EFFECTIVENESS OF CLEMASTINE FUMARATE FOR TREATMENT OF RHINORRHEA AND SNEEZING ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMMON COLD

Limited data support the use of first-generation antihistamines for tr eatment of the common cold. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of clemastine fumarate, a first-generation antihistamine , for treatment of sneezing and rhinorrhea associated with naturally o ccurring common colds. Four hundred three subjects (202 clemastine fum arate recipients and 201 placebo recipients) who reported new onset (< 24 hours) of cold symptoms that included rhinorrhea or sneezing mere s tudied, At baseline (day 1), the mean symptom-severity scores +/- SEM for the clemastine fumarate and placebo groups mere not significantly different, The mean rhinorrhea-severity score +/- SEM mas not differen t on day 2; however, on day 3, the mean rhinorrhea-severity score +/- SEM was 1.02 +/- 0.07 for the clemastine fumarate group and 1.39 +/- 0 .07 for the placebo group (P < .001), This treatment effect persisted on day 4, A significant effect on sneezing was noted on days 2-4, Seda tion occurred in 14% of the clemastine fumarate-treated subjects and 1 .5% of the placebo-treated subjects (P < .0001).