Asymmetrical Information

Hormonal imbalance caused by flu.

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I'm serious!

I would argue that what you're going through to buy decongestant, Jane, is not something to rebel against, but indeed a model of how we should deal with heroin, say, or cannabis. You know, you go into a (regulated and taxed) retail establishment, you show some ID that, among other things, proves you're not a minor, perhaps you sign a release saying you're aware it's a crime to resell, etc., etc., etc., and then you leave the shop a short time later with your drugs.

Anyway, it's beats banning the substance. Or handing a monopoly to criminal gangs.

On the bright side, you are reducing your carbon dioxide emissions by a full ton, which is 13% of the average American's annual emissions, and about 38% of what you emit from home energy use each year.

First encountered the Sudafed fandango in Colorado Springs five or more years ago. I laughed and walked out. Now it is everywhere, it seems...and there's other ways to make "stay-up" juice, heck, the Krauts made it in bunkers in Russia back during WWII...and no, I do NOT know the recipe.

You can deal with that sinus thang with salt water, btw, non-iodized mixed with baking powder. Or just buy a nasal spray of saline, and use it many times/day, eventually it cleans out the bacteria...and the bugs can't mutate to survive it, unlike antibiotics.

We should all just telecommute to conferences, anyway, using Al Gore's Internet, right?

I encountered Sudafed in the US Navy in the 1970's. Unfortunately, my sinus infection, like most chronic sinusitis, is caused by GERD.

A couple of things to help, non-medicated approaches. 1) Saline nasal mist. Generic works fine, on the shelf at grocery or drug store. The national brand is 'Ocean', store brands are OK. Twice in each side, once an hour, and blow. My physician claimed this will clear discomfort up to a sinus infection. 2) fiber. Psyllium husk is as good as it gets -- the non-sugar part of Metamucil. Don't overdose -- no one likes surprises. Alternatives are popcorn and oatmeal (not served together ..).

Plain Robitussin helps with the congestion. I like Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold -- relieves symptoms quietly, non-recreational (like Nyquil).

Lots of liquids, lots of sleep and mild exercise. Dress warmly! A day or two of Echinacea, keep up the Vitamin C/E.

Luck!

Immune system in overdrive tires you out.

But your readers are probably right, it's something else. Should probably have some blood drawn.

There's 12 (really 10) hour expectorant available over the counter as Mucinex nowadays. The ingredient list says that two of them are what I used to get from the doctor for sinus infections.

Steam does wonders for sinus infections. Put water on to boil, lean over pot or kettle spout, inhale. (My father used to do this for fifteen minutes with a towel to channel the steam; I do it for a minute or two at a time several times over an hour or two, replenishing the water if needed.)

Inhaling and snorting out water helps, and pouring water through with a sinus cup (currently most available as yoga cups -- sort of a huge spout with a hole at a top to pour in water) helps more.

Hot pads over the face help the headache if you've got one, and helps the junk flow. So does tiger balm applied on the skin over the sinus cavities, but be careful: it's easy to use too much.

I haven't had a serious sinus infection in years, but I used to get them a lot.

When I first moved to go to college in So. Cal. I found myself with a headache starting around day 12 which I couldn't shake. I had the headache for a month. I attributed it to the smog. Then it rained and the smog cleared and the headache was still there. So I figured I had a brain tumor. I finally went to the medical center (Baxter, nicknamed Quackster) where the diagnosed me with a raging sinus infection. I had never had a cold, my nose was never stuffed, I never had a fever. I just had this sinus infection. They put me on antibiotics and by that evening the headache was gone.

Unfortunately, for the next ten years, everytime I got a cold it turned into a sinus infection. So be careful.

Ive had only one sinus infection that I know of. It was about five years ago, and unlike yours did not cause tiredness. Instead, it was like someone was excavating my face with a power drill.

Sudafed is the greatest over the counter drug to come along since aspirin. This federal law is totally asinine. But even worse, here in Nevada the legislature is considering a law making the poor cold suferer go to the doctor and get a priscription before buying Sudafed.

And here I thought Nevada was one of the more libertarian holdout states.

I'll second (or is it third?) the advice about the nasal saline sprays, and about Mucinex, which works much better for me than Sudafed.

