Decongestants: Phenylephrine HCI Versus Pseudoephedrine HCI

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Will - 09 Dec 2006 21:12 GMT

Is there any major difference in the behavior, effectiveness, or side
effects of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride versus Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride?
It's fairly hard to find over the counter medications that use these drugs
as their *ONLY* active ingredient. Most drugs combine these with
antihistamines, which I definitely do not want.

Is there a difference in dosing of these drugs? The Phenylephrine I found
only comes in 10 mg per pill, whereas the Pseudoephredine is a 30 mg pill.

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Will

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Greg Hansen - 10 Dec 2006 15:01 GMT

> Is there any major difference in the behavior, effectiveness, or side
> effects of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride versus Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Is there a difference in dosing of these drugs? The Phenylephrine I found
> only comes in 10 mg per pill, whereas the Pseudoephredine is a 30 mg pill.

Not a licensed pharmacist, but according to a recent article in the
newspaper, 10 mg of phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo.
25 mg might work ("there is some evidence", I believe the words were),
but I don't know about side effects at that kind of dose.

I haven't looked for straight phenylephrine. But you can get straight
pseudophed in the red Sudafed box, or in store brands like Wal-phed.

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jason.d.martinez@gmail.com - 11 Dec 2006 13:25 GMT

Finding these single ingredients shouldn't pose a problem.
Pseudoephedrine is going to be tough to find now that laws have passed
requires its sale to be documented. Everything is switching to
phenylephrine.....so the old Sudafed that had regular
pseudoephedrine....is now Sudafed PE. these are decongestants by the
way - not antihistamines. There are many products that combine the two
(antihistamine and a decongestant) for example Claritin-D. things that
are antihistamines will dry up your secretions.....whereas a
decongestant breaks up any congestion you may have and will "make your
nose run". just stop in any local pharmacy and ask the pharmacist - we
are happy to help you.

good luck

> > Is there any major difference in the behavior, effectiveness, or side
> > effects of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride versus Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride?
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> I haven't looked for straight phenylephrine. But you can get straight
> pseudophed in the red Sudafed box, or in store brands like Wal-phed.

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Jason - 11 Dec 2006 13:31 GMT

Finding these single ingredients shouldn't pose a problem.
Pseudoephedrine is going to be tough to find now that laws have passed
requiring its sale to be documented. Everything is switching to
phenylephrine.....so the old Sudafed that had regular
pseudoephedrine....is now Sudafed PE. There are many products that
combine the two
(antihistamine and a decongestant) for example Claritin-D. So basically
- look for something without the D. things that are antihistamines will
dry up your secretions.....whereas a
decongestant breaks up any congestion you may have and will "make your
nose run". Just a side note - there are some different drugs to be
using if you have high blood pressure. Stop in any local pharmacy and
ask the pharmacist - more than happy to help.

good luck

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Will - 12 Dec 2006 00:49 GMT

> > Is there any major difference in the behavior, effectiveness, or side
> > effects of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride versus Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride?
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> 25 mg might work ("there is some evidence", I believe the words were),
> but I don't know about side effects at that kind of dose.

Did the newspaper say anything about the relative effectiveness of
Phenylephrine HCI versus Pseudoephedrine HCI?

I've taken the latter in two 30 mg pills (60 mg total), it's there is no
Placebo effect there...it does a remarkable job of clearing the sinus, and
the stimulative effect is minimal. It doesn't have the awful rebound
effect that antihistamine has.

To the other poster: yes of course I do realize that the drugs I'm
inquiring about are decongestants and not antihistamines. That was the
whole point: I wanted to use a drug that was a pure decongestant and did
not mix in antihistamines.

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Will

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Greg Hansen - 12 Dec 2006 14:57 GMT

>>>Is there any major difference in the behavior, effectiveness, or side
>>>effects of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride versus Pseudoephedrine
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> Did the newspaper say anything about the relative effectiveness of
> Phenylephrine HCI versus Pseudoephedrine HCI?

Yes, they said that in the usual dosages pseudoephedrine works and
phenylephrine doesn't.

> I've taken the latter in two 30 mg pills (60 mg total), it's there is no
> Placebo effect there...it does a remarkable job of clearing the sinus, and
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> whole point: I wanted to use a drug that was a pure decongestant and did
> not mix in antihistamines.

I know why I'd want to take a decongestant when I have a cold-- to
decongest. But what is the antihistamine for? I thought those were for
allergies and itching.

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Eli C. Yoder, R.Ph. - 12 Dec 2006 16:30 GMT

> I know why I'd want to take a decongestant when I have a cold-- to
> decongest. But what is the antihistamine for? I thought those were for
> allergies and itching.

Antihistamines are more or less considered drying agents. Decongestants
are a different bear altogether. Caution should be used with either if a
patient has a serious hypertensive condition.

PSE is easily available from behind the counter. Also don't judge PE too
harshly based on an newspaper article. We sell a bunch of it and I
haven't heard a great many complaints.

Eli

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Will - 12 Dec 2006 18:42 GMT

> PSE is easily available from behind the counter. Also don't judge PE too
> harshly based on an newspaper article. We sell a bunch of it and I
> haven't heard a great many complaints.

Are PSE and PE supposed to be used in the same doses? What is the relative
dose of one to get the same effect as the other, approximately?

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Will

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Eli C. Yoder, R.Ph. - 12 Dec 2006 22:38 GMT

>> PSE is easily available from behind the counter. Also don't judge PE too
>> harshly based on an newspaper article. We sell a bunch of it and I
>> haven't heard a great many complaints.
>
> Are PSE and PE supposed to be used in the same doses? What is the relative
> dose of one to get the same effect as the other, approximately?

The PE packaging recommends a max dose of one 10mg tab every four hrs.
Adhere to the directions and precautions contained within the packaging
labeling and insert. Decongestants are not for everybody.

As far as therapeutic equivalence and equivalent dose are concerned, you
may find something on the FDA's web site. I don't have any such data in
front of me.

Eli

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nemo_357@hotmail.com - 26 Dec 2006 17:49 GMT

> As far as therapeutic equivalence and equivalent dose are concerned, you
> may find something on the FDA's web site. I don't have any such data in
> front of me.

Sorry about posting through google but I am too cheap to purchase a
decent news feed, :)

The following is from the BMJ: The author is R Eccles.
"There is little if any clinical support for the efficacy of
phenylephrine as a nasal decongestant[4] and since the medicine is
subject to gut wall metabolism its absorption is erratic [5]. In
contrast the efficacy of pseudoephedrine as a nasal decongestant is
much stronger and its absorption from the gut is uncomplicated [6]. It
is to be hoped that the UK regulatory authorities do not follow the US
example and restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine as it is the larger
scale illicit laboratories that need to be targeted rather than the
public sale of pseudoephedrine [3]."
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/332/7538/382-b

[4] Eccles R. Nasal airflow and decongestants. In: Naclerio RM, Durham
SR, Mygind N, eds. Rhinitis Mechanisms and management. New York: Marcel
Dekker 1999:291-312.

[5] Kanfer I, Dowse R, Vuma V. Pharmacokinetics of oral decongestants.
Pharmacotherapy. 1993;6:116S-28S.

[6] Eccles R, Jawad MS, Jawad SS, Angello JT, Druce HM. Efficacy and
safety of single and multiple doses of pseudoephedrine in the treatment
of nasal congestion associated with common cold. Am J Rhinol. 2005
Jan-Feb;19(1): 25-31.

Based on some other data found in a few med line searches, I would tend
to agree with the author.

Nick Coblio
The email address is simply a spam trap. The best way to contact me
would be via coblio at eng dot usf dot edu.

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