Cold and flu medicine including Day and Night Nurse, Covonia and some sold by Boots and Superdrug withdrawn over pholcodine health fears
Cold and flu medicines for adults and children are being pulled from shelves over fears they could give patients a rare but yet deadly allergic reaction.
Products being withdrawn contain Pholcodine - an opiod medicine often used to treat a cough or cold and flu symptoms. Scroll down for the full list.
A decision has been made, says the government, to stop the sale of all cold and flu remedies containing Pholcodine in the UK following a review into the risks the ingredient might pose in certain situations.
Products that are now being withdrawn include own-brand cough and cold medicines produced by the likes of Boots and Superdrug as well as familiar brands such as Covonia cough formula and Day and Night Nurse capsules also containing Pholcodine.
The review - ordered by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency - confirmed today that there was evidence 'of an increased risk of anaphylaxis 'in patients who receive general anaesthesia involving neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) during surgery'.
However any risk of harm, the research acknowledged, was thought to be 'very rare'.
Despite this, all medicines containing the crucial ingredient are now being withdrawn in shops and pharmacies as a precaution - while patients currently taking anything containing Pholcodine are being advised to speak to their pharmacist about alternative medicines they could instead have to manage their symptoms.
While patients with any planned surgery are being asked to tell their anaesthetist before any operation if they think they have taken pholcodine - particularly in the past 12 months.
A notice on the government website explains: "The Commission on Human Medicines advised that there is sufficient overall evidence for an association with pholcodine, although the absolute risk of anaphylaxis remains very small in patients who have taken pholcodine. Anaphylaxis following use of NMBAs is roughly estimated as having an overall incidence of fewer than 1 case per 10,000 procedures.
"Given the advice of the CHM, and the lack of identifiable effective measures to minimise the increased risk of anaphylactic reactions to NMBAs, pholcodine-containing products are being withdrawn from the market as a precaution."
Another review, conducted alongside by the European Medicines Agency has also concluded that the 'benefits did not outweigh the risks'.
The full list of medicines, according to the government website, now affected by the recall are:
The Boots Company PLC
* Boots Night Cough Relief Oral Solution
* Boots Dry Cough Syrup 6 Years+
* Boots Day Cold & Flu Relief Oral Solution
Thornton & Ross Limited
* Cofsed Linctus
* Care Pholcodine 5mg/5ml Oral Solution Sugar Free
* Galenphol Linctus
* Galenphol Paediatric Linctus
* Galenphol Strong Linctus
* Covonia Dry Cough Sugar Free Formula
Bell Sons & Company (Druggists) Limited
* Pholcodine Linctus Bells Healthcare 5mg Per 5ml Oral Solution
* Numark Pholcodine 5mg per 5ml Oral Solution
* Well Pharmaceuticals Pholcodine 5mg per 5ml Oral Solution
* Superdrug Pholcodine Linctus BP
* Strong Pholcodine Linctus BP
Pinewood Laboratories Limited
* Pholcodine Linctus BP
* Strong Pholcodine Linctus BP
LCM Limited
* Pholcodine Linctus
Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare (UK) Trading Limited
* Day & Night Nurse Capsules
* Day Nurse Capsules
* Day Nurse.
Patients currently taking anything containing Pholcodine are being advised to speak to their pharmacist about alternative medicines.
