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Although antihistamines are included in many over-the- counter cold remedies, until now formal studies have failed to prove their efficacy. This large, multicenter, blinded study carefully examined the effect of the widely available first generation antihistamine, clemastine, in 403 adults reporting the new onset of cold symptoms. Patients took clemastine or placebo for five days, and filed daily reports on the severity of their symptoms.
By day two, the average sneezing severity score decreased significantly more with clemastine than with placebo (37 vs. 11 percent), and a significant difference persisted on days three and four. In addition, the clemastine group had significant reductions in the severity of rhinorrhea on days three and four…