1. The Common Cold Slideshow Pictures
2. Slideshow: Treating Your Child's Cold or Fever
3. Take the Cold & Flu Quiz

What happens if I miss a dose (J-Max DHC)?

Cough or cold medicine is usually taken only as needed, so you may not be on a dosing schedule. If you are taking the medication regularly, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at your next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose (J-Max DHC)?

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of dihydrocodeine can be fatal.

Overdose symptoms may include vomiting, extreme dizziness or drowsiness, confusion, hallucinations, blurred vision, cold and clammy skin, fast/slow or uneven heart rate, pinpoint pupils, fainting, and seizure (convulsions).

What should I avoid while taking dihydrocodeine and guaifenesin (J-Max DHC)?

Avoid drinking alcohol while you are taking this medication. Alcohol can increase some of the side effects of dihydrocodeine.

Dihydrocodeine and guaifenesin 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.

Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.

Do not use any other over-the-counter cold, allergy, or cough medicine without first asking your doctor or pharmacist. Guaifenesin is contained in many medicines available over the counter. If you take certain products together you may accidentally take too much of a certain drug. Read the label of any other medicine you are using to see if it contains guaifenesin.

Avoid becoming overheated or dehydrated during exercise and in hot weather.

What other drugs will affect dihydrocodeine and guaifenesin (J-Max DHC)?

Do not take this medication with alcohol, other narcotic pain medications, sedatives, tranquilizers, muscle relaxers, or other medicines that can make you sleepy or slow your breathing. Dangerous side effects may result.

Tell your doctor about all other medicines you take, especially:

• cimetidine (Tagamet);
• methyldopa (Aldomet);
• mecamylamine (Inversine);
• a beta-blocker such as atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), esmolol (Brevibloc), labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), sotalol (Betapace), and others;
• HIV or AIDS medicine such as atazanavir (Reyataz), darunavir (Prezista), delavirdine (Rescriptor), fosamprenavir (Lexiva), indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir), or saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase); or
• phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), fluphenazine (Prolixin), perphenazine (Trilafon), prochlorperazine (Compazine), promethazine (Phenergan, Adgan, Anergan 50, Pentazine), thioridazine (Mellaril), or trifluperazine (Stelazine).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with dihydrocodeine and guaifenesin. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

Your pharmacist can provide more information about dihydrocodeine and guaifenesin.

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Copyright 1996-2012 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 1.05. Revision date: 12/15/2010.

Your use of the content provided in this service indicates that you have read,understood and agree to the End-User License Agreement,which can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Need help identifying pills and medications?
Use the pill finder tool on RxList.