Does Benadryl work? Suddenly, antihistamine drugs like Benadryl and Sudafed that have been used for decades, don't work anymore. The FDA claims that these decongestants are "not effective at standard or even high doses compared to a placebo (DailyMail)."
I don't know about you, but when I have taken Benadryl when I was congested, I felt immediately tired and my symptoms seemed to improve. When I have given Benadryl to my dog who was itchy at the time, I noticed he he seemed less itchy pretty quickly. In my experience, the drug did what it said it would do. Definitely not a Placebo. I'm not a huge fan of taking Benadryl or any drug for that matter regularly. I'd rather find the root cause and heal that. But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.
The FDA's decision isn't binding yet, but does suggest that drug companies may have to remove their products from store shelves and or reformulate it all together.
The active ingredient in question is called Phenylephrine which is found in basically every single decongestant on the market. Phenylephrine was approved by the FDA in 1970 and narrows blood vessels to decrease swelling and inflammation. It has been used to provide temporary relief from allergies, hay-fever, congestion and common colds and the flu.
A 2007 study titled, "Meta-analysis of the efficacy of a single dose of phenylephrine 10 mg compared with placebo in adults with acute nasal congestion due to the common cold" found that one single oral dose of phenylephrine 10mg was an effective decongestant in adults with congestion compared to the placebo.
Another 2007 study titled, "Efficacy of Phenylephrine" documented support of the scientific evidence proving the efficacy of phenylephrine.
So how come the FDA has deemed this drug to be ineffective now? The answer?
Cash Money. The FDA does not care about your health or the health of your animal. The FDA cares about stocking the shelves with drugs that make the most money. Even if phenylephrine is ineffective as they now claim, think about how much money they have profited over the last 40 years despite their new claims. Benadryl and decongestants like it are relatively cheap and accessible to most. So if these products become unavailable, I would bet they will soon be replaced with more expensive versions to drive up the profit even more.
Donate to Bobzilla.org
$5.00
The veterinary business is business which is not in the business of curing your animal, but Bobzilla's business is. Bobzilla is committed to one hundred percent transparency in all of its scientific research into animal wellness and prevention of disease and one… read more
