Vasoconstrictors help decongest the nose. Serious side effects have already been observed, including heart attacks or strokes.
Be careful if you have a cold! Oral vasoconstrictors, such as Actifed cold, Humex cold or Nurofen cold, can cause serious side effects. The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) publishes a document for pharmacists for better sales management.
[#Vasoconstricteur] Serious cases of cardiovascular or neurological adverse effects are reported
To promote their proper use, we publish
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????https://t.co/itC1jJMBCH pic.twitter.com/dSCFGhyZUi—ANSM (@ansm) January 30, 2020
Drugs to be dispensed with caution
“The persistence of cases of rare but serious adverse effects, in particular myocardial infarction and ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident, as well as significant misuse of vasoconstrictors, led the ANSM to draw up these information documents”, specifies the published text. Oral vasoconstrictors are reserved for people over 15 years of age with no contraindications. They are not recommended, for example, for people who have suffered a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), suffering from severe high blood pressure, being breastfeeding, etc. The ANSM notes side effects such as strokes, convulsions, skin reactions or even heart attacks.
The list of drugs concerned. Source: ANSM
Patience and hygiene: the main remedies
Counseling is also provided to patients. The ANSM recalls that a cold heals spontaneously in 7 to 10 days without treatment. Washing solutions should be used to moisten the nose, drink enough, ventilate the rooms and elevate the head at night. Hygiene measures should be put in place when the first symptoms appear. If they are ineffective, treatment with a vasoconstrictor can be considered. In any case, these drugs should not be taken for more than 5 days and if symptoms continue or worsen, a doctor should be consulted. The common cold is the most common viral infection in France. Each year, it is the subject of more than 10 million consultations.
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