Talk:1618: Cold Medicine - Revision history

162.158.122.170 at 08:17, 13 March 2025

2025-03-13T08:17:44Z

162.158.255.84: oxymetazoline is a decongestant.

2016-01-27T22:37:06Z

oxymetazoline is a decongestant.

173.245.54.27: more about OTC cold medicines

2015-12-23T05:10:37Z

more about OTC cold medicines

162.158.152.227 at 00:04, 22 December 2015

2015-12-22T00:04:15Z

Martin: Kaolin and Morphine

2015-12-21T22:59:20Z

Kaolin and Morphine

199.27.130.148: Add a source for placebos in response to another's comment.

2015-12-21T21:04:25Z

Add a source for placebos in response to another's comment.

Davidy22 at 14:46, 21 December 2015

2015-12-21T14:46:10Z

162.158.153.29 at 11:28, 21 December 2015

2015-12-21T11:28:15Z

Martin: Australia

2015-12-20T21:54:02Z

Australia

Kynde at 18:56, 20 December 2015

2015-12-20T18:56:45Z

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	Also, there's also [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35091242 this issue] about multiple packet designs just being the same thing, that happened recently. There's ''possibly'' a link, but I'm not sure. Personally, I swear by placebos! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227\|162.158.152.227]] 00:04, 22 December 2015 (UTC)		Also, there's also [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35091242 this issue] about multiple packet designs just being the same thing, that happened recently. There's ''possibly'' a link, but I'm not sure. Personally, I swear by placebos! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227\|162.158.152.227]] 00:04, 22 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	Could we remove the sentence "have no clinically proven decongestant effect."? imagining clinically proving it and handling strangers's mucus to measure it is putting off my apptite [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.170\|162.158.122.170]] 08:17, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

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		+	I would question the assertion re: oxymetazoline having no decongestant effect. Oxymetazoline is the active component of Afrin and similar nasal sprays. Like pseudoephedrine, it is an adrenergic receptor agonist vasoconstrictor that is quite effective at shrinking swollen intranasal tissue (turbinates e.g.). Such swelling creates the sensation of a blocked nasal airway aka "stuffy nose" or "congestion". It works so well that people can become dependent on the sprays because stopping them causes "rebound congestion" aka rhinitis medicamentosa. Oxymetazoline may lack the bronchodilation/smooth muscle effects of pseudoephedrine (I'm not sure), but that's a separate issue. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.84\|162.158.255.84]] 22:37, 27 January 2016 (UTC)
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	How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta\|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta\|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)		How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta\|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta\|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

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	The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65\|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)		The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65\|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	There are OTC cough suppressants, perhaps most notably dextromethorphan; cough drops and tea are also sometimes used for this. You also forgot a category, expectorants (the most common OTC one being guaifenesin), which don't prevent coughing directly but are nonetheless good to take if you are coughing a lot because of stuff being in your lungs that shouldn't be. (If you're coughing because of throat irritation, then an expectorant won't help with that, go for the cough drops and tea and maybe dextromethorphan.)
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		+	But yes, apart from various vapor therapies that superficially clean out mild nasal decongestion (menthol -- often found in cough drops -- is the most common, but e.g. hot pepper products can also work), the only over-the-counter decongestant that's any good at all against a head cold is pseudoephedrine, which you have to show ID to buy these days. If Randall had a really bad head cold and was trying to treat it with the stuff you _don't_ have to show ID to buy, he'd have been miserable. It's easy to imagine a person in that situation reaching the end of his rope and concluding that he needs the real stuff, regardless of what watch lists it might put him on. (Though in practice, I doubt very seriously whether buying any normal quantity of the stuff could get you on a watch list. They're watching for people buying the kinds of quantities you'd need if you were trying to run a meth lab, which even if you use several buyers and go to every drug store in town is still not really in the same volume category as what someone with a cold would normally be expected to buy.)
		+	--Jonadab, 2015 Dec 22, 11:58pm EST

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	In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip\|162.158.153.29}}		In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip\|162.158.153.29}}
	: You can also buy morphine OTC for an upset tummy, in the form "Kaolin and Morphine". [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 22:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)		: You can also buy morphine OTC for an upset tummy, in the form "Kaolin and Morphine". [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 22:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	Apologies if I've missed this exact take on the hovertext, in amongst the above, but ''my'' reading of it is that right now, where illegal drugs are unobtainable, legal drugs are converted into them (for fun and/or profit). But the problems of getting the legal drugs are even ''greater'' (either because of the confusion, the pharmacy refusing to sell large amounts or just the threat of the watch-list) and so the illegal ones are more obtainable, in the hope of being back-converted into the desired 'legal' ones.
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		+	Also, there's also [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35091242 this issue] about multiple packet designs just being the same thing, that happened recently. There's ''possibly'' a link, but I'm not sure. Personally, I swear by placebos! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227\|162.158.152.227]] 00:04, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:59, 21 December 2015
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	In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip\|162.158.153.29}}		In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip\|162.158.153.29}}
		+	: You can also buy morphine OTC for an upset tummy, in the form "Kaolin and Morphine". [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 22:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

