On the cusp of a lovely Summer Cold and dosing myself up nicely with a mixture of Lemsip (other brands are available), Cold & Flu Capsules, Beef Monster Munch and some TV Catch-up…. I happened to read the little leaflet thingy which gave a warning about drowsiness and not using machinery etc. (note: this was on the capsules not the monster munch!).

Later in the week whilst working on a policy for Drugs and Alcohol at Work I did a bit of research about over the counter medication. It seems that the most common types of medicine which cause drowsiness are: Anti-Depressants, Beta Blockers, and Common Cold Remedies. I sort of knew about the first two but feel it’s a bit frightening that we (or maybe just me) think that cold remedies are sort of something and nothing (I often think they don’t really do anything i.e. there’s nothing in them, but they make me feel like I am putting up a fight!!).

What to do …..

  1. Introduce a driving at work policy and a machinery operation policy; clearly informing your Employees to read the little leaflets in ANY medication and to inform you of warnings in relation to their work.
  2. Add a suitable note on to Safe Systems of Work.

I think I’ll just stick to Monster Munch and Tea!