Cold Medicine

[Palmpilot]

I don't take cold medicine when I fly, but as a musician, I sometimes feel the need for rehearsals or concerts. The ones I've seen in drug stores lately seem to throw in everything but the kitchen sink, in an effort to deal with every possible symptom that a person might have. Are there any non-prescription medicines available that just deal with sniffles and sneezing, and leave out all the other stuff?

 

[TMetzinger]

Yes, you need to look carefully. You can find JUST pseudoepinephrine (decongestant) or JUST antihistamine (benadryl, claritin) in most drug stores. Don't be shy about asking the pharmacist.

I'm like you, if all I've got is a stuffy head, I just want plain old Sudafed, no cough supressant, no expectorant, no fever reducer, etc.

 

[bbchien]

Yes, you need to look carefully. You can find JUST pseudoepinephrine (decongestant)

He meant pseudoephedrine.....

or JUST antihistamine (benadryl, claritin) in most drug stores. Don't be shy about asking the pharmacist.

Allegra-d is what you want. Nondrowsy, permitted by FAA, and 24 hour tabs are common, and are about $.75 per day.

I'm like you, if all I've got is a stuffy head, I just want plain old Sudafed, no cough supressant, no expectorant, no fever reducer, etc.

 

[Palmpilot]

Thanks guys. Another question: The purpose of a decongestant sounds clear enough, but what does an antihistamine do?

 

[spinfire]

An antihistamine is a drug which inhibits the itchy sensations, runny nose and watery eyes typical of an allergic reaction. Many also induce drowsiness, for example, diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or cetirizine (Zyrtec).

Dr. Bruce, any opinions on loratadine (Claritin) vs Allegra? Supposedly it is OK and is available OTC unlike Allegra.

I think in any case you're always supposed to do a 48 hour ground test for possible side effects prior to taking flight. Pseudoephedrine in particular is a stimulant which could cause some nervousness/rapid heart rate side effects in some individuals.

 

[flyingron]

Loratadine in the 10mg (OTC) dose is fine with similar provisions as Allegara in that you've had no untoward side effects.

By the way Dan, you're wrong Fexofenadine (Allegra). It's been available OTC both in the brand name and generic form since last March. I buy a bottle of the generic stuff from Costco. It's a bit more pricy than the generic loratadine but it works better for me.

 

[TMetzinger]

He meant pseudoephedrine

Yes, I did.

 

[spinfire]

Loratadine in the 10mg (OTC) dose is fine with similar provisions as Allegara in that you've had no untoward side effects.

By the way Dan, you're wrong Fexofenadine (Allegra). It's been available OTC both in the brand name and generic form since last March. I buy a bottle of the generic stuff from Costco. It's a bit more pricy than the generic loratadine but it works better for me.

Ah, yes, you are correct. Good to know. That was a relatively recent change and I don't use allergy meds that often but still buy the nice big cheap generic bottles so I haven't purchased them since March. I had an Allegra prescription briefly many years ago so maybe I'll give it a try again versus Loratadine. Loratadine works pretty well for me but when the leaf mold really hits hard sometimes I need to go to benadryl which is obviously NOT safe to combine with flying.


I saw a study which indicated benadryl can have driving impairment effects equivalent to a BAC of 0.1!

 

[TMetzinger]

Funny. Benadryl does NOT make me drowsy, but it knocks my wife out. My daughter isn't noticibly affected by it either.

Usual advice - always hangar fly an OTC for a couple of days before you go flying with it onboard. I had a pretty uncomfortable reaction to an OTC decongestant after they semi-criminalized the "real" pseudoephedrine, so now I buy the "Good" stuff even though it means showing ID and probably being entered into a "potential methorist" (meth+terrorist) database somewhere.

 

[bbchien]

Tim, if I gave you a benadryl and make you do a Cogscreen you would be amazed at how badly you do. You would probalby be disqualified.

The self diagnositc apparatus is directly attacked by benadryl. It''s like hypoxia. You feel just FINE.

As for Loratidine vs. Fexofenadine, it's just what works for you, and price

 

[spinfire]

Usual advice - always hangar fly an OTC for a couple of days before you go flying with it onboard. I had a pretty uncomfortable reaction to an OTC decongestant after they semi-criminalized the "real" pseudoephedrine, so now I buy the "Good" stuff even though it means showing ID and probably being entered into a "potential methorist" (meth+terrorist) database somewhere.

I assume you're talking about phenylephrine. What was your bad reaction? It made me puke my guts up. I stick to the good stuff now so I'm on the methorist list too.