8 products containing a popular decongestant that an FDA panel says doesn't work, and alternatives that do

• The active ingredient in decongestants doesn't work in oral form, an FDA panel said.
• Phenylephrine was approved for OTC use in 2007, but the data was inconclusive, an FDA briefing said.
• Phenylephrine is in products by brands including Vicks and Sudafed.

The active ingredient in a number of popular over-the-counter decongestant tablets and syrups doesn't actually work, an FDA advisory panel concluded on Tuesday, so you may be wondering where to turn when you're feeling bunged up.

Phenylephrine works by temporarily reducing the size of swollen blood vessels, but when taken orally it is no more effective than a placebo, according to an FDA briefing document. However, it is effective as a spray.

Phenylephrine is found in popular cold and cough drugs such as: Sudafed PE, Vicks Nyquil, Sinex Nighttime Sinus Relief, Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion, Tylenol Cold + Flu Severe Medicine, Walgreens Sinus Relief Congestion Day Caplets, and Mucinex Sinus-Max Severe Congestion Relief Caplets, among others.

Half of US households used an oral decongestant in the last year, and people preferred decongestant tablets to nasal sprays three to one, according to a survey shared by representatives for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a group that represents OTC drug manufacturers, during a presentation on Monday, NBC News reported.

Alternative decongestants include nasal sprays

The FDA usually follows the recommendations of the panel but are not required to, Reuters reported, and so decongestant tablets containing phenylephrine could soon be pulled from shelves.

If this likely outcome were to happen, the only OTC decongestant treatment available to buy at pharmacies without supervision from a pharmacist would be nasal sprays.

Pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in the standard version of Sudafed decongestants, is still considered an effective treatment for nasal congestion, but it has been a behind-the-counter drug since 2006 as it was feared it could be used to make methamphetamine, the briefing said. Patients have to request Sudafed from a pharmacist.

Other OTC decongestant products currently include some nasal steroid sprays such as Nasacort AQ and Flonase, a nasal antihistamine called Astepro, and nasal saline sprays.

Susan Blalock, a retired professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in North Carolina and an advisory committee member, told NBC News that the evidence is "pretty compelling that this medication is not effective. I don't think additional data are needed to support that conclusion."