Stocking up for cold and flu season? On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration reported that oral phenylephrine is not an effective remedy for stuffy noses. This ingredient is used in medicines like Lemsip, Beechams, and Sudafed and is supposed to work by reducing swelling of blood vessels in nasal passages. “We are taking this next step in the process to propose removing oral phenylephrine because it is not effective as a nasal decongestant,” Director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Dr. Patrizia Cavassoni said. The decision is not yet final, so American stores can still stock remedies that contain the drug for the time being. (Sky News)
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