The most popular nasal decongestant on U.S. pharmacy shelves may not be there much longer. The Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to phase out phenylephrine, the key ingredient some cold and allergy pills.

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.

    • TheLoneMinon@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      16 hours ago

      Oh damn well today I learned. A quick Google said it was banned in the US, but it was their AI summary and I took it at face value. That’s on me.

      • TheLoneMinon@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        16 hours ago

        So looking into it further, it looks like the active ingredient is Propylhexedrine. Is this the same thing or is the acid what turns it into Benzadrine?