Potentially “very serious” side effects: Actifed Rhume, Dolirhume… why these drugs are now on prescription ?

Starting this Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the sale of eight anti-cold treatments will be restricted in France to combat inappropriate or even dangerous uses. Midi Libre takes stock of this ban with Julien Astaing, a doctor at the Clémentville clinic in Montpellier.

As of December 11, 2024, the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) will restrict the sale of eight anti-cold treatments in France.

Which drugs are affected? ?

The ANSM specifies in a press release that its decision concerns pseudoephedrine-based oral vasoconstrictors. That is, drugs that promote nasal decongestion.

The following are concerned: Actifed Rhume, Actifed Rhume day and night, Dolirhume Paracetamol and Pseudoephedrine, Dolirhumepro Paracetamol Pseudoephedrine and Doxylamine, Humex Rhume, Nurofen Rhume, Rhinadvil Rhume, Ibuprofen/Pseudoephedrine, Rhinadvilcaps Rhume Ibuprofen/Pseudoephedrine.

Why this ban ?

Pseudoephedrine can have side effects “which are rare certainly, but very serious”, confides the doctor Julien Astaing to Midi Free. Examples include: heart attacks, strokes, optic nerve ischemia, skin rashes, severe allergies and other very aggressive symptoms.

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“These effects occur without warning, regardless of the history. So taking it for a runny nose and ending up with a stroke or myocardial infarction is a high price to pay”, Julien Astaing believes.

The duration of a cold is estimated to be between 7 and 10 days, so “taking one of these medications to hope to be cured in 24 hours is not possible. There is no miracle recipe”, explains the doctor. “Cold symptoms will go away with or without this medication after 7 to 10 days.”

What is the reaction of health professionals?

The ban on pseudoephedrine is “a very good thing”, believes Julien Astaing: “In the hospital environment, I have seen many infections that have degenerated because of the taking of anti-inflammatories as self-medication.”

Sometimes it could happen, according to the doctor, that information on these drugs is not given at the right time: “A patient who self-medicates at home in any old way is a disaster.”

It's not because the medication is available over the counter that it isn't dangerous, the doctor explains. Often combined with an anti-inflammatory such as Advil or Ibuprofen, pseudoephedrine is contraindicated in cases of renal failure and can promote bacterial infections.

“These are drugs without real control that people can or think they are taking to improve themselves but which can have catastrophic repercussions. It is a very low medical service rendered for a potential risk with very serious side effects”, reports Julien Astaing.

What should I do if I have some left at home ?

These drugs have not disappeared, however. As with many treatments, you will need to contact your doctor who will assess its relevance and issue a prescription, or not.

For people who still have these medications in their cupboard, Julien Astaing is categorical: “If it was banned, it was precisely to avoid consuming it”. The doctor advises “to throw away the box” and to try to return to more natural methods to try to treat the symptoms. “I recommend nasal washes, essential oils, antipyretics, Doliprane for fever and rest.”