Covonia, Day & Night Nurse among 20 medicines recalled in UK over ‘very rare’ health risk - full listDay Nurse, Covonia and Night Nurse are just some of the 20 cough and cold remedies now not allowed to be sold in the UK over health concerns.
I was given Covonia Dry & Tickly Cough Linctus by a pharmacist recently for my post Covid dry cough .
If you have taken it….do look up the side effects…especially if you anticipate having an anaesthetic in the near future tell your doctor straight away.
Written by
AgedCrone
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
There is more info on GB News…. or if you Google Banned Cough Mixtures …..others that don’t contain one particular ingredient will still be available.But the real beware is the anaesthetic
No….I don’t usually have a cough….I only took it because of the post covid little cough…it tasted horrid so I only took it a couple of times & it made me sneeze.
Will take it back to the pharmacy next time I’m passing ..but just thought if anyone is taking it & is anticipating an anaesthetic..they should investigate further.
“Some cough, cold and flu medicines are being withdrawn from pharmacy shelves as a precaution following concerns over very rare cases of allergic reaction.Following a review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), all medicines containing pholcodine are being withdrawn from the UK as a precaution.Products from brands including Boots and Superdrug, as well as Day and Night Nurse, that are usually sold behind the counter among the 20 medicines being withdrawn.Experts cited a "very rare" chance of people experiencing an allergic reaction when combined with general anaesthetic.Pholcodine is used as a cough suppressant.”
That's why I stick to natural solutions for colds and flu. Not that I've had a cold for years not since I've been taking vitamin D. A new ten year study released that involved over 12,000 "over 71 year olds", in Canada found that if you take vitamin D you are 40% less likely to get Dementia. So not only does it protect you from a host of bugs, viruses it helps to keep your brain from miss firing. Unlike certainly vaccines and some drugs the only side effect is better health.
Do you know how much vitamin D is optimal ? I take Accrete which is calcium based and includes vitamin D . I have cSVD which has the propensity to progress to vascular dementia . I have been reading about vitamin D helping prevent this but I'm not sure what the correct amount is .
Sorry, no,idea of a standard recommended dose…I take a VitD spray recommended by my rheumy, together with Adcal-D3 which contains 400 IU Vit D. Seems enough for this old lady who I think still has all her marbles.
Thanks ! I think Accrete is similar to Adcal -D3 . They keep changing as certain suppliers run out . Will check with my rheumatologist next month about the VitD spray . Do you think 81 is old enough for this amount of vitamin D ? 🤔 Hopefully I have the appropriate age related number of marbles 🙄
Official it is recommended that you take between 1,000–4,000 IU (25–100 micrograms) of vitamin D per day.Though only take as much as 4,000 if you are coming down with a bug or want to recover from something like flu quickly.
The problem with normal vitamin D is that it takes around two weeks for your liver to process it into the active form "colecalciferol". That your body can absorb.
If you can get hold of fultium-D ( colecalciferol) then you can use it to directly control any bugs. Take it first thing in the morning or you'll be awake most of the night.
I'm on 800 iu daily, double it if I feel as if out of sorts or the childrenhave broughthome flu from school. It is important to listen to your body, it'll tell you what amount suits you.
Worth noting a lot of pills and vitamin pills contain "titanium dioxide", it's makes them nice and white... you don't want to be taking anything with this in it!
(Why it's allowed in anything intended to be ingested, is rather concerning )
There are also other effective products you can take that offer protection and recover.
Grapefruit seed extract is very good, thought you do have to check that it doesn't clash with certain medications. Check with your chemistry/ doctor
Also colloidal silver is very effective, it has been proven to offer protection from viruses like covid. (Based on a nasal spray and mouth wash experiment on key covid workers in Mexico. Along with other trails. Though it is worth noting, profit based organisations like the fda have tried to discredit its effectiveness. )
Do your own research, see what and how much suits you. If in dought check with a good doctor or chemist.
Eating properly, get plenty of exercise out doors, drinking plenty of clean water. They all help you feel better in yourself and give you better health. Goes without saying don't wear a mask, you need to breath and they don't work anyway.
Thanks for your concern and informed answer . Unfortunately, at over 80 , cSVD including lacunar silent strokes , is a common finding on an MRI , when looking for other things .
Even more unfortunately , there hasn't been a lot of research into its prevention , or how to deal with it , other than the usual medication for cerebral vascular disease .
Exercise , healthy eating , watching hypertension, etc etc etc is the usual path to take , hence my interest in anything that will help .
The RA I've had since my late 40s is probably partly to blame .
You can take vitamin D at any age, most people especially as they get older have a deficiency in it. With so many health and mental issues linked to that deficiency taking vitamin D should be as common as drinking water everyday It is worth noting the importance of reading the ingredients before you buy any vitamins. They are not all natural and many contain Titanium dioxide "basically a poison ", why this is allowed is another discussion altogether.
