FAQs

Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain lists the following warnings related to potential side effects:

• “Liver warning: This product contains acetaminophen. Severe liver damage may occur if you take: more than 8 tablets in 24 hours, which is the maximum daily amount for this product, with any other drugs containing acetaminophen or 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day while using this product.”
• “Allergy Alert: acetaminophen may cause severe skin reactions. Symptoms may include: ▪ skin reddening ▪ blisters ▪ rash. If a skin reaction occurs, stop use and seek medical help right away.”
• “Do not exceed recommended dosage. If nervousness, dizziness, or sleeplessness occur, discontinue use and consult a doctor.”
• “If symptoms do not improve within 7 days or are accompanied by fever, consult a doctor.”
• “Do not use with any other drug containing acetaminophen (prescription or nonprescription). If you are not sure whether a drug contains acetaminophen, ask a doctor or pharmacist.”
• “Ask a doctor before use if you have liver disease.”
• “Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking the blood thinning drug warfarin.”
• “Do not take this product if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes, trouble urinating due to an enlarged prostate gland unless directed by a doctor.”
• “Do not use if you are now taking a prescription monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) (certain drugs for depression, psychiatric, or emotional conditions, or Parkinson’s disease), or for 2 weeks after stopping the MAOI drug. If you do not know if your prescription drug contains an MAOI, ask a doctor or pharmacist before taking this product.”
• “If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.”
• “Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”

Both products treat nasal and sinus congestion, pressure and pain. Following the products’ labeled directions for use, the standard dose of Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain (2 tablets) delivers 60mg of pseudoephedrine and 650 mg acetaminophen, up to four times per day for the maximum 240 mg of pseudoephedrine per day. The maximum dose of Advil Cold and Sinus (2 tablets) delivers 60mg of pseudoephedrine and 400 mg ibuprofen up to only three times per day, for 180 mg of pseudoephedrine per day. The pain reliever in Nexafed Sinus is acetaminophen, while the pain reliever in Advil Cold and Sinus is ibuprofen. Carefully read all label directions, warnings and precautions before using these or any cold, sinus or allergy products.

More than 10,000 pharmacies across the country carry Nexafed, and pharmacists nationwide have also begun to stock Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain, adding this combination meth-resistant PSE product to their pharmacy shelves to relieve the same symptoms as do other sinus remedies while proactively addressing the meth production issue locally.

As more pharmacies replace older single ingredient pseudoephedrine products with meth-resistant products like Nexafed, meth cooks are turning to combination pseudoephedrine products to get the ingredient needed to convert to meth. Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain offers a meth-resistant alternative for patients who need sinus congestion and pain relief.

Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain is the first meth-resistant combination PSE and acetaminophen product and represents a valuable addition to the fight against meth. Pharmacists and patients now have a unique choice of effective relief from sinus congestion and headache symptoms that also helps impact the meth problem in their communities.

The active ingredients in Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain are pseudoephedrine HCl, which helps alleviate nasal congestion due to the common cold or seasonal allergies, and acetaminophen, which helps relieve pain and reduce fever.

Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain may be taken every 4 to 6 hours, but not to exceed 4 doses in 24 hours

Take tablets with enough water to ensure complete swallowing immediately after placing in the mouth

The effectiveness of Nexafed in reducing local meth production is supported by recent law enforcement data. In Tennessee, pharmacies in some counties have replaced older single ingredient pseudoephedrine products with Nexafed, which was followed by a decrease in meth lab busts of up to 90%.² Nearly all the pharmacies in West Virginia have adopted a similar policy, and meth lab seizures statewide have dropped significantly.²

While Nexafed provides powerful relief from congestion due to colds and allergies with pseudoephedrine, new Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain adds acetaminophen to relieve pain and fever associated with colds and sinus headaches. Both products offer non-drowsy relief and are formulated with Impede® technology to disrupt conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine.

While Nexafed provides powerful relief from congestion due to colds and allergies with pseudoephedrine (PSE), new Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain adds acetaminophen to relieve pain and fever associated with colds and sinus headaches. Both products offer non-drowsy relief and are formulated with Impede® technology to disrupt conversion of PSE to methamphetamine.

Nexafed temporarily relieves nasal congestion due to the common cold, hay fever, or other upper respiratory allergies. Nexafed also helps to decongest sinus openings and passages to temporarily relieve sinus congestion and pressure, without causing drowsiness.

