sick again...

After looking like I was gonna be able to hold out and survive through Christmas without getting sick, I lost the battle and got sick this week. Probably the blame can be laid at the feet of the kid who coughed on me when I was walking in the hallway. Now I'm reluctantly joining the ranks of my nose-blowing students. The imminent feeling of unease that always comes before a cold hit home on Wednesday when I was grading papers after the inservice, so I left as soon as I could. On Thursday, I was irritated by almost everything. Today I tried to go to school, but as soon as I got there, I realized it was a mistake.

Now I'm sitting here in my chair sniffling, and I saw this article. It reminded me of an observation I had made last time I was sick...

Oh Phenylephrine, I have a love/hate relationship with thee. I have been disgruntled ever since meth-addicts ensured the disappearance of widely available OTC Sudafed. Then all of the sudden, I noticed that everything was reformulated with Phenylephrine, which unfortunately appears to be a lot more expensive than its forbidden counterpart.

Many people claim that "over-the-counter cold medicines made with phenylephrine appear effective for relieving nasal congestion in adults...," but for me, the jury's still out. Some researchers seem to think that Phenylephrine doesn't work, but the FDA claims that the "...available data was "supportive" of the effectiveness of phenylephrine at 10 milligrams, the dose sold over the counter". I'm not so convinced of its effectiveness; based on my own experiences, I'd say the results have been mixed bag. Phenylephrine does appear to work, at least somewhat, but is nowhere near as effective as good ol' Sudafed. Strictly from an aesthetic stance, I find the new stuff to be overly bulky (at least in pill form, those suckers are huge), a bit harder on the wallet, and frankly it doesn't seem to work as well for me. Worse still, it makes me feel sick to my stomach if I take the full recommended dose (10mg), yet won't work if I take a half dose (5mg). I don't recall ever having this problem with Sudafed.

The FDA is considering recommending only adult use of phenylephrine. I found this amusing after seeing a news article that claimed that "a variety of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to children under 6 because evidence of a benefit is lacking". It looks like grandma was right-we should probably just stick with the brandy and tea after all.

US panel says data support cold medicines
Reuters
Friday December 14 2007