How do you know if vitamins are "safe"?

September 28, 2021 2:48 AM

Currently really, really suffering with seemingly non-allergic (or non specific?) rhinitis. If I'm not dosed up on antihistamines, which make me really groggy and sleepy, I'm sneezing uncontrollably blocked up and/or dripping out of my nose. It's horrible and debilitating. I've got an appointment with my doctor in a week's time but until then I'd love to feel better without feeling half dead from groggyness.

I've seen people recommend B12, Vitamin D and NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine) but for this chap who is normally really careful about what he puts into his body (reading the ingredients) I'm struggling to feel OK and safe about buying these tubs of pills on Amazon (as that's where they are affordable to buy).
Most of the reviews are incredibly positive but then you'll come across one, often in a foreign language, where the reviewer is saying the pills are magnetic or contain an ingredient he says the EU have banned.
Arghhh.

The brands themselves seem reputable enough.

Any tips on how other vitamin takers 'check out' vitamins before buying?

Thanks

posted by dance to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

There are some independent labs that test/verify vitamins, article with good info here.

But in a similar situation I found salvation in Flonase/fluticasone, which takes a few days to build up but doesn’t cause drowsiness afaik.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:12 AM on September 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

First, answering a question you didn't ask: in case you haven't tried it, loratadine is a non-drowsy antihistamine.

Second, answering the question you did ask, although I'm afraid not in a way you'll thank me for: I trust the vitamins I buy because I get them from the chemist or in my supermarket orders, not from Amazon, so I trust the supply chain. If you're in the UK, own-brand vitamins are usually cheap (e.g. a two-month supply of own-brand B12 from Boots is £3).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:17 AM on September 28, 2021 [14 favorites]

Also, I’m on a budget too but I’d feel wary of Amazon for something that seems so easy, relatively, to counterfeit, regardless of brand or seller. stock for supposedly identical things shipped/fulfilled by Amazon itself from different sellers get mixed together in the warehouses.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:18 AM on September 28, 2021 [7 favorites]

Another person who doesn't buy vitamins from Amazon here. I've gotten what seem to be counterfeit products from Amazon in the past and while a counterfeit, IDK, video game controller or t-shirt will likely still do its job just fine, a bottle of counterfeit medicine isn't something I'm willing to mess around with.

I personally buy from Vitamin Shoppe if it's something unusual; not sure what the UK equivalent is. Pharmacies and big box stores are another option if they stock what you want. Store-brand vitamin D tabs are dirt-cheap; just get the oil-filled capsule as it's more likely to be absorbed.

Other tips: be honest with your doctor about what vitamins and supplements they're taking. Some can build up over time and lead to their own issues; you want them to know so they can e.g. run a blood test and figure out you can cut your Vitamin D dose and still be well in the safe zone.

As someone who is not a doctor but has suffered with rhinitis for years - I second trying a steroid or possibly antihistamine nasal spray. Not Afrin (oxymetazoline); it works for two days and then the rebound is hell. The non-Afrin nasal sprays that work with steroids or antihistamines will take a couple days to build up to effectiveness but can be very good if you can tolerate them.

If the sprays don't work, I also second the suggestion to try other antihistamines; they can have very different affects from one another depending on the person, and likely at least one of the second-generation less-sedating sort (cetirizine, loratadine, levocetirizine, fexofenadine, etc.) may work for you.

And if you haven't tried a Neti pot / sinus rinse bottle, those are also very helpful.
posted by pie ninja at 4:04 AM on September 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Very much not answering the question:

a) have you had a Covid test
b) consider Afrin or its UK counterpart. It’s not a lifestyle — you can get habituated to it — but it’s very effective for drying that business right up and getting you some relief.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:36 AM on September 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

AFAICT connections between OTC supplements and allergies are debated at best - I’d talk to your doctor before making *any* purchase.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:07 AM on September 28, 2021 [6 favorites]

If you are stuffy and it isn't allergies, stop taking allergy drugs??? Take a sudafed. If that doesn't help you get some relief immediately, nothing will.

