You may have noticed that your favorite cough and cold remedy has changed. For example, you may now notice that it includes the acronym 'PE' after its name. Why is this? The fact is that many cough and cold medications  that once contained pseudoephedrine, a common decongestant, have changed their formulations.

You see, due to problems with the abuse of the ingredient pseudoephedrine, the FDA has ruled that these formulations must now be subject to strict dispensing guidelines. Many people use this common cold preparation to produce methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant.

As a result, consumers now have to buy formulations containing pseudoephedrine at the pharmacy counter, are limited as to how much they can buy and may also be required to leave personal information such as name and address with the retail location (this depends on the state in which it is being dispensed).

 Due to the potential for decreased sales, because of the hassle involved in obtaining the medication, many cough and cold medicine manufactures have changed the formulation of their product to include phenylephrine ('PE') instead of pseudoephedrine. Phenylephrine is not subject to the new, strict dispensing guidelines of pseudoephedrine. Phenylephrine is often seen on new packaging for cough and cold rememdies and is also a decongestant. Phenylephrine may not be as potent as good old pseudoephedrine, however, and its effects do not last as long.

Phenylephrine formulations may still do the trick for you, however, if you don't experience relief from congestion with your 'PE' formulation, talk to your pharmacist about a pseudoephedrine-containing product. These are still available at the pharmacy counter if you don't mind divulging some personal information. You may also be restricted on how much pseudoephedrine-containing product you may obtain at one time.