Decongestant found in many cold, allergy medicines doesn’t actually work, FDA advisors say
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A combination package of Procter & Gamble Co. DayQuil Severe and NyQuil Severe brand cold and flu medicine is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images The main ingredient used in many popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications doesn't actually work to get rid of nasal congestion, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration declared Tuesday. In a unanimous vote, 16 advisors said oral versions of phenylephrine – a nasal decongestant found in versions of drugs like Nyquil, Benadryl, Sudafed and Mucinex – aren't effective at relieving a stuffy nose. The FDA typically follows the advice of its advisory committees but it is not required to do so. The agency could potentially move to begin a process that removes phenylephrine from the market, which would force manufacturers to pull widely used cough and cold medications from store shelves and reformulate those products. That could affect Procter