Impede^® is a combination of safe ingredients that significantly disrupt the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine into the dangerous illegal drug methamphetamine, commonly known as meth. This reduction in yield makes Nexafed unsuitable for meth cooks, who will shop elsewhere for the products they prefer. In some communities where pharmacies have replaced older single ingredient pseudoephedrine products with Nexafed, meth labs busts have been reduced up to 90%.¹

Nexafed utilizes MainPointe’s Impede^® technology, a unique polymer matrix, which incorporates inactive ingredients to significantly disrupt the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine. If abusers try to dissolve Nexafed to extract the pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine, the polymers will form a thick gel to block that extraction.¹

Nexafed^® is the only meth-resistant pseudoephedrine product that has demonstrated, using FDA testing standards, therapeutic equivalence to Sudafed^®.¹ No other meth-resistant product can make this claim¹.

Nexafed is a traditional, solid-dose white tablet.

Nexafed is available as an immediate-release oral tablet.

Methamphetamine can be produced relatively easily by combining household chemical ingredients with common over-the-counter cold medicines, such as pseudoephedrine. Since pseudoephedrine is an active ingredient found in many cold and allergy medicines available at local pharmacies, meth cooks have easy access to this key component needed to make methamphetamine.

Nexafed^® is the only meth-resistant pseudoephedrine product that is just as fast and effective as other commonly used pseudoephedrine products, such as Sudafed^®, using FDA bioequivalence testing standards.² No other meth-resistant products meet these standards.

Nexafed is a traditional, solid-dose white tablet that will not melt or deform if exposed to warm temperatures.

Nexafed should be priced comparably to other name-brand, 30-mg pseudoephedrine HCl products.

Nexafed is sold nationwide at both chain and independent pharmacies. At these stores, Nexafed can be found behind the pharmacy or service counter. If Nexafed is not carried at your local pharmacy, ask for it. Most pharmacists will order Nexafed from their suppliers if requested.

As is required by the FDA of all pseudoephedrine products, Nexafed lists the following warnings related to potential side effects:

• “If nervousness, dizziness, or sleeplessness occurs, discontinue use and consult a doctor.”
• “If symptoms do not improve within 7 days or are accompanied by a fever, consult a doctor.”
• “Do not use if you are now taking a prescription monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) (certain drugs for depression, psychiatric or emotional conditions, or Parkinson’s disease), or for 2 weeks after stopping the MAOI drug.”
• “Do not take this product if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes, trouble urinating due to an enlarged prostate gland unless directed by a doctor.”
• “If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.”
• “Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”

• Nexafed may be taken every 4 to 6 hours, but not to exceed four doses in 24 hours
• Take tablets with enough water to ensure complete swallowing immediately after placing in the mouth

Nexafed is just as effective at relieving nasal congestion due to the common cold, hay fever, or other upper respiratory allergies as other pseudoephedrine products on the market that do not have meth-resistant technologies. A clinical study showed that Nexafed pseudoephedrine HCI (2 x 30 mg) tablets were comparable to an equivalent oral dose of Sudafed^® tablets.⁴

Only Nexafed is just as fast and effective as Sudafed^®. Other meth-resistant products do not use Impede^® technology and have a different therapeutic profile. You should ask your pharmacist before using these products.

Yes. All ingredients in Nexafed with Impede^® technology are in amounts the same as or less than those used in other pharmaceutical products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The Impede^® technology combines these ingredients in a unique way to give the medication its meth-resistant properties while still maintaining its effectiveness.

The active ingredient in Nexafed is pseudoephedrine HCl, which relieves nasal congestion due to the common cold, hay fever, or other upper respiratory allergies.

Ninety-three percent of pharmacists surveyed believe pseudoephedrine HCl is the most effective nasal decongestant available.²

Nexafed is manufactured and marketed in compliance with FDA regulations governing pseudoephedrine products.

Nexafed is manufactured and marketed in compliance with FDA regulations governing pseudoephedrine products.⁶

Developed by MainPointe Pharmaceuticals, Nexafed is the next-generation pseudoephedrine HCl product combining effective nasal congestion relief with unique Impede^® technology to significantly disrupt the conversion of pseudoephedrine to the illegal drug methamphetamine.¹

The Impede^® technology ingredients are safe and do not affect the efficacy of Nexafed.¹

Nexafed is a non-prescription, maximum-strength, non-drowsy pseudoephedrine medication that combines effective nasal and sinus congestion relief with methamphetamine-resistant Impede^® technology.²