CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s the latest trend going around social media: people cooking their chicken in cough or cold medicine. Videos on Tiktok show people doing it. They’re calling it "sleepy chicken" or "Nyquil chicken."
THE QUESTION
Is it safe to cook chicken with Nyquil?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, it is not safe to cook chicken or any other food with Nyquil or any other cold or cough medicine.
WHAT WE FOUND
One of the three active ingredients in NyQuil is a sedating antihistamine. According to the mayo clinic, that can cause drowsiness.
Dr. Robinson said boiling the medication makes it more concentrated, which could be harmful to you.
“The thought is that if you are boiling the medication that you could potentially boil away the water contents, or the liquefying contents that helped to dilute the medication," Robinson said.
Robinson said you should always be using medicine as it is stated on the label or how your doctor tells you to.
“There are guidelines as to how the medication is supposed to be used. The label is very clear on the dosing, administration routes, and how in fact we are to use the medication," Robinson said. "And anytime you alter that, you run the risk of either being exposed to higher than expected levels of the medication or maybe even rendering the medication ineffective.”
Robinson also wants to remind people that you should not be getting medical advice from the internet.
“These trends on Tiktok are not proven to be safe. They are not proven therapies for sickness for, a replacement for medication or anything like that," Robinson said. "You are potentially putting yourself in harm's way, by boiling your meats or your foods in this medication, because we just don't know what the effects could be. And it certainly is our biggest fear that people would be getting more than what's intended and potentially overdosing.”
Experts suggest if your child has done this, call the Poison Control Center or your health care provider.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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