I've had a million people ask me about Neo-Citran in the last few weeks and about where they might find it because it hasn't been found on the shelves in a while. According to a Toronto Star news report , it is because the parent company Novartis had voluntarily closed their manufacturing plant down because of issues with drug mix-ups and needing to improve their manufacturing standards. (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1201516--the-gta-runs-out-of-maalox)For whatever reason, people believe that Neo-Citran is a magic drug that "makes their cold get better", and that drives me crazy; I'm not sure if other pharmacists are feeling the same way. As you should know, the cold is caused by a virus, and there's nothing to really kill it except your immune system.
Most packages of Neo-Citran contain a first-generation antihistamine which is normally used for drying up a runny nose, and THIS is the medication that makes people pass out. I think that if people DO feel better it's probably because this drug knocked them out with drowsiness and made the person actually have a good night's rest which in turn made their immune system more effective at fighting off the cold virus. The other ingredients in your box of Neo-Citran probably also helped with a stuffy nose, and headache/pain so you feel much better with these floating in your system - it may not have been that you actually got much better...you just FEEL better.
To prevent you Neo-Citran fans from freaking out because this product might still be off the shelves for a while, as long as you can read labels, the next section of this post will be beneficial to you. NOTE that these medications are pretty much the same thing that's in Neo-Citran.
How to figure out which cold medicine to get, pharmacist-style:
Rules:
1. Understand that the cold is caused by a virus. You DO NOT need antibiotics (they kill bacteria which are a different germ).
2. Understand that the cold usually lasts around 7 days. You will feel the WORST around day 3-4 and you will slowly get better after that.
3. Understand that these will make you feel more comfortable and WILL NOT CURE YOU. You will cure yourself.
3. Treat ONLY the symptoms you have, and you will not be taking unnecessary medication.
4. Don't read the front of the box - read the medicinal ingredients in the tiny print on the side.
What ingredients to look for if you have certain symptoms :
- This is what's usually found in your cold medicine...find the ones that are applicable to you...that's why there are SO MANY COMBINATIONS of cold medications (every brand almost carries some of the same thing, so you can't go by brand!)
1. Pain and Fever: something with acetaminophen or ibuprofen
2. Cough: cough suppressant like dextromethophan
3. Stuffiness: decongestant like pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine
4. Runniness (nose/eyes): first-generation antihistamine like chlorpheniramine, brompheniramine, diphenhydramine
5. Phlegm (aka mucus): guaifenesin. *note: this doesn't have much evidence for efficacy. You might as well drink tons of fluids to loosen phlegm up or use a humidifier*
If you have certain allergies or medical conditions and you're not sure if these ingredients are safe to take, then go ask your pharmacist! Note though, that there are pretty much only 5 types of cold medications and they just come in different pretty colours and packaging. I've just memorized which boxes contain which ingredients, lol. I hope this helps - I would be more efficient in the pharmacy if I answered only 10 questions per day on colds rather than 50. Thanks. =P
Oh thank you hyperintelligent one, for telling mostly what we already know!
ReplyDeleteWe understand this doesn't cure the cold, but IT MAKES US FEEL BETTER. Which is the point.
I use it SPECIFICALLY so that I can sleep at night.
You can blame my mother who used to give us an aspirin, a spoonfull of cough syrup and a mug of hot lemon when we were ill.
No back to facts, this product is just hot lemonade with some very common drugs in it, I would think that ANY Pharma company could make it????
A lot of people don't know these facts actually, lol. Ask any pharmacist who gets bombarded by questions daily! Also, these things ARE simple to make which is why there are tons of brands with the same product...just not in a lemon flavoured powder. Who knows why they don't copy it now.
ReplyDeleteReading this article made me laugh mostly..... It jumps from what's wrong with the product and how this pharmacist dosent like the Neo-Citran product, and how he insist that its nothing compared to the other medications or being the same as other medications. Witch is fine and totally understandable. But the fact is that the product Neo-Citran has made thousands of people to feel BETTER than what they were before and seems to do a better job then the Tylenol or Buckleys or any other product of that line. All I see is it has pissed off many pharmacists from people asking for the product and where they can get it. And if it dose piss you guys off, why did you go into the trade or want to be a pharmacists, you are suppose to help people with medications and answer their questions, no matter how many times you get asked, its your job, lol. But that dosent mean you can't also direct them to another product with the same idea or similar purpose. As of December 15 2013 I have noticed the product back on the shelf, so grab it while you can, just use for when your sick.
ReplyDeletegod forbid they give you something that works..they would be out of business.
ReplyDelete