Summary
The FDA has proposed removing oral phenylephrine, a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold medicines like NyQuil and Sudafed, due to evidence that it is ineffective as a nasal decongestant.
The proposal follows a unanimous vote by FDA advisers last year, and recent studies showing less than 1% of the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream when taken orally.
The public comment period ends on May 7, after which the FDA may finalize the ban.
Good. Now do something about homeopathy. I’m so sick of having to explain to people that homeopathy is not medicine in any shape or form. It’s not even a home remedy. And it sits right next to actual medicine so people might accidentally buy it unwittingly.
This was so infuriating during covid as it was hard to find children’s cold medicine already and half the time you’d see a couple bottles of “Children’s cold and flu” on the shelf, buy it, and get home before you notice “homeopathic” written in 3pt font along the bottom of the bottle. Shit’s completely useless.
I’ve gotten into the habit of checking active ingredients after almost accidentally buying something homeopathic that was immediately adjacent the thing I actually meant to grab.
The problem is, unlike homeopathy, this drug was ineffective for what it was approved for while actually causing side effects. At least the water doesn’t do anything.
Fucking finally.
These products will mysteriously re-appear after inauguration.
Is this the shit they started using when they started using the original stuff to make meth?
If you want some real solid advice: never buy the nasal spray that has phenylephrine. It may well be one of the most addictive substances man has ever made.
The pills do absolutely nothing. About once or twice a year I have to get the good stuff from the pharmacy, but I’ve refused to even buy the new stuff.
I can’t help but feel like they could just put something in the regular Sudafed to make it not methy, but I took physics and not chemistry so idk.
I can’t help but feel like they could just put something in the regular Sudafed to make it not methy
Sudafed is not “methy”, but it can be used to make meth
That’s what I meant by methy.
What do I use then? I’m already addicted to Oxymetazoline (Afrin) and I need a way out. I’ve tried Propylhexedrine (Benzedrex) but it works for all of 30 seconds before I’m congested again. Even quitting cold turkey didn’t work. I went an entire year without any nasal spray, suffered through the rebound congestion for over a month and was in the clear for awhile… Until the congestion came back. I don’t know what to do.
I swear by this stuff and saline mist. You can use it as much as you want. It’s the miracle nobody is willing to try.
The newer allergy medicine is good, but I think you have to take it for a couple of months before you really notice it. I like the generic Allegra from Costco.
And get some real Sudafed from the pharmacy. I do the generic 12 hour and split them in half (helps you from feeling queasy).
Oooo! Do Guaifenesin next! That also has basically no evidence of effectiveness despite being on the market for ages.
That I didn’t know. Does that mean that the benefit from it just comes from drinking the insane amount of water it recommends?
Guaifenesin works very very well for me as an expectorant.
Nobody is taking Nyquil to decongest, they’re taking it to pass the fuck out.
I like in the article how it says they’ll get some time to reformulate, but if it doesn’t work, they could just turn off the widget inserting it and bobs your uncle!
