Whats the difference between nyquil on the shelf and behind the pharmacy counter?
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Pseudoephedrine. It's a decongestant, and one of the active ingredients in the behind the counter pill. It can also be used to make meth, so by law it is now kept behind the counter, so that they can track people who buy large quantities. You don't need a prescription for it- it's been over the counter as long as I can remember- but you will need to show ID and allow the pharmacy to make a record of how much you buy.
The Nyquil behind the counter has pseudoephedrine in it. It is a decongestant but is not somewhat controlled due to people using it to make crystal methamphetamine. States have laws controlling how muc you can buy of medications that contain pseudoephedrine. The shelf variety probably does not have the pseudoephedrine in it.
Though my pharmacy doesn't carry the nyquil behind the counter my guess is that it is the kind of decongestant used in the formulation. Psuedoephedrine products have been moved behind the pharmacy counter by law to help prevent the production of methamphetamine. Products that remain over the counter either don't have the decongestant or have a new decongestant called phenylephrine. Phenylephrine works the same way as psuedoephedrine and should do just fine for most people. Many patients however do prefer the psuedoephedrine based products thinking that they just work better. Hope that helps.
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