An FDA Advisory Panel Recently Revealed That Phenylephrine, An Ingredient Found In Many Over-The-Counter Decongestants, Is Ineffective In Relieving Nasal Congestion
Does anyone else suffer from a stuffy nose and sinus infections? As a person who lives with sinusitis, I was really taken aback by this news.
Earlier this month, a committee for the US Food and Drug Administration revealed that phenylephrine, an ingredient found in many over-the-counter decongestants like NyQuil and Mucinex, is ineffective at decongesting and un-stuffing our noses.
That’s not to say that all decongestant products with phenylephrine are totally ineffective! For instance, phenylephrine can be effective when mixed with other ingredients in products like nasal decongestant sprays delivered right to the source of the congestion.
However, when phenylephrine is included in oral decongestant tablets and pills, it won’t work at unclogging your nose.
So why is that?
Phenylephrine works by restricting the blood vessels in your nose. It’s found in NyQuil Severe Cold and Flu products, Theraflu, Tylenol Sinus products, etc. But surprisingly, when added to these products along with other ingredients that alleviate cold symptoms, phenylephrine is rendered useless and acts more like a placebo than anything.
Many medical professionals and scientists still say the ingredient pseudoephedrine is the best for actually helping you get rid of congestion. Pseudoephedrine also works by constricting blood vessels, but it does a much better job and is known to eliminate congestion much more effectively and faster when taken orally.
However, there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to using pseudoephedrine in over-the-counter congestion medication, as it is a main ingredient used to make methamphetamine. This is why you often have to show identification when purchasing medicines like Sudafed and can only buy a limited amount at a time.
Because of the restrictions surrounding pseudoephedrine, many companies and manufacturers decided to replace it with phenylephrine. However, after this recent announcement, drugmakers and companies may begin looking to reformulate their products, adjust their ingredients, and see if they can make their drugs without phenylephrine.
Syda Productions – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
So does this news mean you should go home and toss all of the decongestant medication you have at home? No. Just because phenylephrine isn’t as effective as we’d like it to be doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. Plus, the ingredients mixed with phenylephrine in those decongestants still have an effect.
However, from now on, you may want to consider buying decongestants with phenylephrine in different forms, like nasal decongestant sprays. If and when you can, you should also be purchasing pseudoephedrine as a more effective option.
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