Over-the-counter cold medicines are actually very harmful to our health. Explanations.
- To avoid catching a cold, avoid air conditioners, which dehumidify the air and dry out the nasal mucous membranes.
- Smoking or breathing in other people’s smoke increases the risk of getting a cold.
Seven to ten days… That’s how long it takes for a cold to heal naturally. But nowadays, more and more people don’t have the patience to wait… And this, especially since drugs exist to treat it in five days maximum: Rhinadvil, Actifed, Humex, etc. All of these “miracle” treatments are available without a prescription. But, for several years, they have also been singled out by part of the scientific community and health authorities. Indeed, these cachets are suspected of having harmful effects for the body, some of which are very serious such as cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). This Friday, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) published a communicated to remind them of their dangerousness.
Potential adverse effects regardless of dose or duration of treatment
In its document, the ANSM lists the risks incurred by consumers of vasoconstrictor, the name given to drugs that aim to decongest the nose. First of all, from a cardiac point of view, strokes, cardiac disorders such as myocardial infarction or even an increase in blood pressure have been observed in a certain number of patients who took these treatments for the common cold. Some also suffered from convulsions, inflammation of the colon or even serious skin reactions – accompanied by fevers – such as redness that spread to the whole body and pustules. Other patients have experienced sudden visual impairment due to decreased blood flow to the eyes. Finally, the last side effect of these treatments: psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, agitation, behavioral disorders, hallucinations, insomnia, manic symptoms, etc. “These side effects can occur regardless of the dose and duration of treatment”, warns the ANSM, recalling that in the event of symptoms, it is obviously necessary to consult your general practitioner as soon as possible.
A list of dangerous drugs
But are all these treatments harmful? How to recognize harmful drugs? To help patients, the ANSM has published a list of the main treatments concerned: Actifed Lp Allergic Rhinitis, Actifed Cold, Actifed Cold Day and Night, Dolirhume Paracetamol and Pseudoephedrine, Dolirhumepro Paracetamol Pseudoephedrine and Doxylamine, Humex Cold, Nurofen Cold, Rhinadvil Cold Ibuprofen/ Pseudoephedrine, Rhinadvilcaps Cold Ibuprofen/ Pseudoephedrine and finally Rhinureflex Rhumagrip. If in doubt, do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist for advice. For example, do not take it for more than five days, do not combine it with another treatment containing another vasoconstrictor or certain drugs such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Finally, the last rules which absolutely must not be derogated from: these treatments are prohibited for children under the age of 15 as well as for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Use wash sprays instead of drugs
The contraindications of these anti-cold drugs are therefore numerous… Without using them, a cold will last between a week and 10 days. During this period, other solutions exist to relieve the symptoms. The first reflex to have is to moisten the inside of your nose with physiological serum, thermal water sprays or even sea water. These adapted washing liquids decongest the infected area and thus allow you to breathe better . The ideal is then to sleep with your head elevated and to drink enough, that is to say at least one and a half liters of water per day. Finally, and especially in winter, you must regularly ventilate your home to eliminate the virus present in the air, about three times 10 minutes a day. At home, it is best to maintain a temperature of around 20 degrees, so that the change in temperature is not too sudden when you go out.
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