Pseudoephedrine & its useful information

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant that shrinks blood vessels in the nasal passages. Dilated blood vessels can cause nasal congestion (stuffy nose).Pseudoephedrine is used to treat nasal and sinus congestion, or congestion of the tubes that drain fluid from your inner ears, called the eustachian (yoo-STAY-shun) tubes.Pseudoephedrine may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Always ask a doctor before giving pseudoephedrine to a child. Death can occur from the misuse of cough and cold medicines in very young children. Do not use any other over-the-counter cough or cold medication without first asking your doctor or pharmacist. If you take certain products together you may accidentally take too much of a certain drug. Read the label of any other medicine you are using to see if it contains pseudoephedrine.Do not use a cough or cold medicine if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take cough or cold medicine before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

Do not use pseudoephedrine if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take pseudoephedrine before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.Do not use this medication if you are allergic to pseudoephedrine or to other decongestants, diet pills, stimulants, or ADHD medications.

Before taking pseudoephedrine, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

* heart disease or high blood pressure
* diabetes
* a thyroid disorder

If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take pseudoephedrine.FDA pregnancy category C. Pseudoephedrine may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Pseudoephedrine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.Artificially-sweetened liquid forms of cold medicine may contain phenylalanine. This would be important to know if you have phenylketonuria (PKU). Check the ingredients and warnings on the medication label if you are concerned about phenylalanine.