What Are The Active Ingredients In Your Cough and Cold Medications?

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 10 Nov 2004 - 14:00 PDT

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Pharmacist Advises Consumers to Learn About the Active Ingredients in Cough and Cold Medications to Ensure Proper Treatment of Symptoms

As the weather gets colder and the sniffles progress into coughs, colds or flu, consumers flock to their local pharmacies to pick up over-the-counter (OTC) remedies.

Unfortunately, most shoppers have a hard time deciding which medication they should choose to ensure proper treatment of their symptoms. According to a recent survey by Harris Interactive for the Perrigo Company, fewer than 40 percent of consumers are familiar with the most common active ingredients in cough, cold and flu remedies and only 43 percent ask for the help of the pharmacist.

"If you are uncertain about which medication would be right for you, ask your pharmacist. He or she will recommend products based on the appropriate active ingredients to treat your symptoms," says Fred Eckel, R.Ph., professor at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy and editor-in-chief of Pharmacy Times. "In most cases, the appropriate active ingredient or active ingredient combination is available in a store brand version, which will treat your symptoms as effectively as the advertised brand, but also provide major savings and relief for your wallet."

Due to the wide variety of symptoms that people may experience, it's especially important to treat the right symptoms. If you have a runny nose and sore throat, medications that include an ingredient to control coughs should be avoided. "Consumers need to make sure they choose medications that treat only the symptoms that they have and that they are not taking medications they don't need," says Eckel. The best way to make sure that you choose the appropriate medication to treat cold symptoms is to understand the different active ingredients and the cold symptoms they treat.

Consumers should be aware of four major active ingredient categories related to cold symptom relief. They are analgesics, nasal decongestants, cough suppressants and expectorants. Medications that treat more than one symptom, often referred to as combination medicines, are also an option.

Cough suppressants, will help to control a persistent cough, and expectorants, will make coughs more productive.

Advertised Brand: Robitussin(R) DM
Active Ingredient: Dextromethorphan, Guaifenesin
Store Brand Product: Tussin DM

Nasal Decongestants will help to clear nasal passages and make breathing easier. They do not cause drowsiness.

Advertised Brand: Sudafed(R)
Active Ingredient: Pseudoephedrine HCl
Store Brand Product: Nasal Decongestant

Advertised Brand: Afrin(R)
Active Ingredient: Oxymetazoline HCl
Store Brand Product: Nasal Spray

Combination medicines: - For a multi-symptom cold with a wide range of symptoms, such as nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, aches and fever, there are OTC medicines which include active ingredients to treat specific symptom combinations.

Advertised Brand: NyQuil(R) or DayQuil(R)
Active Ingredient: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan, Doxylamine Succinate* and Pseudoephedrine HCl (* ingredient is not included in DayQuil(R))
Store Brand Product: Nite Time Liquid or Softgels; Day Time Liquid or Softgels

Advertised Brand: Actifed(R)
Active Ingredient: Pseudoephedrine HCl and Triprolidine Hydrochloride
Store Brand Product: Cold and Allergy Tablets

Advertised Brand: Triaminic(R) Cold and Cough
Active Ingredient: Chlorpheniramine Maleate, Dextromethorphan and Pseudoephedrine HCl
Store Brand Product: Triacting Cold and Cough

Advertised Brand: Theraflu(R) Severe Cold
Active Ingredient: Acetaminophen, Pseudoephedrine HCl, Dextromethorphan and Chlorpheniramine Maleate
Store Brand Product: Flu Severe Cold and Congestion

Advertised Brand: Alka-Seltzer Plus(R) Cold
Active Ingredient: Acetaminophen, Phenylephrine HCl and Chlorpheniramine Maleate
Store Brand Product: Plus Cold

"By comparing the store brand and advertised brand active ingredient information found on the "Drug Facts" label, consumers will see that store brand over-the-counter medications have the same named active ingredient at the same strength as the advertised brands. The difference is in the price - store brands can save the consumer money," says Eckel. "A store brand version of a product will save the consumer an average of 30%, which can really add up during the cold and flu season."

For example, 10 ounce bottle of NyQuil(R) Liquid Original sells for $5.99 at CVS(R), while the store brand version costs $3.29, a 45 percent savings.

Finding a comparable store brand of any over-the-counter medication is easy. Most stores place store brands to the right of the advertised brand. "Consumers can be assured of their quality. Store brand and advertised brand OTC medicines need to meet the same strict standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," adds Eckel.

Perrigo Company, based in Allegan, MI is the nation's largest manufacturer of OTC store brand drugs sold by food, drug and mass merchandise chains.

Eighty-six percent of consumers are already buying store brands, which typically are the largest-selling brand in a particular category. In fact, according to Information Resources, Inc., 40 percent of all over-the-counter drugs and vitamins sold are store brand. Consumers would relieve their symptoms while saving more than $2 billion annually by switching to store brand over-the-counter medicines.

Fred M. Eckel, R. Ph.
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