Chlorpheniramine can go both ways. It makes some people sleepy, but not as much as Diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Some people can take it all day long and not have the first yawn.

If anything, it’d be considered a sedative — except in children. It may wire children as their physiology is opposite than that of adults (meaning Sudafed makes them tired and Benadryl makes them hyper — adults are the opposite).

Very true. People have no idea what they are taking and they expect their pharmacist to know what’s in every store brand drug by name and think we’re idiots when we don’t. They also have a hard time believing that half the drugs on the shelf really have the same active ingredient.

Unfortunately, the Claritin would not have helped her. It takes at LEAST 7 days for Loratadine to get to steady state levels in the body. For an acute problem, ya gotta go with Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) or Chlor-Trimaton (Chlorpheniramine). Those work quickly. Same deal with a cold or acute illness — not allergy related. Claritin, Zyrtec, and Allegra will not work worth a crap — you have to use one of the older agents.