FDA Finally Clearing the Shelves of Old Cold Medicines

It would seem that until recently cold medicine was like the snake remedies of the wild west with just as wild rumours about their effectiveness. So much so that the FDA has produced a list of 500 different cold medicine items that must be removed from behind the counter at pharmacies.

These 500 cold medicines have been available on prescription and it was more likely that you would have been subscribed the one that gave the doctor the nicest present rather than the one that was proved to be the most effective. The reason that they are being removed is that it is now necessary to prove the effectiveness of a cold medicine before it can be offered on prescription.

There have been various claims made against these products, most of them minor, such as irritability and drowsiness but there is a worry that there could be more serious side effects. Some products also say specifically that they are safe for children eventhough they contain ingredients that the FDA specifically warns that children should not have. There are also worries over some products that claim to provide a time release dosage, something that is very difficult to manufacturer with consistency and can lead to high doses being given in a short space of time.

None of the products were described as being household names though you may have encountered some of them. It was also pointed out that many of these cold medicines had long been discontinued as they were first released onto the market prior to a change in the law in 1962.

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