60 mg tabs

120 mg tabs

240 mg tabs

30 mg / 5 ml liquid

First oral choice for nasal congestion and relief of sinus pressure.

Causes nasal vasoconstriction.

Increases clearance of the nasal passages.

30 to 45 minutes

60 mg:
4 to 6 hours

120 mg:
8 to 12 hours

240 mg:
16 to 24 hours

30 mg / 5 ml:
4 to 6 hours

Most potent oral nasal decongestant and sinus pressure relief.

Our only choice for oral nasal decongestant.

Require Government issued ID for purchase. If you use it often, see if your doctor will give you a prescription. Much better and no price difference. (Read our blog on this.)

May cause sleepless nights.

May increase the heart rate.

If nasal congestion is just starting, start with a decongestant nasal spray for about 3 days, and if congestion continues, switch to pseudoephedrine.

Do not use nasal spray with pseudoephedrine together.

If borderline and or controlled high blood pressure, take the 12 or 24 hour for a controlled release. The 60 mg tabs releases all the medication in the system which may result in a spike in blood pressure. (But check with your doctor before use.)

Take the evening dose before 6 pm to prevent sleepless nights.

Pharmacy Counter Only:

$14.99 / 48 ct/regular

$12.99 / 20 ct /12 hr

$12.99 / 10 ct /24 hr

Sudafed®, Store brands

10 mg tablets

0.5%, 1% nasal spray.

Causes constriction of the blood vessels resulting in the shrinkage of swollen nasal passages.

Strength of 10 mg / tab approved by the FDA not enough to produce reliable results. Taking more can produce a significant rise in blood pressure. For this reason, we do not recommend the tablet form for sinus pressure or nasal congestion. Don't waste your money.

10 mg tabs:
If it works, 30 to 45 minutes.

Nasal spray:
15 minutes

10 mg tabs:
4 to 6 hours, if it is working.

Nasal spray:
3 to 4 hours.

Nasal spray is a better decongestant for fast relief.
But skip the tabs.

May not give as much heart palpitations as Psuedoephedrine.

Higher than recommended dose, can produce significant rise in blood pressure.

Little evidence of effectiveness of the tablets. Stick with the nasal spray if you must use.

Not recommended. Use the nasal spray if you must use phenylephrine for nasal congestion.

Retail Pharmacy Price:
$11.99 / 24 ct

10 mg tablets:
Sudafed PE®, Store brands.

Nasal spray:
Neo-Synephrine®, Little Noses Decongestants®, Afrin 4 Hour®, 4-Way®, Sinex Nasal Spray®

Nasal spray:
Oxymetazoline hydrochloride 0.05%.

Temporarily relieves sinus congestion and pressure.

Shrinks swollen nasal membranes so you can breathe more freely.

Also used to treat nose bleeds and reduce the redness of cold sores.

Nasal:
5 to 10 minutes.

6 hours

Fast acting nasal decongestant.

We recommend starting with this for about 3 days, before taking decongestant tablets if still congested.

May cause the nostrils to dry.
If nose is prone to dryness, get the moisturizing formulation.

Cheap formulations leave residues in the nose. Stay away from store brands if you can.

Can cause rebound congestion if used after about 4 days. So do not use for more than 4 days. Take this seriously or you will be in a rebound nasal congestion ride of your life. To overcome it you will have to use something like Flonase® which won't kick in for another 7 days and is not cheap!

If cost is not a factor, get the brand name. Stay away from store brands. Some store brands will leave white residue in the nostril.

Because it uses a device to deliver the medication, we do not recommend store brands. You could spray once and everything starts leaking from nowhere.

Check the manuf. coupon center for savings coupons if cost is a problem.

Retail Pharmacy Price:
$12.99 / bottle

Afrin®, Neo-Synephrine 12 Hour®, Nostrilla Twice-A-Day®, 4 Way Long-Acting®.