The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is likely no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts.
Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a professor in the UCSF Health Division of Infectious Diseases, speaks with LiveNOW's Andrew Craft about tri-demic concerns regarding COVID-19, RSV and the flu. Dr. Chin-Hong also speaks about the shortage of children's medications across the U.S., and what parents can do if they are in need of medicine that they cannot find.
If the FDA follows through on the panel’s recommendations, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and other drugmakers could be required to pull their oral medications containing phenylephrine from store shelves. That would likely force consumers to switch to the behind-the-counter pills or to nasal sprays and drops that contain phenylephrine, which are not under review.
"I think there’s a safety issue there," said Dr. Paul Pisaric of Archwell Health in Oklahoma. "I think this is a done deal as far as I’m concerned. It doesn’t work." This time, the 16 members of the FDA panel unanimously agreed that current evidence doesn't show a benefit for the drug. Additionally, three larger, rigorously conducted studies published since 2016 showed no difference between phenylephrine medications and placebos for relieving congestion. Those studies were conducted by Merck and Johnson & Johnson and enrolled hundreds of patients.
. It has been sold in various forms for more than 75 years, predating the agency's own regulations on drug effectiveness."Any time a product has been on the market that long, it’s human nature to make assumptions about what we think we know about the product," said Dr. Theresa Michele, who leads the FDA’s office of nonprescription drugs.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayGovernment advisers say the leading decongestant used by millions of Americans to treat nasal congestion doesn't actually work.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayGovernment advisers say the leading decongestant used by millions of Americans to treat nasal congestion doesn't actually work.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayGovernment advisers say the leading decongestant used by millions of Americans to treat nasal congestion doesn't actually work.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayGovernment advisors say a leading medication used by millions of Americans to treat nasal congestion doesn't actually work.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayGovernment advisers say the leading decongestant used by millions of Americans to treat nasal congestion doesn't actually work.
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Popular nasal decongestant doesn't actually relieve congestion, FDA experts sayThe leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is likely no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient.
Read more »