Comparing Pseudoephedrine vs Afrin
Pseudoephedrine | Afrin |
|
---|
Pseudoephedrine | Afrin (oxymetazoline) |
|
|||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prescription and OTC
Pseudoephedrine effectively relieves nasal congestion and is found in several behind the counter combination cold and flu remedies. Photo ID must be produced to purchase it and pharmacies must keep... View more |
Over-the-counter
Prescribed for Nasal Congestion. Afrin may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide. |
Related suggestions Nasal Congestion
Popular comparisons
|
|||||||||||||||
More about Pseudoephedrine | More about Afrin (oxymetazoline) | ||||||||||||||||
Ratings & Reviews | |||||||||||||||||
Pseudoephedrine has an average rating of 6.5 out of 10 from a total of 89 ratings on Drugs.com. 60% of reviewers reported a positive effect, while 30% reported a negative effect. |
Afrin has an average rating of 3.4 out of 10 from a total of 132 ratings on Drugs.com. 20% of reviewers reported a positive effect, while 69% reported a negative effect. |
||||||||||||||||
Drug Class | |||||||||||||||||
Side Effects | |||||||||||||||||
See also: pseudoephedrine side effects in more detail. |
See also: Afrin side effects in more detail. |
||||||||||||||||
Generic Availability | |||||||||||||||||
Lower cost generic |
N/A |
||||||||||||||||
Pricing and Coupons * Prices are without insurance | |||||||||||||||||
View all pseudoephedrine prices |
View all Afrin prices |
||||||||||||||||
Dosage Form(s) Available | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Brand Names | |||||||||||||||||
12 Hour Decongestant, 12 Hour Nasal Decongestant, Afrinol, Allermed, Cenafed, Children's Dimetapp Decongestant Infant, Chlor-Trimeton Nasal Decongestant, Contac Cold, Decofed, Decofed Liquid, Drixoral Decongestant Non-Drowsy, Efidac, Elixsure Decongestant, Entex, Genaphed, nasofed, Nexafed Nasal Decongestant, Novafed, Silfedrine, Sudafed 12-Hour, Sudafed 24-Hour, Sudafed Congestion, SudoGest, SudoGest 12 Hour, Suphedrin, Suphedrine, Zephrex-D View more | Other oxymetazoline brands include: 12 Hour Nasal, 12 Hour Nasal Decongestant Spray, Afrin Allergy Sinus Nasal Spray, Afrin NoDrip Allergy Sinus, Afrin NoDrip Extra Moisturizing, Afrin NoDrip Original, Afrin NoDrip Severe Congestion, Afrin NoDrip Sinus, Afrin Original, Afrin Severe Congestion, Afrin Sinus, Allerest 12 Hour Nasal Spray, CVS Health Sinus Relief, Dristan 12 Hour Nasal Spray, Duramist Plus, Duration, Four-Way Nasal Spray, Genasal, Giltuss Severe Sinus, Mucinex Sinus-Max Clear & Cool, Mucinex Sinus-Max Full Force, Mucinex Sinus-Max Moisture Smart, Nostrilla, Nostrilla 12 Hour, Rhinase D Moisturizing Nasal Decongestant, Todays Health Nasal Relief Extra Moisturizing, Vicks QlearQuil 12 Hour Nasal Decongestant Moisturizing Spray, Vicks Sinex 12-Hour Decongestant Nasal Spray, Vicks Sinex 12-Hour Decongestant UltraFine Mist, Vicks Sinex Moisturizing 12-Hour Decongestant UltraFine Mist, Vicks Sinex Severe Nasal Spray, Zicam Extreme Congestion Relief, Zicam Sinus Relief View more | ||||||||||||||||
Half Life The half-life of a drug is the time taken for the plasma concentration of a drug to reduce to half its original value. | |||||||||||||||||
16 hours |
N/A |
||||||||||||||||
CSA Schedule ** View glossary of terms | |||||||||||||||||
Not a controlled drug
Is not subject to the Controlled Substances Act. |
Not a controlled drug
Is not subject to the Controlled Substances Act. |
||||||||||||||||
Pregnancy Category | |||||||||||||||||
Category N
Not classified
See the full pregnancy warnings document. |
Category C
Risk cannot be ruled out
See the full pregnancy warnings document. |
||||||||||||||||
Drug Interactions | |||||||||||||||||
A total of 181 drugs are known to interact with pseudoephedrine:
|
A total of 51 drugs are known to interact with Afrin:
|
||||||||||||||||
Alcohol/Food/Lifestyle Interactions | |||||||||||||||||
No known alcohol/food interactions. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider. |
No known alcohol/food interactions. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider. |
||||||||||||||||
Disease Interactions | |||||||||||||||||
First Approval Date | |||||||||||||||||
N/A |
N/A |
||||||||||||||||
WADA Class View World Anti-Doping Agency classifications. | |||||||||||||||||
N/A |
|||||||||||||||||
More Information | |||||||||||||||||
Patient resources | |||||||||||||||||
Professional Resources | |||||||||||||||||
N/A |
|||||||||||||||||
Related Treatment Guide | |||||||||||||||||
** The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) schedule information displayed applies to substances regulated under federal law. There may be variations in CSA schedules between individual states.
Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.