Actifed Cold and Allergy....Its not working!
Written: May 27 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: relieved some allergy symptoms
Cons: didn't relieve all the symptoms, bad side-effects
The Bottom Line: takes care of a few allergy symptoms, but the side-effects negate the positives
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| MumMumMum's Full Review: Cold & Allergy Tablet |
It was snowing last week. Oh, not enough to have to pull out the shovels, but enough to make MumMumMum utter words that most of my regular readers don’t think MumMumMum has ever heard before! Today? Ah, such a beautiful day today! Green grass, buds on the trees, flowers blooming, lawn mowers in full gear, and MumMumMum is once again cursing! Why, you ask? Hayfever! Allergies! “Green grass, leaves, lawnmowers, who needs ‘em!” I curse! Gimme tissues, lots and lots of tissues! My eyes are itching and tearing, I’m sneezing, I’m stuffed up, my nose is runny, and my sinuses hurt! I need relief! Fast!
Actifed to the rescue?
After walking the kids to school this morning I made my way to the store to find some relief. It was quite the jaunt, having to carry a full box of tissues in one hand and a bag for the used tissues in the other! But I made it, though my teary eyes made it almost impossible to find my way there! I ended up in the bakery at first, had a snack, and finally found the drug store next door! It seems there’s been a run on allergy medications in this city, the local news program had a story about how bad an allergy season this is going to be and they sure were right! The only box left on the shelf that promised me relief from my allergies was Actifed Cold and Allergy Medicine. Well, all righty then! Good stuff, let’s get some, I hate being a “mouthbreather”. I made my purchase and headed for home. (Had to stop at the bakery again, needed sustenance for the walk home!)
So, after polishing off that delicious chocolate éclair I bought (priorities you know!), I pull out the box of what I hope is relief and read the dosage recommendations.
Adults/Children 12 years and over: 1 tablet every 4 to 6 hours. Do not exceed 4 tablets in 24 hours.
Children 6 to 11 years: ½ tablet every 4 to 6 hours. Do not exceed 2 tablets in 24 hours.
Children under 6 years: Use only as directed by a doctor.
Okay, no problem, just like it says on the front of the box! Just one tablet per dose. I don’t like taking pills on an empty stomach, so fortunately I had already had my breakfast and a few tasty bakery items. I figure I’m good to go! I took a tablet and waited for my Rapid Relief of Stuffy nose, Itchy watery eyes, Runny nose, Sneezing. And I waited. And I waited. Hey, wait a minute, what’s this? Oh, I’m not sneezing! But, geez, does my stomach feel upset! Feeling sorta shaky, quivery, hmmm. Not good. And now I’m feeling a little tremor-y. But my eyes don’t itch quite as much, and my nose isn’t runny anymore. Gee, I dunno, is this quite what I had in mind? Trade off my itchy watery eyes and runny nose for a queasy tummy and the shakes? So I decide I’ll read a little more of the teeny tiny print on the box. What’s in this stuff anyway? (Please keep in mind, ingredients in the US may differ from those in Canada. I don’t know why, but this is the same product as the one listed here at epinions.)
Each tablet contains: Antihistamine – (Triprolidine Hydrochloride, 2.5 mg) Decongestant – (Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride, 60 mg) For quick relief of: sneezing, runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, stuffy nose Non-Medicinal Ingredients (alphabetically): gelatin, lactose, magnesium stearate, starches.
Well, now, that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me….let’s see now. What else is it going to tell me?
Caution: Keep out of reach of child. May cause drowsiness. (hmm, not a problem here!) May cause excitability especially in children. (well, can’t say I’m excited, shaky maybe, but not excited.) Avoid alcohol. (okay, no problem there! I’m already feeling queasy and shaky…I don’t think a drink is going to help me right now!) Use caution when driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery. (I can understand that! I’m shaky and queasy, don’t want to be driving or using a chain saw right now!) Do not take more than the maximum recommended dosage because at higher doses nervousness, dizziness or sleeplessness may occur. (Okay, now here we go. I haven’t take more than the recommended dosage, but this seems to be what my problem is. Maybe I’m hypersensitive to whatever’s in here?) Talk to a doctor before using this product if you have serious liver or kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart or thyroid disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, glaucoma or difficulty urinating due to enlargement of the prostate gland, or are elderly, pregnant, breast-feeding or taking a drug for depression, including monamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor drugs. (Standard warnings here…I would think that anyone with any of these conditions would speak to their doctor before taking any non-prescription medications, but better safe than sorry! None of these apply to me though.) Talk to a doctor if your symptoms do not improve within 5 days or if you have a fever. In case of accidental overdose, contact a doctor or Poison Control Centre immediately, even if there are no symptoms. (Again, the standard warnings, but important to have on the box just the same!)
Okay, so far, so good, maybe it was the overdose of bakery products this morning that caused my queasiness? Doesn’t explain the shakiness, but who knows? So, I waited a while, until six hours had passed since I took my first dose of Actifed. I’m not feeling too bad at that point, still a little sneezy, itchy eyes, runny nose, but I’ve stayed inside with the windows closed (aarrgghh, its finally not snowing and I have to stay in the house!). But I’m going to have to pick the kids up at school in a bit. There’s grass out there! And flowers! And leaves budding on the trees! Okay, I had a light lunch a while ago, I’ll give this stuff another try.
So I took another Actifed. Now, three hours later, my nose is still stuffed up, but its not runny, my stomach’s queasy, I’m feeling shaky, my eyes are itchy, but not watery, and I’m not sneezing. It just doesn’t seem worth the trade-off to me. Sure my allergy symptoms feel better in some ways, but the rest of me doesn’t feel very good. I have had this sort of reaction to “Non-Drowsy” formulas, but this product is not labelled as such, so I didn’t think I’d have the same reaction. Maybe Actifed Cold And Allergy Medicine works for some people, but in my case it just hasn’t done the job. I’m assuming that I have a sensitivity to either Triprolidine Hydrochloride, or Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride. As this seems to be the case, my search for relief continues….looking for a product that doesn’t have one or both of those ingredients. And honestly, it only has taken care of a couple of my allergy symptoms, not all of them. If you’ve ever shown any sign of a problem at all with either of the ingredients I’ve mentioned, then come along with me….I’m on my way to the drug store to find another allergy medicine that will work a little better with fewer side effects. We’ll stop at the bakery on the way!
Recommended:
No
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Member: Beverley
Location: Canada
Reviews written: 290
Trusted by: 421 members
About Me:
Heading into chemo again...then a stem cell transplant. Keep my family in your prayers please!
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