Pseudoephedrine
chemical compound
Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic medication which is used as a nasal decongestant to treat nasal congestion. It also has many off-label uses, such as treatment of hypotension (low blood pressure). At higher doses, pseudoephedrine acts as a psychostimulant, appetite suppressant, and performance-enhancing drug; as a result, non-medicinal use of pseudoephedrine is common, and it is often considered an abused drug. The medication is administered orally. Pseudoephedrine is sold under many brand names, Sudafed being among the most common.
Side effects of pseudoephedrine include insomnia, elevated heart rate, increase in blood pressure, psychomotor agitation and restlessness, dizziness, anxiety, and dry mouth. Rarely, pseudoephedrine has been associated with serious cardiovascular complications like heart attack and hemorrhagic stroke. Some people are more sensitive to its cardiovascular effects than others. Pseudoephedrine acts as a norepinephrine releasing agent, indirectly activating adrenergic receptors. As such, it is an indirectly acting sympathomimetic.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q263958.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pseudoephedrine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.