STAT October 5, 2023
As the temperatures cool, the season of colds, flu, and now Covid-19 is heating up. If you’re like many people, you’ve probably stocked up on over-the-counter cold medicine to help thwart the cough and runny nose circulating this time of year.
But you might be questioning your arsenal right now. An FDA advisory panel just concluded that a very common decongestant called phenylephrine is not effective when taken orally. Phenylephrine is found in everything from some Sudafed products (namely, those not behind the counter) to Dayquil.
The FDA’s document reviewing evidence for the efficacy of phenylephrine suggests it is not effective compared with placebo. But this is different from saying that phenylephrine is not effective, per se. If you’ve ever...
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