Took Counter Sleep Aids That Contained Diphenhydramine. Will It Cause Me Fail In Drug Screen Test?

Posted on Thu, 10 Oct 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 Answered on

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I am concerned as I took some over the counter sleep aids as I have been having trouble sleeping. These contained Diphenhydramine HCI. I have a drug screen tomorrow. Will this cause me to fail?

Answered by Dr. Ganesh Sanap (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
not likely to get detected in screening.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, welcome and thanks for writing in.
I have gone through your details. First I want assure there is no need to worry.
Diphenhydramine is one of the antihistamine. It is used as decongestant in sinusitis and rhinitis. It has mild side effects as sedation. It doesn't belong to sedative group of drugs. So it is not included in drug screening list.
It doesn't have drug abuse properties. So don't worry. Just avoid any dose before 24 hrs.
Otherwise there is no issue to concern about.

Hope I have answered your query. Any further doubts are welcome.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar