Brits today made the decision to ban popular cold and flu drugs over fears they could trigger deadly allergic reactions.
Twenty products are being withdrawn as a matter of urgency, including products from Day & Night Nurse and Covonia — as well as private label versions sold in Boots and Superdrug.
Patients taking medicines containing pholcodine within a year of general anesthesia are at increased risk of experiencing a “very rare” life-threatening side effect, a review by the UK Medicines Agency has found.
But health chiefs admitted the complication from the opioid, which has been used as a cough suppressant since the 1950s, is extremely rare.
Brits called the move a “ridiculous overreaction” and urged regulators to “let people make their own decisions”.
Twenty cold and flu products are being withdrawn in the UK, including some from Day & Night Nurse and Covonia – as well as private label versions sold in Boots (pictured).
Shrewsbury’s Ben Jephcott said the decision to ban pholcodine, which he says is “safe and actually works”, was a “ridiculous overreaction”.
Another Twitter user, Sandy Karenso, said pholcodine was “the absolute best cough medicine.” She urged health chiefs to “leave us alone” and “let us make our own decisions.”
Shrewsbury’s Ben Jephcott said the decision to ban pholcodine, which he says “actually works”, was a “ridiculous overreaction”.
He called for a national “Save our Cough Mixture” campaign to reverse the decision.
Another Twitter user, Sandy Karenso, said pholcodine was “the absolute best cough medicine.” She urged health chiefs to “leave us alone” and “let us make our own decisions.”
It comes after Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversees the safety of medicines used in the UK, confirmed yesterday that it is recalling all medicines containing pholcodine as a precautionary measure.
The opioid works by suppressing the cough reflexes by reducing the nerve signals sent from the brain to the muscles involved in coughing.
But the Human Medicines Commission (CHM) — an MHRA committee that advises on drug safety — raised concerns about patients taking the drug before they were put under general anesthesia with neuromuscular blockers (NMBAs).
NMBAs are used in around half of the general anesthetics administered in the UK to help relax muscles before some surgeries.
One use is when a patient needs to be intubated, with the NMBA paralyzing or relaxing the jaw and vocal cords.
Those who took pholcodine in the 12 months prior to exposure to NMBAs were at increased risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
This causes the patient’s blood pressure to drop and the airways to narrow, blocking breathing. It can be life-threatening without prompt treatment.
The CHM acknowledged that “the absolute risk of anaphylaxis in patients who have taken pholcodine remains very low”.
The risk is currently believed to affect only about 1 in 10,000 procedures, with many doctors never encountering the reaction in their entire careers.
The heads of the European Medicines Agency also recommended withdrawing the products from the EU market in December last year after similar concerns.
And two weeks ago, Australia issued a national recall of 55 pholcodine-containing medicines for the same reasons. Health chiefs said there have been 50 known cases of this anaphylactic shock during general anesthesia linked to pholcodine, including one death.
No comparable figures have been published for the UK.
In the UK, the affected products, including Day & Night Nurse Capsules, Boots Night Cough Relief Oral Solution and Superdrug Pholcodine Linctus, are no longer available in pharmacies.
Britons taking tablets or syrup for a cough have been urged to check the packaging, label or leaflet to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient.
In the UK, the affected products, including Day & Night Nurse Capsules, Boots Night Cough Relief Oral Solution and Superdrug Pholcodine Linctus, are no longer available in pharmacies
If this is the case, they can talk to their pharmacist who can suggest another medicine for them.
They were also advised to tell an anesthetist before surgery if they had taken any medicine containing pholcodine in the past 12 months.
Despite the MHRA warning that the potential risk of taking medicines containing pholcodine outweighs the benefits, desperate Britons have scrambled to snag the few options left on sale.
Online pharmacies displayed “out of stock” messages, while others, including Boots, reported “coming soon.”
Patients took to social media to complain about problems sourcing depleted supplies of medicine.
One woman responding to the news tweeted: “This is outrageous. I’ve been struggling to get Day Nurse and Night Nurse for months so it’s nothing new.’
Meanwhile, another wrote: “The withdrawal of Day and Night Nurse from the UK market is actually quite sad, it’s the only drug that’s touched pages with this never-ending cold I’m currently suffering from. It’s been so hard to get lately too.
Another wrote: “What, always take the night nurse with you! Never had a problem! Need to stock up!!” tweeted one.
One said: “Absolutely ridiculous. Available for years, works like a charm too. Day and night nurses are great. Hopefully they will be back on the shelves soon.”
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