Allergic reactions such as a rash or itching. Stop using this medicine and get medical advice if you think you've had an allergic reaction to it. Women who are breastfeeding. (It's not known if phenylephrine passes into breast milk, or its effect on a nursing infant. When taken by mouth, decongestants such as phenylephrine can also temporarily decrease the production of breast milk with just one or two doses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.) Concomitant use of phenylephrine hydrochloride may cause an increased risk of ergotism (see Warnings and Precautions). Long-term or regular use of paracetamol may increase the anti-blood-clotting effect of warfarin and other anticoagulant medicines, leading to an increased risk of bleeding. This effect does not occur with occasional pain-killing doses. Other medicines containing the same active ingredients Unfortunately, there aren't so many own-brand or generic versions of these around, so you'll usually have to pay a premium for them.

Patients should be advised not to take other paracetamol-containing or other cold, flu or decongestant products concurrently. Medical advice should be sought if symptoms worsen, persist for more than 7 days, or are accompanied by high fever, skin rash or persistent headache. Paracetamol is a simple painkilling medicine used to relieve mild to moderate pain and fever. Despite its widespread use for over 100 years, we still don't fully understand how paracetamol works to relieve pain and reduce fever. However, it is now thought that it works by reducing the production of prostaglandins in the brain and spinal cord.

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The combination of active ingredients in Beechams powders capsules helps to relieve the symptoms of colds and flu. How do I take it? Do not take with any other paracetamol-containing products. Do not take with other flu, cold or decongestant products. Phenylephrine overdosage is likely to result in effects similar to those listed under advserse reactions. Additional symptoms may include hypertension and possibly reflux bradycardia. In severe cases confusion, hallucinations, seizures and arrhythmias may occur. However the amount required to produce serious phenylephrine toxicity would be greater than required to cause paracetamol- related toxicity. Do not take with any other paracetamol containing products or with any other flu, cold or decongestant products.

Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.Overdose of caffeine may result in epigastric pain, vomiting, diurese, tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia, CNS stimulation (insomnia, restlessness, excitement, agitation, jitteriness, tremors and convulsions).

If you take Beechams flu plus caplets in the hour before or the six hours after taking colestyramine, the paracetamol is likely to be less effective. This is because colestyramine reduces the absorption of paracetamol from the gut. It is thought paracetamol reduces fever by affecting an area of the brain that regulates our body temperature (the hypothalamic heat-regulating center). The paracetamol in Beechams powders capsules helps relieve aches, pains, sore throats and fever associated with colds and flu. We looked at prices for generic or supermarket own-brands and big brand max strength cold and flu tablets with the exact same active ingredients and dose. Contains paracetamol. Do not take with other flu, cold or decongestant products. Do not take anything else containing paracetamol while taking this medicine. Do not take more medicine than the label tells you to. If you do not get better, talk to your doctor. Seek immediate medical advice if you take too much of this medicine even if you feel well. Liver damage is possible in adults who have taken 10g or more of paracetamol. Ingestion of 5g or more of paracetamol may lead to liver damage if the patient has risk factors (see below).You could get the same effect more cheaply by taking a painkiller and drinking a cup of tea or coffee, especially as the evidence is weak for the decongestant element (see more on decongestants below). Find out more about which painkiller to choose for different types of aches and pains in our full painkillers guide