Can you take claritin and advil cold and sinus together

Decongestants can pose a dangerous risk to people with hypertension. Try these other steps to safely treat a cold or allergies.

Cold medicines are not off-limits if you have heart disease, but patients with high blood pressure, or hypertension, should check the label carefully when choosing a cold or allergy medicine.

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That’s because decongestants such as pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylephrine, naphazoline and oxymetazoline can increase your blood pressure and heart rate. Make sure the cold or allergy medication you plan to take is free of those ingredients.

Decongestants can also prevent your blood pressure medication from working properly. And always check the active and inactive ingredient lists, because many medications are high in sodium, which also raises blood pressure.

For allergy sufferers with heart disease, medicines such as Allegra, Zyrtec or Claritin should be safe. However, medicines containing decongestants — including Allegra-D, Zyrtec-D and Claritin-D — could increase your blood pressure and heart rate or interfere with your heart medication.

Managing a cold with hypertension

If you can’t take a decongestant because of high blood pressure, there are other ways to reduce your cold or allergy symptoms:

• Take Coricidin HBP, which is free of decongestants

• Drink plenty of fluids — including water, juice, tea and soup — to prevent dehydration and clear mucus from your lungs 

• Take a pain reliever such as Tylenol or Motrin for fever, sore throat, body aches and headache

• Flush your sinuses with a saline spray to relieve nasal congestion

• Soothe a sore or scratchy throat with lozenges

• Use a vaporizer or humidifier if necessary to boost humidity

• Get plenty of rest

• Return to your doctor after five to seven days to make sure you’re on the road to recovery

Before taking any new medication

Always check with your pharmacist before you take a new medication, whether it’s for a cold, allergies or something else, to find out if it is compatible with certain medical conditions and your current drug therapy.

SEE ALSO: Millions More People Now Have High Blood Pressure. Why That’s a Good Thing

If you have a heart condition, be sure to discuss all medication choices with your cardiologist before taking anything.

• Can I take Advil for a cold or the flu?

  Yes, Advil offers a variety of treatment options depending on your cold and flu symptoms.

  Advil Tablets, Gel Caplets, Liqui-Gels and Liqui-Gels minis contain an active ingredient, called ibuprofen, which temporarily reduces fever, as well as relieves minor aches and pains due to the common cold.

  If you have additional symptoms, you can also consider using Advil Cold & Sinus and Advil Sinus Congestion & Pain products for additional relief. These products contain ibuprofen plus a nasal decongestant to provide relief for symptoms including: headache, fever, minor body aches and pains, sinus pressure, and nasal congestion.

  For further questions concerning your use of Advil products, please speak with a healthcare provider. If your symptoms continue to persist or get worse, please contact a physician immediately.

• How quickly does Advil work? How long does it last?

  It depends on which form of Advil you take as well as how your body responds to the medicine. Some Advil products are designed to deliver faster relief, so read the product label to see how often you can take a dose. Keep in mind that you cannot take more than one dose of Advil Migraine in a 24 hour period.

• Does Advil help you sleep?

  For sleeplessness associated with pain, check out Advil PM.

• Is Advil Safe?

  For more than 35+ years, extensive consumer use and numerous clinical studies have shown that, ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Advil, when used as directed, is a safe and effective OTC pain reliever and fever reducer. Do not to take more than 6 Advil tablets, caplets, etc. (1,200 mg) in 24 hours.

  Please refer to the full product labeling for additional safety information related to Advil.

• What are health agencies saying about the safety of ibuprofen/Advil?

  GSK continues to monitor the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation alongside public health authorities, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA), and medical experts. None of these agencies currently recommend that individuals should stop taking ibuprofen/Advil.

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