The coroner's office in Quebec is urging people to pay attention to the recommended dosages on over-the-counter medications, after a man died from consuming a volatile mix of cold and flu drugs.

Yvan Houle, 49, died in March 2007 while battling a bad cold. Police found him dead in his Quebec City home after he failed to show up for work.

An autopsy revealed Houle had ingested a toxic combination of decongestant pills and cough syrup that left significant amounts of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, dextromethorphan and guaifenesin in his system, coroner Andrée Kronstrom said in a report released Tuesday in Quebec City.

The mix — including twice the recommended dosage of pseudoephedrine — proved deadly. "Pseudoephedrine has an effect on the heart and some other products have an effect on the breathing centres," Kronstrom told CBC News.

Quebec's Health Department should increase efforts to draw public attention to the potential danger presented by over-the-counter medications, she said.

People may take liberties with recommended dosages when they shouldn't, Kronstrom said.

She warned people to read labels and consult a pharmacist, even if the cold and flu medication can be bought without a prescription.

With files from the Canadian Press