamine, and phenylephrine?

Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label. Cold medicine is usually taken for only a short time until your symptoms clear up.

Take this medicine with a full glass of water.

It is best to take this medicine with food.

Measure the liquid form of this medicine with a special dose-measuring spoon or cup, not a regular table spoon. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one. The suspension liquid form should be shaken well just before you measure a dose.

Do not crush, chew, break, or open an extended-release tablet unless your doctor tells you to. Swallow the pill whole. It is specially made to release medicine slowly in the body. Breaking or opening the pill would cause too much of the drug to be released at one time. However, some extended-release pills can be broken to split the dose. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions.

The chewable tablet must be chewed completely before you swallow it.

Tell your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after 5 days of treatment, or if you have a fever with a headache, cough, or skin rash.

This medication can cause you to have unusual results with allergy skin tests. Tell any doctor who treats you that you are taking an antihistamine.

Store this medicine at room temperature, away from heat, light, and moisture.

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