Regarding the Sudafed pharmacy song-and-dance, I'd like to see some statistics that show that it is actually reducing the amount of meth available out there. I wonder if any such thing exists.

Forgot to add, I've flown with sinus infections and never popped an ear drum or had any problem more serious than the headache that went along with the sinus junk. If you have an ear infection, or fluid in your ears, that's different from having congestion up in your face. The fact is, you'll be in a pressurized cabin anyway. If your doctor told you to stay home, OK -- but if it was just advice from a non-health-professional and you want to go, take the drugs and fly.

The worst, stupidest part of the entire thing is that (by the DEA's numbers) something like 75% of the nation's illicit amphetamines are smuggled in from Mexico, anyway.

Making people get a prescription (here in OR) or show ID to get a single box of pseudo-ephedrine-containing decongestants has no effect on amphetamine supplies. (Requiring ID for case lots? Maybe at the margins.)

A clear case of lawmakers needing to be "seen to be doing something".

Use Afrin, take some Tylenol, and fly anyways. Worst case scenario, you get some uncomfortable pressure.

uh..uh..she said D'onofrio!

Definitely fly. Definitely use saline.

Do not bother with the phenylephrine 'substitute' for pseudoephedrine - it's crap. It's just too bad that crystal meth is sooooo easy to make from Sudafed.

Like a fool, I flew out to Colorado a few years ago for a scientific meeting (Keystone conference) after already knowing that I had a tremendous sinus infection. Two multihour flights and a week at altitude are *not* what you need in that situation, but I guess I had to find that out for myself. And didn't I just. . .

Be glad you're not in Hawaii - Sudafed is prescription-only there, as well.

Has anybody shown that these sorts of stupid laws actually reduce meth supplies? Does it even reduce the number of meth houses?

The easiest way around this is to get your physician to give you a prescription for as large a supply as your insurance will allow. In my case I need chronic Claritin-D, mostly because I am a human mold detector, and once I got the years worth of prescritions, there is no hassle (and, ironically, it is far cheaper.)

I buy handguns with less hassle than this (useless) federal law.

Anyway, it's beats banning the substance.

Which, incidentally, is the case in Japan. Never bring Sudafed to Japan.

I've had decent luck with the reformulated stuff.

Oh, and Sudafed alone will never cure a sinus infection, just treat the symptoms a bit. But you presumably knew that. I get them once or twice a year, and it's always difficult for me to decide whether it's worth it to get an antibiotic that will actually clear it up much faster.

"Be glad you're not in Hawaii - Sudafed is prescription-only there, as well.

Has anybody shown that these sorts of stupid laws actually reduce meth supplies? Does it even reduce the number of meth houses?"

In Hawaii, it might. Smuggling meth to hawaii has got to be a lot tougher than smuggling it into the continental 48. Everywhere else, I think that any good is limited to eliminating the casual meth cook. While I wouldn't want some one making their very own superfund site next door, I didn't have that before the crackdown either. It is probably not a worthwhile imposition.

It is an interesting debate though. Hawaii is in a position where it can benefit significantly from very different drug laws than the rest of the US. I would be interested if anyone has done studies of the effectiveness of supply reduction of illegal drugs there. If supply reduction doesn't have a big impact there, it probably can not work anywhere.

Do not fly with a sinus infection.

I found out the hard way. Flew with an infection (did not realize how bad my ears were plugged up) and the pain was very nasty when landing. Saw a doctor and he said don't fly until the ears cleared out.

He did say if I chose to fly having an ENT specialist lance my eardrums when I arrived would help the pain. I elected not to fly.

Cheers,

TJIT

Do not fly with a sinus infection.

I must agree with this. The pain and ringing and constant pressure and such does go away after about three to four days, though, in my experience.

I wouldn't mind if the stuff was by prescription, because then I would at least be under the illusion that all the information they take from me, including my SSN and drivers license would be kept safe... which, not so sure at the wal-mart... it doesn't end up in the same database there. That and "why don't you just use the new PE stuff?" um, becasue it doesn't work? This is the biggest crock of... well, you know. No, they will never be able to prove this law works, because they aren't keeping the metrics on it. That all the trade in crystal has shifted south of the border isn't much of a surprise. Why have people stealing sudaphed from target, when in Mexico, they can just buy the raw materials by the truckload?

But what do I know, I'm just another snotty datapoint with year round allergies...