Covonia dry and tickly cough only contains glycerol with is lubrication sometimes called glycerine.This particular covonia procuct does not contain pholcodeine which is cough suppressant!
I do like it when media and non medical people cause hysterical reaction and false information .
Other cough products may contain pholcodeine but not this particular one.
I'm pharmacy qualified.
Look at the ingredient list glucose , glycerin, menthol blah blah.
The product that has been withdrawn is covonia original
The warning was put out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), “all medicines containing pholcodine are being withdrawn from the UK as a precaution.” It then named the meds to take note of.
I thought members here who might regularly take any of the mentioned cough meds would like to know to investigate further.
PS:-
This below in today’s 15/3/23 paper…I do still think it was worth mentioning here
“Anyone undergoing surgery is being urged to tell their anaesthetist if they think they have taken a medicine containing pholcodine. Watchdogs said their review had found that pholcodine use - particularly in the 12 months before general anaesthesia backed with muscle relaxants - is a risk factor for developing an anaphylactic reaction.Such agents are used in about half of operations involving a general anaesthetic. “
I’m sure if anybody here reads the information in the newspapers or online & thinks they might be at risk they will be able to make their voice heard…..better safe than sorry!
I was under the impression that it’s the Day and Night Nurse Capsules that are being withdrawn, not the liquids as the latter do not contain pholcodeine.
Best to check with your pharmacist to be sure I think.
I don’t know,…..You can look it up on line….I just cut & pasted what I read,
Before Covid I had never needed a cough remedy & have never taken Night Nurse as I seemed to say goodbye to colds once RA turned up.A point to note….lpholcodine is different from codeine….you can find that information on line as well.
Hi AgedCrone - This pulling of what really is a codeine is crazy, all because of a very rare chance of " anaphylactic shock" These types of low dose drugs have been sold over the counter for decades, I mean what are they taking away next " Ibuprofen" for example which can cause bleeding?
Codeine which bought as Pholcodine come with a patient leaflet
We live in a nanny state where faceless people know what is best for us.
Same with gardening. most pesticides, fungus treatments which worked for us gardeners are banned and replaced with potions so weak, the pests thrive off them...
It's not a matter of being "nannied" IMO - The risk of an allergic shock is low - Less that 1 in 10,000.
There is a risk with many things, nuts, milk the list is endless - where do we stop banning, as "Ibuprofen" as there are real bleeding risks. Should this be banned?
1 in 10,000 I got this from the Guardian.
"“The available data has demonstrated that pholcodine use, particularly in the 12 months before general anaesthesia with NMBAs, is a risk factor for developing an anaphylactic reaction to NMBAs,” the government alert states. The risk is low, however, at less than one in 10,000.""
I am on blood thinners for my heart - I have operations twice a year for BC and have to stop blood thinners and it would be dangerous.
My point being why would anyone take anything before " general anaesthesia" - When you go for a pre op, you are asked what you take..
IMO any risk should be addressed but information any day is better than banning a useful medicine.
You seem to read up a lot about your drugs…tbh I don’t think most people are that diligent…….I luckily don’t need to take many drugs…but if I did take the odd dose of any otc medicine, I doubt I would remember, & certainly wouldn’t have thought it important to mention it to a surgeon if I had unplanned surgery 6 months later. So in my book I’d rather these cough mixtures were removed from sale. After all, it’s not as if there is nothing to replace them
I have to take drugs for several conditions and that includes morphine, not nice but necessary.
I have bladder cancer and have at least to ops a year and I have to declare all medicines I take both from GP and over the counter.
I really don't see a problem. it's my honest opinion we are becoming over governed. If people have a very annoying cough I think they should get this medicine and be warned of any dangers, they then can choose.
You are correct I do look up drugs I take, simply to see how safe they are...
I like to think the Majority of adults as a grown ups & I for one feel quite confident to be able to make my own decisions. My wife has a dry hacking cough at the mo, so took some pholcodine & slept like a baby all night, I have also been glad of the stuff on occasions.Now plenty of other products are covered with nanny state warning labels & government health warning (some may argue for the benefit of the thick) so why in this instance are we being deprived of something so helpful with such low small risk & considering grown ups to be equal to the lowest common denominator?
We are being deprived as you put it ….because if somebody is unfortunate enough to be harmed by any OTC or Prescription Drug …the law suits that would follow could put all sorts of people in court & possibly out of business.
It seems the days of thinking “Whoops I should have heeded the warnings” when a drug upsets somebody has been replaced by calling a lawyer.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
RA in my eyes
Rheumatology Nurse
From Anya
Dry Hacking Cough
Cough at night
