Antihistamines
Antihistamines are not only completely ineffective against colds, but the medications have potentially dangerous side effects, experts testified to Congress. A Johns Hopkins researcher said she had found no difference in symptoms among 96 children, regardless of whether they had been given no medication, a placebo or standard over-the-counter medication, including an antihistamine.
The antihistamines did, how ever, cause sedation and hyperactivity, and might also induce a seizure in a susceptible child, the investigator testified.
Houston researchers announced that a new drug treatment for travelers’ diarrhea was found to be more effective and safer than content therapies. In a study of 191 students visiting Mexico, the antibiotic aztreonam (Azactam, Squibb), taken orally, quelled diaithaea in an average of 44 hours. Those on placebo averaged 84 hours to recover, the University of Texas team reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The drug should cause fewer side effects than other antibiotics because oral aztreonam kills bacteria in the intestine without being absorbed in the bloodstream, the researchers added.