D-

This doesn't help you now, but for next time, plan ahead. Buy Sudafed during your regular shopping trips and horde it.

Oh, and you're a blogger, so I'm not going to assume that you have any real-life friends, but if you did, they could hook you up.

I experienced this last weekend, and the stupidity of the law was coupled with real live stupidity, to make the process take 20 minutes.

Although I must say that around here, you could fill out the book "Dodald Duck" and no one would care. Not sure they can read.

My state has the same type of restriction on OTC cold medicines containing ephedrine/pseudoephedrine. Pain in the arse though it is in my area of rural Kansas it appears that it has reduced the number of "clandestine meth labs". The evidence is anecdotal - I am a public defender and my caseload of meth manufacturing cases had dropped substantially. For the middle of Kansas we had quite a number of cases prior to the enactment of this new regulation. Rural areas saw a what I considered a disproportionate number of "labs" due to the availability of anhydrous ammonia (fertilizer), another necessary ingredient for the "Nazi" cook method. The entire hysteria is/was overblown. Most of these labs were small enough to fit into a gym bag or at worst, the trunk of a car. They were just able to feed the habits of the small number of addicts directly or indirectly involved in the cook.

I can feel for you on this one. I have horrible sinus problems so I use a decongestant daily. I got so tired of being treated like an almost criminal that I switched my prescription to Zyrtec-D instead of Zyrtec.

As to getting rid of the infection, anything containing guifenisen (Robitussin or Mucinex) will help thin the mucous. Rinsing with saline (get the plain saline for contact lens - you get much more and its cheaper than Ocean)certainly helps. Also, while I don't recommend using it for more than a couple of days, give yourself a spray or two of Afrin and then rinse with saline about 10 minutes later. I usually carry Afrin when I am flying so I can get the sinuses open.

Good luck.

I used to get sinus infections all the time. The pressurized saline spray stays sterile - the stuff I mix up from the faucet and the kitchen salt does not.

Use the saline regularly and I can testify that it cuts down on the sinus infections.

And if you buy it too often, you can expect a friendly visit from a half-dozen or so police officers. Since I have allergies, I take generic actifed every day to help me breathe. Which apparently got me put on some sort of suspicious characters list, and I got raided a couple years ago. It's great fun, having your stuff being pawed through by police.

I was staying with my mother for a few months. Both of us have chronic allergies that requires regular sudafed. Mother is all but house bound and I couldnt' pick up her sudafed. Not with her driver's license or anything. She has to go to the store.

Because of chronic pain, she is on a class whatever controlled substance containing opiates. I can pick that up with a signature. But not sudafed.

Go figure.

I had a fun experience the other day when I bought a package of 24 30-mg Sudafed pills. The cashier did the math (or at least, his version of math) and concluded that I had purchased 72 grams of the stuff and was supposed to write that down accordingly in the log book (yes, this is many times the new legal limit).

I spent 10 minutes arguing with the guy about how many grams most would concluded are actually in 24*30-mg to ensure that I could get me some decongestant without being arrested a month later. Good times.

Anyone who lives in Texas knows about severe allergies. My two sons and I all use Claritin D. The oldest is now in college, 300 miles across the state. He went to buy Claritin, and when they scanned his drivers license (which lists his permanent address as our/his home, not his college address), they refused to sell it to him because I had just bought a pack for myself and my other son and our address had apparently purchased the weekly limit or whatever (a pack of fifteen only lasts two of us a week as it is)!!!!

I called my state rep's office and told them that this was horse*****. Their response was that they would bring it to my rep's attention because this was apparently "an unintended consequence".

I called my son's doctor today and got a prescription for Allegra D instead which he can now get filled at the pharmacy without this problem.

grrrrrrrrrrr

A-Freakin-men. I've had hay fever for years, seen allergists, tried claritin, allegra, and everythign else that they through at me, but sudafed is the only thing that has ever kept my nose clear for half the year. Now i feel like im a 14 year old trying to buy condoms every time i buy a pack. Its literally easier to get a prescription filled.

This is a prime libertarian example- these laws were passed _purely_ so politicians can claim they are tough on the drug du jure. Meth use isnt going down an iota, and since we already know that to ask for quantitative results in the drug war is equivalent to handinga grade schooler a herion spoon, the laws arent going anywhere anytime soon.

