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Like alcohol, traditional sedatingantihistamines may impair driving performance. These authors compared the effects of the sedating antihistamine diphenhydramine (DPH), the non-sedating antihistamine fexofenadine (FEX), and alcohol on driving performance. This randomized, blinded, crossover study was partially funded by the maker of FEX.
Forty drivers with seasonal rhinitis received single-dose FEX (60 mg), DPH (50 mg), ethanol (blood concentration, 0.1%), or placebo 2.5 hours before a1-hour drive on a standardized driving simulator. Drivers were tested on coherence (measured as ability to match the speed of a car being followed), keeping within their lane, and response time to a car that suddenly pulled out in front. Drowsiness was also mea…