Several years ago Contac and other over the counter medications advertised “12 Hour Relief.” Now and for whatever reason, “Four Hour Relief” with two caplets is advertised. If I wanted relief for 8 hours, would I get it by popping 4 caplets? And, more importantly, would it be safe to do so?
No, and no. It’s not like 2 of the caplets sit dormant waiting for the other 2 to wear out.
Just how unsafe? You’d have to ask a medical professional.
These are timed release drugs. You are not going to double the time over which they work by doubling the dose.
If you overdose yourself you can screw up your liver, kidneys, and stomach. Just set an alarm and take some more later.
They still make Contac?
I remember Contac. They must have reformulated it since PPA has been taken off the market. It really worked great for colds and allergies if you didn’t mind walking around for 2 days feeling like someone slipped you a barb!
So true! I always felt 12 feet tall on that stuff. Was strange.
Can somebody give me a TL;DR on this? What is PPA? Why was it shitcanned? I last used Contac about 12 years ago because I had a bad cough. It didn’t stop the cough. It just turned the wet cough into a dry cough, which was even worse.
Anyway, for ANY over-the-counter drug you use, the label will give usage instructions, including how much to take at one time, and how many times in one day you can take that dose. Taking 4 pills at once instead of 2 isn’t a good idea, but how about taking 2 pills and then, four hours later, taking 2 more? The usage instructions on the label should tell you if that’s recommended or not.
PPA, or phenylpropanolamine, is a drug used as a decongestant (and apparently also for weight control). It is no longer used in the United States because it was linked to an increased risk of stroke in women (research did not show any increased risk for men). The increased risk was apparently small, but nevertheless the FDA requested drug manufacturers to stop using it voluntarily in 2000. It is also no longer used in Canada, the UK, or India, but still used in some countries in Europe (according to 'kipedia at least)
An archived copy of the FDA’s info page regarding PPA can be found here.
Phenylpropanolamine is a very effective decongestant that was banned in allergy and cold medicines after the FDA became aware of a heightened probability of stroke, especially in young women taking it for weight control (at least that’s what I remember).
My grandmother used to swear by Contac. It was her Windex.
Dexatrim would advertise that their pills were caffeine free and here the ingredient they kept in them was far more potentially harmful.
At one time PPA was in a heck of a lot of products. I know some people would get hyper from it, and others (like me) would get completely knocked out.
The NIH has a little article titled “Contac Overdose” and the pseudoephedrine isn’t what I’d worry about:
[quote]
[ul]
[li]Acetaminophen(Tylenol)[/li][li]Chlorpheniramine[/li][li]Phenylpropanolamine[/li][li]Dextromethorphan hydrobromide[/li][li]Diphenhydramine hydrochloride[/li][li]Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride[/ul] [/li][/quote]
Tylenol overdose killed 458 people a year in the 1990s due to liver damage. It was responsible for “nearly 25 percent of the emergency department visits, 10 percent of the hospitalizations, and 25 percent of the deaths.” in that timeframe. (FDA)
Acetaminophen is safe when used as directed but the OP posits an overdose, and acetaminophen overdose is the largest cause of acute liver failure in the US and the UK. (Cite) It takes days to kill you and it is a painful death.
Anyway, here’s what the NIH says are the symptoms of Contac overdose. For reference, the “Yellow eyes” part at the end refers to the whites of the eyes turning yellow and is a sign of liver failure, due to the acetaminophen:
[quote]
[ul]
[li] Blurred vision[/li][li] Cannot urinate or completely empty the bladder[/li][li] Convulsions[/li][li] Depression[/li][li] Delirium[/li][li] Disorientation[/li][li] Drowsiness[/li][li] Enlarged pupils[/li][li] Fever[/li][li] Hallucinations[/li][li] Increased blood pressure[/li][li] Irregular heartbeat[/li][li] Rapid heartbeat[/li][li] Muscle pain and spasms[/li][li] Nausea and vomiting[/li][li] Nervousness[/li][li] Tremor[/li][li] Unsteadiness[/li][li]Yellow eyes [/ul][/li][/quote]
Does anyone have any ideas for how I could find out the approximate composition of the old-style Contac? (As in, the dosage of PPA and any other active ingredients?)
A physician friend has offered to pick up some PPA decongestants for me if she can while she’s traveling in Europe this summer, but wants to know as specifically as possible what I’m looking for. In years past, I loved Contac - it worked well as a decongestant with the added benefit of making me sleepy so I could rest up.
Stuff like Sudafed makes me twitchy and hyper - I can’t stand to take it.
I use this occasionally Medicines A-Z - NHS Is it the same stuff?
Sudafed does nothing for me. I use Alkaseltzer Cold & Cough and it works real well.