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	:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w\|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly\|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly\|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)		:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w\|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly\|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly\|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	:The web site http://www.penisreductionpills.com/ openly admits to selling only placebos, perhaps you could try there? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.148\|199.27.130.148]] 21:04, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

	-I don't know about the paper specifically, but by the principle of microscopic reversibility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microscopic_reversibility), not only can you turn the products back into the reagents, you can do so using the exact same mechanisms. Chemical reactions are always going both ways, and they will tend towards the equilibrium from the higher concentration ~pure meth. That does not say anything about practicality, I am not versed in meth-synthesis, but maybe it involves a process with a product harder to acquire than pseudoerphine (maybe because it is useless and simply disposed of) which would be required as a reagent in this case. I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.195\|162.158.91.195]] 00:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)		-I don't know about the paper specifically, but by the principle of microscopic reversibility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microscopic_reversibility), not only can you turn the products back into the reagents, you can do so using the exact same mechanisms. Chemical reactions are always going both ways, and they will tend towards the equilibrium from the higher concentration ~pure meth. That does not say anything about practicality, I am not versed in meth-synthesis, but maybe it involves a process with a product harder to acquire than pseudoerphine (maybe because it is useless and simply disposed of) which would be required as a reagent in this case. I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.195\|162.158.91.195]] 00:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

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−	In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine.	+	In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine. {{unsigned ip\|162.158.153.29}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:28, 21 December 2015
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	The explanation currently says "...who as anyone else is very likely to have a cold at this time of year (released in December)". I am about to edit this to be more region specific, because many parts of the world are hot in December (including Australia where I live) which means colds are uncommon at this time of year. [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 21:54, 20 December 2015 (UTC)		The explanation currently says "...who as anyone else is very likely to have a cold at this time of year (released in December)". I am about to edit this to be more region specific, because many parts of the world are hot in December (including Australia where I live) which means colds are uncommon at this time of year. [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 21:54, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	In the United Kingdom at least one cough suppressant available OTC contains a small amount of morphine.

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	This is actually semi serious. When I have a cold, literally the only thing that works is pseudoephedrine. And Sudafed, which is the registered label for pseudoephedrine, now sells Sudafed without the pseudoephedrine. In a cold induced daze I have actually managed to buy the not pseudoephedrine Sudafed, and only realized my mistake several days later when the cold symptoms aren't going away. "Give me the stuff I need an id to buy" is a pretty reasonable response, although of course asking for one of everything is a bit over the top and includes things that aren't pseudoephedrine. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.63.144}}		This is actually semi serious. When I have a cold, literally the only thing that works is pseudoephedrine. And Sudafed, which is the registered label for pseudoephedrine, now sells Sudafed without the pseudoephedrine. In a cold induced daze I have actually managed to buy the not pseudoephedrine Sudafed, and only realized my mistake several days later when the cold symptoms aren't going away. "Give me the stuff I need an id to buy" is a pretty reasonable response, although of course asking for one of everything is a bit over the top and includes things that aren't pseudoephedrine. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.63.144}}
	:This (as the comment above) also make a lot of sense for this comic. Will try to include it in the explanation- --[[User:Kynde\|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde\|talk]]) 18:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)		:This (as the comment above) also make a lot of sense for this comic. Will try to include it in the explanation- --[[User:Kynde\|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde\|talk]]) 18:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
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		+	The explanation currently says "...who as anyone else is very likely to have a cold at this time of year (released in December)". I am about to edit this to be more region specific, because many parts of the world are hot in December (including Australia where I live) which means colds are uncommon at this time of year. [[User:Martin\|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin\|talk]]) 21:54, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

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 I don't think it's suggesting turning meth back to medicine. I think it's a reference to heroin and at least a handful(?) of other now-illegal drugs originally introduced purely as medicinal products. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 12:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 :- i respectfully disagree, i reckon its exactly suggesting that ... Need cold medicine so bad i would buy illegal drugs made from cold medicine and seek to reverse the process. Obviously not the most practical way of getting cold medicine ... but thats the joke.[[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 13:08, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
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 Is it worth mentioning that he  posted a comic relating to colds two weeks prior? ([[1612: Colds]]) Perhaps Randall is in a rather extended bout and at the point where buying meth to synthesise pseudo just seems like the logical thing to do. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.159|108.162.250.159]] 03:13, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
 This is actually semi serious. When I have a cold, literally the only thing that works is pseudoephedrine. And Sudafed, which is the registered label for pseudoephedrine, now sells Sudafed without the pseudoephedrine. In a cold induced daze I have actually managed to buy the not pseudoephedrine Sudafed, and only realized my mistake several days later when the cold symptoms aren't going away. "Give me the stuff I need an id to buy" is a pretty reasonable response, although of course asking for one of everything is a bit over the top and includes things that aren't pseudoephedrine. {{unsigned ip|173.245.63.144}}