Flu, Colds, Cough ... Here are 28 Non-Prescription Drugs To Avoid From Your Pharmacy.
Fervex, Actifed, Calyptol, Oscillococcinum, Néo-Codion or even Vicks vaporub, Lysopaine, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Imodium and Microlax ...
Do you know these drugs?
This is normal because these are the best-selling non-prescription drugs when you have a sore throat, cough or have a cold with a runny nose!
The magazine 60 Million Consumers investigated these drugs.
Its conclusions are disturbing ! Of the 61 best-selling drugs, 28 are simply "to forbid".
And only a few are effective and harmless ... Explanations:
Led by Professor Jean-Paul Giroud, clinical pharmacologist, author of books on drugs and self-medication, as well as Hélène Berthelot, pharmacist, this study analyzed the benefits as well as the effects of these drugs on health.
Here are the conclusions of this study conducted by the magazine 60 Million Consumers:
28 drugs to avoid
Out of 61 drugs analyzed, 28 should be banned because the “risk-benefit ratio is unfavorable in self-medication”.
That is, the risks of taking these medicines outweigh the benefits of being treated.
To see the precise list of these drugs, scroll down to the bottom of this article.
20 Ineffective But Safe Drugs
Of the 61 drugs, 20 are considered "for want of a better solution," because even if they are not or not very effective, they have no or very few side effects, according to experts.
In other words, they are of no use (or not much), but fortunately they are harmless to our health.
13 effective and safe drugs
Of the 61 drugs studied, only 13 drugs are effective.
They are both the most effective in treating disease and involve few side effects. The benefit / risk ratio is therefore positive.
What are these effective drugs? Here are some examples: Clarix dry cough, Humex adults dry cough, Vicks vaporub, Imodiumcaps, Gaviscon mint, Maalox without sugar.
List of 28 drugs "to be avoided"
- Common cold : Actifed colds day and night; Nurofen colds; Rhinadvil cold ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine; Actifed cold; Dolirhume paracetamol and pseudoephedrine; Humexlib paracetamol chlorphenamine.
- Flu : Actifed flu-like conditions; Doli flu state; Fervex phreniramine adult without sugar.
- Cough : Bronchokod fatty cough without sugar adults 5%; Exomuc fatty orange cough; Fluimucil orange; Humex dry cough oxomemazine caramel; Mucomyst fatty orange cough; Toplexil without sugar; Neo-Codion.
- Sore throat : Colludol; Drill honey rosat; Drill tetracaine; Hexaspray; Humex sore throat; Maxilas sore throat; Strepsils lidocaine; Orange sugarless tern.
- Diarrhea : Ercefuryl.
- Constipation : Contalax; Dragees Fuca; Pursennide.
Conclusion of the study
According to a ranking made by 60 Million consumers, non-prescription drugs, whether sprays or tablets for coughs, sore throats, colds, constipation or the flu can be dangerous.
However, over-the-counter medications for digestive difficulties and stomach pain seem harmless.
"These results show that these drugs, although sold without a prescription, are not consumer products like any other," explain the journalists.
They "have too many contraindications and disproportionate adverse effects to treat transient ailments, not to mention that some contain ineffective substances," the survey concludes.
Medicines that combine several substances are: paracetamol combined with pseudoephedrine and tripolidine, for example.
The risk is serious because this association increases the possibility of having cardiovascular and neurological accidents.
What are the natural alternatives?
Fortunately, there are natural remedies to replace these more than questionable drugs:
- Common cold : 12 Particularly Effective Natural Remedies Against Colds.
- Flu : An Amazing Grandma's Cure For The Flu.
- Cough : 9 Amazing Grandma's Cough Remedies.
- Sore throat : The 16 Best Natural Sore Throat Remedies.
- Diarrhea: Grandma's Trick to Stop Diarrhea.
- Constipation: The 11 Natural Remedies You Should Know For Constipation.
And now, thanks to these home remedies, no need for Medoc! You save money and you avoid taking drugs that are dangerous for your health :-)
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Also to discover:
11 Natural Alternatives To The Antibiotics Our Ancestors Used.
17 Bicarbonate Remedies As Effective As Some Drugs.
