Sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes… To combat these common symptoms at this time of year, those who were tempted to swallow a tablet of Humex, RhinAdvil or another Dolirhume, after a visit to the neighborhood pharmacy , will have to review their habits.
From now on, ” a prescription must be presented to obtain these medications in a pharmacy.”indicated the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). In its list of anti-cold products with compulsory prescription, accompanied by a “aprior and systematic medical examination”the health authority has placed Actifed cold, Actifed cold day and night, Dolirhume, Dolirhumepro, Humex cold, Nurofen cold, RhinAdvil cold and RhinAdvilcaps cold.
Headaches, nausea, visual disturbances…
All have in common that they are “oral vasoconstrictors containing pseudoephedrine”a molecule which acts on blood vessels and, as such, considered dangerous. Beyond various side effects, two particularly acute risks have been identified by the ANSM: “Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome.”
Each time, the symptoms “include sudden and severe headache or thunderclap headache, nausea, vomiting, confusion, seizures and/or visual disturbances.”
Result, “the possibility of obtaining these medications without medical advice poses too great a risk to patients.”
The ANSM verdict did not really create any surprises within island pharmacies. It is rather in line with expectations. “For years we have been alerted to the possible effects of pseudoephedrine. When we had a request regarding one of these products, we usually referred the patient to something else”indicates Sandrine Leandri, pharmacist in Ajaccio. She assures us, Humex, Rhinadvil and other specialties of the kind, “even over the counter, could not be dispensed without advice from the pharmacist and merited questioning“.
“I asked the patient if he suffered from hypertension”
In the pharmacy, the boxes were also always put away “behind the counter, out of reach of people.
A point of view shared by Paule Duchaud-Lucchini, also a pharmacist in the imperial city. “I asked the patient, for example, if he suffered from hypertension, if he had a history of stroke.”she notes.
And, when the spontaneous request concerned a person other than the one the pharmacists had in front of them, they ensured “not to give the box”.
Over time, however, cold sufferers became less fond of freely available cold medications but were banned from advertising in 2018. “Overall, they were pretty well informed about possible complications. And then they moved on to other remedies“, note the pharmacists.
There is no shortage of solutions, such as inhalations, homeopathy, herbal medicine. It is known, “anything natural works well to relieve the symptoms of a common cold.”
So much so that today, stocks of oral vasoconstrictors have melted. In pharmacies, there remains “just a few boxes”for two or three references.
Very low reserves which correspond to “prescriptions from doctors, non-existent or almost non-existent“.
