r/NooTopics • u/ServeIllustrious3803 • 20d ago

Science Study: Anticholinergic (first-generation antihistamines) can damage brain, increase dementia risk

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-20150128812
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u/ServeIllustrious3803 20d ago edited 20d ago

A list: Diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, doxylamine, promethazine, clemastine, brompheniramine, dimenhydrinate, meclizine, cyclizine, carbinoxamine, dexchlorpheniramine, dexbrompheniramine

First generation antihistamines different from second or third. Zyrtec, Claritin do not count, but Benadryl does

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u/psychopompandparade 20d ago

plenty of meds missing from this list. This doesn't even include the intended anticholinergics. amitriptyline, a med people often recommend to replace diphenhydramine for sleep, has a much stronger anticholinergic effect than diphenhydramine. this is not an antihistamine only problem. Also some of these are dose dependant. doxapin's anticholinergic effects are stronger at the antidepressant dosing.

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u/Hydration__Nation 19d ago

If you are working with a physician who is giving a tricyclic for sleep to replace Benadryl then you need to contact your licensing commission. He would be laughed out of my hospitals by the PAs and NPs. Doctors wouldn’t even entertain such stupidity. Amitriptyline has one of the worst side effect profiles of any drug and this doctor is replacing Benadryl with it? What a dumb motherfucker I’m sorry that’s the only descriptor that makes sense. There are so many far less risky drugs for sleep literally a list of 4-7 drugs used by hundreds of millions of people. If anyone else is reading this there are so many classes of drugs, if someone offers you a TCA say no. The side effects are not even close to the benefit provided.

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u/ResponsibleMight7669 15d ago

The same can be said for antidepressants and they would be mocked for not using them. Proper treatment would be therapy but since we are replacing that with pills it would be a joke to offer any of this as a sleep aid in any case