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FDA says decongestant in many cold medicines doesn't work. So what does? (apnews.com)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Summary

The FDA has proposed phasing out oral phenylephrine, a common decongestant in cold medicines like Sudafed PE and DayQuil, after studies showed it is no more effective than a placebo.

The drug, ineffective when swallowed due to breakdown in the stomach, remains usable in nasal sprays.

Alternatives include pseudoephedrine, nasal sprays, and steroid treatments like Flonase.

The regulatory process to remove phenylephrine could take over a year, but experts argue removing ineffective options will help consumers choose better remedies for congestion. Drugmakers are expected to challenge the proposal.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

PE pills have never worked for anyone

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They work great for me! Ex-girlfriend swore by them and convinced me to try them years ago. It's been my go to ever since.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You can thank to phenylephrine's placebo effect for your improvements:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19230461/

Note: Some people do feel better on placebos than on nothing. It's a quark of the human brain. So, if it's working for you, don't switch. Or, maybe try pseudoephedrine and feel even better...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Apologies, I misunderstood PE as the initialism for pseudoephedrine. I agree about phenylephrine being ineffective. I never use it.