Is it safe to take one 60mg pseudo-ephedrine tablet once or twice every night for many years?

Question

Would it cause any harm or disadvantage to one's body, not now but in the long run? For example can it cause one's blood vessels to slowly become narrower or wider and worsen after many years, due the pseudoephedrine? Or any other type of damage to the body?

Answer 1

Hi Dave:

No it is not safe to take 60mg pseudo-ephedrine each night for many years.

I believe the directions on the box are something to the effect of:

If your condition has not improved or have worsened, then seek help from your physician. This product should not be taken for longer than 7 days.

**Please remember, just going by memory on the directions so they are not word for word or even perfect. But the main concerns/Instructions are there.

What happens with a product like pseudo-ephedrine is that after using it for somewhere around 7 days you will begin to get what is called the "Rebound Effect"

So after taking it for a certain period of time instead of it making the pressure and congestion go away and releiving your symptoms, it will actually begin to be the cause of the return of the symptoms of pressure and congestion.

If you are not feeling better in a week, then I think it is more than reasonable to seek the treatment of you doc. That is why you have a doc, to help you when you need help.

At that point, your doc may be able to give you other treatments of various sorts or even a perscription medicine, most likely a nasal spray to use once or twice a day for as long as you and he decide on.

With a perscription nasal spray to treat those symptoms, you will not have the "rebound effect" as this new medicine is speciffically made for long term usage.

The instructions are on all boxes for a reason. Please be one of the few that follow the usage instructions on any package, perscription or not. They are only to prevent us from causing harm to ourselves, so just follow the instructions and if not better in a week, call your doc for an appointment. It's not hard, many more things in life are much harder that following medication directions.

Be safe and be well

Answer 2

Short answer: no, it is not safe. It can cause several serious problems, including liver, ulcers, etc.
Check out WebMD or similar site.