BREAKING NEWS: These three popular cough remedies WITHDRAWN from UK shelves over urgent health fears

NO-ONE wants to think about being ill, but at some stage, it's usually necessary to see a doctor.

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Day & Night Nurse and Covonia cold and flu remedies are being WITHDRAWN from UK market over health fears

In a shocking development, medicines containing pholcodine, a cough suppressant, have been urgently withdrawn from the UK market. Day & Night Nurse, Covonia, and own-brand versions sold in Boots and Superdrug are among the products being recalled. The recall comes after medical regulators found that the benefits of pholcodine-containing cough and cold medicines do not outweigh the increased risk of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.

After a review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) the medicines have been withdrawn “as a precaution” after discovering evidence of an increased risk of anaphylaxis in patients who receive general anaesthesia involving neuromuscular blocking agents during surgery. The Commission on Human Medicines that advises the UK government on the safety, efficacy, and quality of medicinal products, confirmed that there is “sufficient overall evidence for an association with pholcodine”.

However, ‘the absolute risk of anaphylaxis remains very small in patients who have taken pholcodine’, the Commission confirmed. It is currently thought to affect around 1 in 10,000 procedures.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had recommended the withdrawal of medicines containing pholcodine from the EU market over three months ago, citing similar concerns.

Pharmacies across the UK are taking patient safety seriously and acting on the MHRA’s guidance to recall pholcodine products according to the Mail Online.

Side effects typically associated with pholcodine-containing medications include constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, and vomiting. Brits are urged to report any medicines side effects they notice to the Yellow Card Scheme.

Patients taking cough medicine tablets and syrups are advised to check the medication’s packaging, label, and patient information leaflet to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient. Those taking medicines containing the drug should speak to a pharmacist who will suggest a different suitable medication.


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Written by

James Orange

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