I remember actifed. It's been years though since I used it though. I just had a nasty cold a couple weeks ago and used NyQuil and/or DayQuil. If it's really bad, one of the mucinex types for appropriate symptoms (it's not cheap though).

i hope you find relief!

I take zyrtec and singular.

Actifed has been discontinued. Apparently there is a generic available, but by prescription only.

ChiSue, you might want to read this Wikipedia write-up about Actifed. It might help you to figure out which store-brand products have the ingredients you want.

From the CVS Pharmacy website when I did a Google search for Actifed: "CHLORPHENIRAMINE; PHENYLEPHRINE (klor fen IR a meen; fen il EF rin) is a combination of an antihistamine and a decongestant. It is used to treat symptoms of an allergy, cold, or sinus inflammation. It will help relieve runny nose, sneezing, and congestion in the nose. This medicine will not treat an infection." This product contains the "reworked" ingredients of Actifed.

Per Wikipedia, the Wal-Act product at Walgreens contains the same ingredients as the original Actifed.

Its active ingredient is pseudoephedrine, which is one of the key ingredients used in cooking crystal meth. Many OTC cold and sinus remedies that included this drug have been pulled from the market, are no longer available OTC or reformulated in a much lower dosage or with a different active ingredient. The formulation of Actifed was changed in 2006 to reflect these concerns but apparently was not as effective or as well received as the original and has since been discontinued.

I have also read that Wal-Act has been discontinued as well for the same reason but maybe they can sell existing stock? Can't confirm this......just something I read.

I hope you can find relief. I don't have any recommendations for you on what to take as I've never taken those types of OTC medicines.

The only OTC medicines I take are acetaminophen and ibuprofen for headaches and joint pain and that is pretty rare.

Sudafed has the decongestant pseudoephedrine. Actifed has/had that plus an antihistamine.

If you're not having an allergic reaction (runny/itchy eyes, runny nose), you may not need an antihistamine - neither the one in Actifed nor something like Zyrtec. Drywall dust can hang around, try to wipe it up as you can with a damp cloth (most vacuums will just blow it back into the air) .

Maybe a pharmacist or the MD who passes by here on occasion can help.

I stopped taking sudafed. While I'm normally tolerant of drugs, this one gives me wild dreams.

Chisue, I took Actifed many years to survive hay fever attacks. Oddly, I do not have so much trouble now and take Zyrtec instead. Is it the pseudoephedrine you want? I got this one at Safeway.

As a kid I took actifed for allergies, but I hated how it made my heart pound.

When you finally get it, look at the label. It's chlorpheniramine 4mg and phenylephrine 10mg. Remember that and look for other brands/labels to get the same ingredients.

I also had to switch. I used Sudafed but now use Tylenol Cold and Flu which has a nighttime and daytime choice in one package.

Like Socks, I used Actifed until I could no longer, then switched to Zryrtec. I love it. Can't use Sudafed.

I don't take anything for a cold. I am just getting over one now and it kicked in last Saturday and was on its way out yesterday. No allergies

I caution against using PM-type medicines. Tylenol is terribly toxic, and when it is buried in with other ingredients, it is easy to overdose. Benedryl is available and so is the sleep-aid equivalent.

Sudafed and like products are kept behind the counter with restrictions because that's a prime ingredient in meth.

The PM products are going to make you drowsy, they contain Benadryl. They may also make you very thirsty.

The Sudafed on the grocery and drugstore shelves is phenylephrine. I don't find it very effective for sinus.

The Sudafed behind the pharmacy counter that you must ask for and show your drivers license to buy is pseudoephedrine, the older product that works for stuffy sinus. You can buy it but must stand in line and ask for it where prescription drugs are sold even though its not prescription (for the reasons Gardengal mentioned).

The photo of the packaging Socks showed you above is the product you must sign for, prove ID to buy now. It's worth the effort to me to have a box on hand. I don't take it often, but when I need it, I want it here.

I do remember Actifed. I use Fluticasone Propionate nasal spray now. Works pretty good.

That's Flonase, right, Scott? I've found it helpful combined with Zyrtec. Got some generic at Walmart, lower price of course.

The neighbor's enormous tree sheds yellow pollen far and wide, so I'm grateful for products which can help. Chisue, we were doing the same thing, finding that even half an Actifed said could be helpful and also not quite so drowsy inducing.

PS According to Wikipedia, the original Actifed included pseudoephedrine.

Yes, that's correct. My mail in pharmacy sends me 3 at a time. Works good.

Funny. Safeway is one of the pharmacies that just turned me away when I asked for Actifed. I asked what had replaced it and got a shrug. The CVS pharmacist acted as though she'd never heard of Actifed; said they were out of Sudafed.

Do you think there are many Old White Ladies in the meth biz? Do you think my red eyes and runny nose were suspicious?

It's 10 a.m. I'm waiting for the A/C tech (who was to have been here 'first thing') to come and make some more drywall dust, adjusting a drain hose to have a greater incline. After (if) he shows up, I can go to Walgreens in Kahului. (I love it when people tell me Hawaii has changed and no longer runs on Island Time.)

