One could make the same argument for anything really, but it has nothing to do with why this particular drug that’s completely ineffective is being sold.

And just because you’ve never experienced an extreme case of rhinorrhea doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It sounds like you’re more interested in painting Americans as whiny babies who can’t handle a little cold instead of discussing the actual topic.

Also, paracetamol is toxic to your liver so it should be avoided unless really needed.

Trust me, I have experienced an extreme case of rhinorrhea. Not a single european doctor prescribed pseudoephedrine to me. And I'm not interested in painting americans as anything, the paracetamol I mentioned coupled with tea and lozenges work amazingly well for common colds

That might work for a cold (important, a runny nose is often beneficial for cleaning out the cold).

But allergies (and sometimes colds) often cause sinus infections, which will get worse if untreated. For me, pseudoephedrine can quickly reduce a sinus headache during allergy season (aligned with rainy season for fun humidity changes), and can be used before resorting to antibiotics if a sinus infection presents.

Well, Americans would call it acetaminophen or just Tylenol and I'd be careful with "pills" as dosage isn't consistent among the pills and that could be a lot. In the US, many pseudoephedrine pills come with 500mg acetaminophen. Typically they're marketed as "cold & sinus" (Tylenol Cold & Sinus is the brand I know). I've heard people say that the addition of acetaminophen is dual-purpose; one is that it generally helps with symptoms and the other is that it makes it harder for meth producers to isolate the pseudoephedrine without adding a lethal dose of acetaminophen. This is all mostly hearsay.

The paracetamol don't do anything for cold. You just have to wait and get better. You can also clean your nose regularly with a saline solution when it is too congested.

It helps with the symptoms: makes you sneeze less, helps clear the sinuses, helps with the headaches (or that feeling that your head weighs two tons), etc.

I don't know where you got your pharmaceutical diploma but paracetamol doesn't do anything for the sneeze. It only limit fever and headaches.

Most of the time it acts mostly as a placebo and only worth using unless you get actual measured fever.

You don't "need" any medication for most colds. But people want (and deserve access to) cold medication that treats the symptoms that they find unpleasant. Also, some people are prone to sinus infections - taking pseudoephedrine when you start getting congested (before developing a sinus infection) is crucial to preventing infection and avoiding damage to your nasal passages.

I am one of those people and I have visited many specialized doctors and not a single one prescribed pseudoephedrine, but I guess you know better

I'd say it's pretty common knowledge that pseudoephedrine makes symptoms MUCH more bearable.

Power through if that's your game, but the rest of us prefer relief.

I have visited doctors that have prescribed it. Your anecdote isn't any better than mine, but IMO it's an almost literal life-saver. Maybe you should try it instead of laughing at those who find it effective.

Of all the topics to choose to be elitist and condescending... why choose this one? You aren't even sharing correct information. "My anecdote is more valuable than all scientific literature. Dumb Americans!"