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from the if-it-doesn't-work-why-is-it-popular dept.
Back before methamphetamine cooks started buying up non-prescription decongestants to brew crank, all of us were able to buy effective decongestants right off the store shelf without a problem. Now David DiSalvo writes at Forbes that to fill the store-shelf void, drug companies substituted the already-FDA approved ingredient phenylephrine for pseudoephedrine but the oral decongestant phenylephrine simply doesn't work at the FDA-approved amount found in popular non-prescription brands, and it may not even work at much higher doses.
Researchers at the University of Florida are asking the FDA to remove oral phenylephrine from the market. "We think the evidence supports that phenylephrine's status as a safe and effective over-the-counter product should be changed," says Randy Hatton. "We are looking out for the consumer, and he or she needs to know that science says that oral phenylephrine does not work for the majority of people."
In 1976, the FDA deemed a 10 milligram oral dose of phenylephrine safe and effective at relieving congestion, making it possible for companies to use the ingredient without conducting studies. But Leslie Hendeles and Hatton say phenylephrine does not effectively relieve nasal stuffiness at this dose. They say the FDA cited four tests demonstrating efficacy at the 10 milligram dose, two of which were unpublished and sponsored by drug manufacturers. In contrast, the FDA cited six tests demonstrating no significant difference between phenylephrine and placebo. Hendeles said a higher dose may work, but no research has been published regarding safety at higher doses. "They need to do a dose-response study to determine at what higher dose they get both efficacy and safety," says Hendeles adding that until then "consumers should go that extra step and get it (pseudoephedrine) from behind the counter."
(Score: 2) by AndyTheAbsurd on Tuesday October 27 2015, @04:44PM
Funnny - acetaminophen works okay for me (it doesn't seem to actually make the pain any less, it just allows me to ignore it more easily), while naproxen sodium (Aleve in the US) might as well be a placebo.
Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @05:01PM
Some people just have built-in tolerances to certain things: for me aspirin and acetaminophen hardly help, but naproxen sodium works very well. Ibuprofen also works but I avoid it because sometimes even with food in my stomach just one pill will give me nausea and make me want the headache back instead.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @05:49PM
i thought too much acetaminophen (and especially in conjuction with other toxins) can cause liver failure.
Even if it does not work as a pain reliever, it seems to work well as a low-dose poison. There are many documented cases of unintentional poisonings and liver failures/deaths due to mixing and matching acetaminophen. Perhaps people take more pain reliever after finding the acetaminophen doesn't work?
Placebo has its place, but not everyone has a placebo effect every time. And none of the liver failures were due to their expecting it to happen.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday October 27 2015, @05:55PM
Funnny - acetaminophen works okay for me (it doesn't seem to actually make the pain any less, it just allows me to ignore it more easily), while naproxen sodium (Aleve in the US) might as well be a placebo.
It depends on the cause of the pain, in a lot of cases. Naproxen and other NSAIDS (non-steroid-anti-inflammatory drugs) reduce swelling. So, they work well on thing like muscle and dental pain where the pain is caused by inflammation (duh).
Acetaminophen blocks an enzyme that helps your body transmit pain signals. It doesn't reduce swelling. So, it works on things like headaches (that aren't caused by inflammation).
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday October 27 2015, @10:50PM
Yeah that is why ibuprofen works well for me. My usual cause of pain is gout, which is swelling in the joints not unlike arthritis.
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