The magazine 60 Million consumers offers in its February 2014 issue a test on anti-cold drugs. As part of their trials, they studied the formulations of 33 cold medicines sold without a prescription. It appears that some have no place in self-medication, because of their risk of serious side effects. Something to cool us down!...
From the outset, you should know that the cold virus will bother us for 7 to 10 days, but no more:the remedies are just intended to provide us with a little comfort by decongesting our nose. And we will appreciate it! However, care must be taken that the product contains only one active ingredient because by multiplying them in the same drug, the contraindications specific to each active substance are also multiplied. And it can get dangerous.
This is also the case for 11 of them who are "to be avoided from self-medication", especially when ibuprofen or paracetamol are combined with a vasoconstrictor. 3 others are "not recommended for self-medication" because of the uselessness of the paracetamol and antihistamine combination. A large third (13) can bring a little comfort thanks to their extracts of camphor, eucalyptus, mint, thyme, pine, etc... 2 homeopathic specialties can act against the inconvenience of the common cold even if the effectiveness of this medicine is debated. There are then 4 products left, all based on physiological saline or seawater, which are "to be preferred without hesitation":we are therefore back to the basics.
With all the advertisements that laboratories make for their "explosive" cold remedies, no one is suspicious when entering a pharmacy, especially since these drugs are available over the counter. Normally, the pharmacist who dispenses you one of these drugs with multiple active ingredients must ask you if you are taking other drugs and warn you of the risks associated with taking it. This is not always the case, unfortunately.
If you have any doubts, find out about the contraindications and the risks of adverse effects of each specialty on the public drug database.
Also to be discovered in this issue of 60 Millions de consommateurs which is on newsstands as of January 23, 2014 , the unpublished list of supermarkets offering the best promotions , with also an anthology of twisted promotions:inflated reference prices, products on sale more expensive than usual, display errors, incomprehensible discounts...
Among the tests of the month, 14 models of audio headphones were screened, including 3 Bluetooth . To help us choose the good home care products and grandma's stuff, 60 Million consumers unravels the real from the fake, with a few surprises in store… Finally, the result of 10 strollers on the test bench confirms it, the safety of a stroller is essential:moreover, one of the models tested had to be disqualified.