And Sudafed-PE is a sick joke.

This has been a great success here in Oregon. It has practically driven all the "tweaker" labs out of business. This allows the tweakers to spend their time doing what they are good at, stealing mail and identities. The price and availability have not been affected in any way. Now all the meth traffic is controlled by the Mexican Mafia, who also control the heroin. Things could not have worked out better for them if they had paid for it. (which I do NOT believe they did)

A couple of relevant posts from Steve Verdon at outside the beltway.

Before the ban Another Stupid Idea from Our Politicians

After the ban the idiot politicians made methamphetamine’s cheaper too. Apparently our pols fell asleep during economics class.

I did not have time to google it this morning but there have been cases of parents being arrested because the amount of sudafed they purchases for their families allergies. A couple of people in the family had allergies and since one person purchased the sudafed for all of the children they exceeded the legal limit and got arrested.

It would appear your earlier post on Bureaucrats applies here. Slightly modified below.

1) People are often stupid
2) Bureaucrats / politician are the same stupid people, with bad incentives.

Sudafed is commonly used by scuba divers to keep their eustachian tubes open so that they can equalize pressure in their inner ears. The twelve hour kind is great, you don't have to worry about it wearing off at depth and sudafed doesn't make you groggy.

Last summer I took a boy scout trip of 14 to florida for a week of scuba diving. Due to the regulations it took several trips to walmart to stock up on sudafed for the group. I had to show my I.D. and sign for it each time. What a load of crap.

It does cut down on the number of homemade labs - but instead, you get meth made on an industrial scale and smuggled across the border. We've traded some idiots endangering themselves for increased armed gang activity. This to unsuccessfully combat misuse of a drug which is not significantly different (except in quality) from common prescription drugs, and which is even closely related to two drugs (Ritalin and Dexedrine) often forced upon children by court order!

you must not live in a state with much of a meth problem. it might be a pain in the you know what, but it has significantly reduced the no. of meth labs in oklahoma and is well worth the inconvenience.

1) Saline nasal mist. Generic works fine, on the shelf at grocery or drug store.

I used to get sinus infections all the time. The pressurized saline spray stays sterile - the stuff I mix up from the faucet and the kitchen salt does not.

Add to that, the pressurized saline sprays stay sterile; the un-pressurized saline sprays, also available, are maintained pure by the presence of preservatives. If you have any/many nasal-related allergies, you may find that the un-pressurized sprays are worse than using nothing at all, and therefore the pressurized spray is worth the extra money it costs.

Also, IIRC some Australian doctor found a possible link between saline spray and mitigation of asthma symptoms...

I am not a doctor, but I am a hypochondriac so I may have the answer to your question. I have had sinus infections with major drainage issues, and had some with almost nothing. My doctor said it depends upon which sinus cavity is infected.

Some cause headaches, some cheekbone pressure, while others may hurt your teeth

I'm really rather astonished at the number of people who say that Sudafed is that effective for them. It's never been *that* useful for me... dries up the mucus somewhat, but usually when I have a sinus infection it doesn't come close to doing enough to really make me feel better or prevent all the mucus or the pain when flying. Of course, it's different for different people.

Pseudoephedrine was always a poor second choice for me, the side effects (it really affected my embouchure as a brass musician) are inconvenient and it was not as effective for me as the PPA containing alternatives. But they banned PPA, so everything switched to Pseudoephedrine, and now everything is switching to PE. which "yay" does not have the Pseudoephedrine side effects for me, but nor does it work very well at all. Now a box of OTC Sudafed doesn't even contain "sudafed".
Hey FDA -- can you tell me why you pulled PPA for a correlation that wasn't even statistically significant, tell me how PPA causes strokes, or tell me when I can have my old-Dimetapp back please?

I'm another person who finds sudafed pretty effective. I'm sure this varies from person to person.

The requirement to sign my name for this stuff is annoying, though I guess it's not that big a deal. (I suspect it has little benefit, but it's not that huge a cost, either.) The bigger problem is the bigger war on drugs, which includes goofy stuff like no-knock raids on suspected small-time dealers. If I have to write my name in a book, okay, but if that makes it likely that the Keystone Kops, newly equipped with submachine guns and body armor, are going to knock down my door in the middle of the night, that's not so okay.