I recently read a letter to the editor on a syndicated health site where an MD said he had developed a Zyrtec dependency. I took it once, briefly, for hives, with good result. It does nothing for my sinus congestion.

Having peered at dozens of packages in search of an Actifed substitute, it seems to me there are whole aisles of 'new, improved' (and expensive) pain and sleep aids where the *active ingredient* is just cheap aspirin or benedryl.

Actifed contains a 1st generation antihistamine (chlorpheniamine) and a decongestant (phenylephrine).

You can get these ingredients individually in generics or Chlor-trimeton & Sudafed PE.

Some find the 1st generation antihistamines more effective, but more sedating than 2nd generation antihistamines like loratadine (Claritin).

Some find pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) more effective than phenylephrine (Sudafed PE).

My go-to was always Advil Allergy Sinus for a bad head cold. (I don't have allergies). But now I see that they have changed the ingredients. It now contains phenylephrine instead of pseudoephedrine.

I have an old package of actifed that is the old formula. I get the real Sudafed at the Walmart pharmacy.

And so now it is Tylenol that has gone missing. At WalMart recently there were no familiar looking Tylenol bottles. Even the pharmacist I asked was surprised to see that. There were small cardboard boxes with large red Tylenol letters (like above?) which in small red letters said Acetaminophen Regular Strength 20 Liquid Gels 325 mg each. What's with all the RED in the ads now? I did not get any. I still have an old bottle of the regular ones. Good luck, chisue.

I got the Wal-Act. It is a controlled substance, but does not require a prescription. That's fortunate because Hawaiian State law prohibits a pharmacy from dispensing any 'narcotic' without a prescription from a physician licensed to practice in Hawaii. (It's an old law, intended to prevent the misuse of opiates. I don't know that it did that, but it sure has sent a lot of visitors to local MD's if they failed to bring their pain meds with them.)

I took a product description card from the store aisle display to the pharmacy counter, showed ID, signed for it, and was permitted to buy ONE box of 48 tablets.

Each tablet is 60 mg pseudoephedrine with 2.5 mg tripolidine. I don't know if this is the same formula that I've taken occasionally for years because my box is at home. I don't remember having to sign for it when I bought it. This box has a '100% satisfaction guarantee' from Walgreens with a date of 2013, and the med has an expiration date of 2019.

I hope it helps. Let us know.

"...old ladies in the meth biz...." Funny! This reminds me of Breaking Bad. Some of those motor home scenes were funny too.

"Each tablet is 60 mg pseudoephedrine with 2.5 mg tripolidine. I don't know if this is the same formula that I've taken occasionally for years because my box is at home."

ChiSue, those are the same two ingredients at the same strengths as in the original Actifed that you used to buy years ago.

I was in Europe last week and had come down with serious sore throat and congestion so bad I couldn't hear. I went to the pharmacy in Barcelona and they gave me the original formula Actifed from behind the counter. ( after asking if whether I had high blood pressure or not). It worked like a charm and got me through he rest of my vacation. I came home and still have congestion and cough so I purchased Mucinex (maximum strength) and it really didnt work anywhere as well and the cost was $13. The Actifed was 10$ euro, so only a bit cheaper but at least that worked. We should be able to buy products that work in this country from pharmacies even if it means asking a pharmacist for assistance and signing a waiver or whatever it takes.

Yes, once again the addicts and wrong doers have ruined it for those folks who do things the way they are supposed to and don’t abuse the system. Actified was the bomb and my go to remedy for years. There are a couple of others that work almost as well though Sudefed 12 hour (or 24 hour) and Advil Cold & Sinus. Advil on it’s own can make me sleepy but the Cold & Sinus doesn’t. Both are kept behind the counter and have to be purchased via the Pharmasist

I take Allegra everyday along with two prescription nasal sprays. When I really get stuffed up I take Sudafed. Or actually, the Wal-Mart brand of Sudafed, Equate Congestion. You do have to be careful with Sudafed and its generic, it will make your blood pressure go up. I don't have high blood pressure, but too many Sudafed shoot it up. Also, 30 mg in one pill is a lot, be careful with that also. I take the 10 mg pill. DH says the 10 mg pill makes his heart race.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Congestion-Suphedrine-PE-Nasal-Decongestant-Tablets-10-mg-72-Ct/22822801

dr approval is always key. There are a couple of variations of sudifed one, thats a little red pill makes my heart race too but the longer acting white tablets dont.

I didn't know that lukkiirish. Is it as effective as the little red one? I'll have to try them. Thanks.

IMO they are way better. They relieve everything from sinus pain to congestion. My issues are a bit chronic and sometimes I get a horrible pain in my neck from it as well; it even relieves that! It’s nothing like those little red ones. It’s time released or something and I’ve never experienced any kind of a buzz from it. Everyone is different of course so I can’t say you’ll experience will be the same, but nothing else I’ve tried works as well. Same with Advil Cold & Sinus.