Pseudoephedrine

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Harshi Dhingra, M.D.

Last Reviewed: Sep 06, 2023

Warnings

Pseudoephedrine Risks, Warnings, and Complications

Pseudoephedrine can cause or worsen health problems in some people. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about other treatments for stuffy nose and sinus pressure if you are at a higher risk of adverse reactions from this medication. Some of the risks of taking pseudoephedrine include:

WORSENING HEART PROBLEMS: Patients taking pseudoephedrine may develop an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Check with your healthcare provider before taking pseudoephedrine if you have a history of heart problems. Call your doctor without delay if you develop dizziness, headache, a fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat, or increased blood pressure readings at home.
ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE: Pseudoephedrine is present in many combination products used to treat allergies and colds. Read the labels of all over-the-counter allergy and cold remedies carefully, and make sure you are not taking multiple products that contain pseudoephedrine, as this could result in an overdose. Be especially careful when giving this medication to a child. This medication is not for children under 6 years of age. In case of an accidental overdose, seek emergency medical care.

Precautions Before Starting Pseudoephedrine

Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to pseudoephedrine, any of the active or inactive ingredients in pseudoephedrine formulations, or any other medications. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.

Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. This can help avoid possible drug interactions between pseudoephedrine and your other medicines.

Pseudoephedrine may not be right for people with certain medical conditions. Talk to your doctor before taking pseudoephedrine if you have a medical history of high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, glaucoma, enlarged prostate gland and trouble urinating, or bowel obstruction.

Tell your health care professional if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, plan to get pregnant, or are breast feeding.

Precautions During Use of Pseudoephedrine

Make an appointment to see your healthcare professional if you have fever along with nasal congestion or if your symptoms do not improve in 7 days.

Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while on this medication.

Tell all your healthcare providers you are on pseudoephedrine, especially before any procedure, including dental procedures.

Pseudoephedrine Drug Interactions

Other drugs can affect how pseudoephedrine works. Possible interactions with certain medications can increase the risk of severe adverse effects.

Do not take pseudoephedrine if you are currently taking or have taken in the past two weeks medications called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), for example, selegiline (Zelapar, Eldepryl, Emsam), isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), and phenelzine (Nardil).

Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare professional if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription and non-prescription medications.

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