Is Pseudoephedrine dangerous?
Pseudoephedrine can be dangerous to take for prolonged periods, yes; it can result in an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. It is also somewhat limited, in that it only controls symptoms for a short period of time. The beneficial effect that pseudoephedrine has concerning your headache and sinus pain is that it closes blood vessels and mucous membranes to decrease swelling, thus relieving your pain. There are some really effective, long-lasting alternatives to pseudoephedrine. Nasonex and Flonase are probably the two most popular. Both require a prescription and are steriod-based nasal inhalants that essentially have the same beneficial effect as pseudoephedrine (they cut down swelling in the sinuses) without the increase in blood pressure. The downsides to these drugs are relatively high cost (which your insurance should offset considerably), and they can take a couple days to fully work. However, once they do kick in, they provide much, much longer-lasting and more potent effect
