No it should not be, but not because of the dextromethorphan or the phenylephrine being ineffective. By far the biggest issue is the acetaminophen it contains, which it isn't super obvious about, and frequently leads to acetaminophen overdoses. The vast majority of acetaminophen overdoses occur because people combined different medicines containing it (like DayQuil and Tylenol) without realizing they were taking the same thing multiple times. Its a completely preventable cause of liver failure and we should not be making cocktails with it that don't clearly show exactly what they are.

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jmalicki 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is probably the OTC drug that is at the top of the list to be made RX-only due to its dangers.

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drdexebtjl 26 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

It should be replaced with Dipyrone, which is much safer and more effective, but was restricted in the 70s in the US and parts of Europe.

In fact, it’s so effective against pain and fever, it keeps doctors from having to resort to prescribing opioids. Countries that haven’t restricted its use do not have nearly the same problem with opioid abuse.

It makes me wonder if its continued restriction is motivated by profits off the opioid crisis, rather than patient safety.

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rustcleaner 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Please no. We need to be going the other way on that trend: converting things which won't easily outright kill/maim you (and dare I say, even potentially addictive ones) at normal doses from Rx to OTC! Acetaminophen is one of the few cheap, easy, and working products on the shelf!

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Melatonic 36 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

We can do both - and already do. Ibuprofen is perfectly fine for non prescription. Super dose ibuprofen pills are prescription.

And then there's OTC drugs which are sort of in a weird middle area - and where some of these I feel personally might work best. Make them easily accessible to anyone without a prescription but at least a pharmacist has to hand it to you. They are the experts at dosing and what combinations of drugs are safe after all !

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kube-system an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

A concern with OTC drugs is specifically that they won't be taken at normal doses. People confuse brand names and drug names, and don't realize they are taking more than the reccomended amount. This is especially problematic with combination drugs.

	▲	Melatonic 35 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Doesn't OTC specifically mean the ones that can't just be on the shelf ? Where you do not need a prescription but a pharmacist still has to be asked to hand it to you "over the counter" ?
	▲	tristor 35 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		There are people who don't know that Tylenol and acetaminophen are the same thing. That is not a reason for us to make everyone's quality of life and access to healthcare worse because some people are ignorant. The desire to nanny-state things to the lowest common denominator is ruining everything, and it's a major driver for various problems all the way to the housing crisis and the cost of healthcare in the first place.