Some anti-cold medications contain vasoconstrictors which pose a risk of cardiovascular accidents, especially in cases of high blood pressure or a history of cardiovascular disease.
Anti-cold drugs, available without a prescription because they are among self-medication products, nevertheless contain vasoconstrictors which narrow blood vessels and are potentially dangerous for some patients.
Actifed, Humex, Fervex day and night and Dolirhume are cold medicines that are available without a prescription and it is a problem in case of heart problems or high blood pressure according to the journal Prescrire. These best-selling anti-cold drugs would thus have no place in self-medication because their risk of adverse effects would be too great in relation to the expected benefit.
Mixtures of several molecules
Most anti-cold medicines contain paracetamol to reduce pain or fever, but it is most often combined with other active ingredients, such as decongestant vasoconstrictors, antihistamines and anti-inflammatories.
Anti-cold drugs thus mix three or even four different molecules, and this is already a problem because the more active substances are mixed, the greater the risk of adverse effects.
The risks of vasoconstrictors
But above all, certain anti-cold medicines contain vasoconstrictors which narrow the arteries and whose potential dangers raise questions about their place in self-medication.
Indeed, vasoconstrictors (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and naphazoline) can be the cause of arterial hypertension and cardiovascular or neurological accidents such as angina pectoris, convulsions, and sometimes even a cerebrovascular accident. This type of medication can also cause glaucoma attacks or urinary retention.
Doubtful profits
Also often associated in these anti-cold mixtures, antihistamines which can for their part be responsible for drowsiness at the wheel. As for anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen, the benefit compared to paracetamol would be extremely limited according to the results of a study which had been published in the British Medical Journal.
According to this study, taking ibuprofen combined with paracetamol or ibuprofen alone would be useless during colds and respiratory infections. There could even be an interference of ibuprofen with the immune defences, causing a delay in healing in more than 50% of patients. The only potential benefit would be the longer duration of action of ibuprofen’s anti-febrile effect compared to paracetamol.
Anti-cold products contain vasoconstrictors which pose a risk of cardiovascular accident. Their advertising has been banned since 2018 but they have not been withdrawn from the market. You should ask the pharmacist for advice and do not hesitate to consult the site of the Ministry of Health.
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