Desperate Britons are scrambling to get their hands on the few cough medicines left after 20 different cold and flu remedies were rushed off shelves today due to allergy fears.
The remedies include those made by Day & Night Nurse and Covonia – as well as own brand versions sold in Boots and Superdrug.
It comes after a review by the UK’s drug watchdog found that pholcodine, an ingredient in its cough syrups, can in rare cases cause an allergic reaction if the user goes under general anesthesia, such as for surgery.
Online pharmacies showed “out of stock” messages, while others, including Boots, reported “stock coming soon.”
Patients took to social media to complain about problems getting their hands on depleted supplies of drugs.
A study by the British Medicines Watchdog found that pholcodine, which is found in cough syrups, can in rare cases cause an allergic reaction when placed under general anaesthesia. The review concluded that the benefits of pholcodine-containing cough and cold medicines “do not outweigh the increased risk of the very rare case of anaphylaxis.”
The dozens of ‘out of stock’ web pages reveal the dramatic magnitude of the shortages affecting thousands of patients in the UK today.
A woman responding to the news tweeted, “This is outrageous. I’ve been struggling to get day nurse and night nurse for months, so it’s not new.’
Meanwhile, another wrote: ‘Day and night nurse being withdrawn from the UK market is actually quite sad, it’s the only drug that has hit the sides with this never ending cold I currently have. It’s been so hard to get hold of lately.’
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversees the safety of drugs used in Britain, was behind the review announced today.
The review concluded that the benefits of pholcodine-containing cough and cold medicines “do not outweigh the increased risk of the very rare case of anaphylaxis.”
It followed advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, which advises the government on the safety, efficacy and quality of medicines, which said there is ‘sufficient general evidence of an association with pholcodine’.
But “the absolute risk of anaphylaxis remains very small in patients who have taken pholcodine,” the Commission confirmed.
Currently, the risk is believed to affect only about 1 in 10,000 procedures.
European Medicines Agency bosses also recommended withdrawing the products from the EU market in December last year following similar concerns.
Meanwhile, other Britons took to social media to share the news, claiming they had never experienced any problems with the recalled medication.
“How have they only just found out they are dangerous?” one tweeted.
Another wrote: ‘What, always bring a night nurse! Never had a problem! Need to stock up!!’ one of them tweeted.
One of them said, ‘Completely ridiculous. Available for years, also works like a charm. Day and night nurse are great. I hope they’ll be back on the shelves soon.’
On Facebook, others wrote: “Ridiculous! Some of these are the only things that work.”
Pholcodine is most commonly found in household cough syrups and the recall includes syrups and lozenges on shelves nationwide
Another commented, ‘Covonia is the only one that works for me!!’
Meanwhile someone said, “Pholcodine cough syrup is the only thing that works when I’ve had a really bad flu or a cold, it’s an old one my grandma used to use, now I’m sticking with it because nothing else works.”
Pholcodine-containing products are only available in the UK for purchase from a pharmacy.
Patients using cough tablets and syrups are advised by the MHRA to check the packaging, label and package insert of the medication to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient.
Those taking any medications, including the drug, should speak to a pharmacist who will suggest another suitable drug.