I take vitamins daily. I am on a doctor prescribed allergy drug regimen. When I am stuffy beyond that (i.e. I am sick) Sudafed always always helps.
posted by phunniemee at 5:28 AM on September 28, 2021

Like others I just buy vitamins from reliable sources - mainly pharmacies or supermarkets. Vitamin D (which you should probably take anyway if you live in Northern Europe) comes in a range of formulations and seems pretty cheap to me, mine were from Sainsburys.
posted by plonkee at 5:52 AM on September 28, 2021

NAC isn't OTC in British pharmacies, but you can get it from a Polish online pharmacy at prices close to Amazon's and a reputable brand.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 6:02 AM on September 28, 2021

I would try some pseudoephedrine if available, and also never ingest anything purchased from Amazon.
posted by pompomtom at 6:19 AM on September 28, 2021

I sort reviews by recency on Amazon now. There's too much supply chain variability to trust that people were getting the same product >18 months ago. But also, when I had these symptoms a few weeks ago with a breakthrough COVID infection (which you should really get tested for), one of the most useful OTC products was just a standard saline nasal spray. It helped keep me from getting too congested or dried out, and also eased some of the burning from constant sneezing and nose blowing.
posted by deludingmyself at 6:26 AM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Grocery store or drug store for vitamins for us as well. There's no way to confirm at home that the pill is what it says it is, so you've got to get it somewhere you trust. In the US, vitamins go on sale often at these places, usually in a 2-for-1 way; if the UK is similar, you might be able to get them for a good discount from a reputable place that way.

(In the meantime, long hot showers and hot tea, and all my sympathy...)
posted by february at 6:26 AM on September 28, 2021

Boots vitamins are reputable and affordable, I can't find N-Acetyl-Cysteine there, however, so I would do Amazon checking reviews.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin D
posted by ellieBOA at 6:56 AM on September 28, 2021

Frugal Fanny here who wouldn't dream of buying this kind of product on Amazon no matter how much cheaper they were but I did used to buy Swisse Ultivite Women's 50 Plus on Ebay from a reputable seller with feedback both current and historical until it became stupidly expensive. I now buy vitamin D and whatever multiviatmins are 3 for 2 in any of the big four supermarkets. Savers can be a good source of vitamins and otc drugs.

I also had problems with all antihistamines causing grogginess and hives until finding Lotadradine and have used that April-October for about 4 years now. I buy them in bulk in the pound shops or Lidl/Aldi when they have them.
posted by humph at 8:45 AM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I am empathetic, I have horrible non-allergic rhinitis, its miserable if uncontrolled. I take Nasacort (doctor switched me from Flonase, which was mentioned above). It's OTC and could help you. Afrin will definitely help temporarily while you're waiting for other drugs to kick in, but do not take it for more than 3 days in a row. Also which antihistamines have you tried? The "newer" ones (Claritin, Allegra, Zyrtec) are generally less sedating (I prefer Allegra personally).

Have you tried a saline nasal rinse? That's a game-changer for me. I like the Neil Med squeezy bottle rather than the neti pot, way easier to use. Recommend using Afrin to unblock your nasal passages first before the first couple rinses.
posted by radioamy at 9:02 AM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Since you don’t know the underlying cause, do NOT take NAC. It’s quite dangerous with certain conditions and can cause heart problems. I know it’s a natural remedy darling, but it’s just as likely to cause problems as cure them.
posted by Bottlecap at 10:38 AM on September 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I look for supplements that have been USP verified. I don't know how legit it is, but it seems relatively legit... I first read about it on a John Hopkins site so...yeah. Here's the list of USP approved supplements.

If I can find it, I do prefer to buy from a local pharmacy or supermarket, but have also purchased from Amazon.

However, the supplements I got were on a doctors orders after doing blood tests that showed I was deficient in these things. to be honest, haven't noticed an improvement.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2021

Have you had a panel where they check your various levels of things in your blood? I think many of us white folks who live in northern areas are deficit in Vitamin D if we don't supplement. A friend of mine recently had a test and found out he was deficient in Vitamin C, and he's not the unhealthiest eater I know. I saw this because Vitamin D in particular (as I understand it) can be connected to having a stronger immune system. But it helps to know where you're starting.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:17 AM on September 28, 2021

I think you'll have much better success with daily sinus irrigation than you will with supplements. When I'm having issues like the ones you're describing, I irrigate 2-3 times a day. It can be intimidating at first if you haven't done it, but watching some YouTube videos really helped me.

Also seconding the recommendation to use pseudoephedrine to dry things up.
posted by quince at 4:54 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Let's say I want to set up as pill counterfeiter using Amazon as my outlet. First of all I need lots of stuff that makers of genuine pills would need: a production line, package design, marketing, distribution, quality control, warehousing and a set of my own suppliers. I also need to account for the fairly high risk that the police will bust down my door and cart me off to jail: so lots of money on security for me and for/against my employees.

Now I need to make some money. I see that there are a range of supplier's offering a year's supply of daily 4000 IU dose Vitamin D tablets on Amazon from a range of suppliers and for prices between £7.97 and £9.99. Each claims to include the ingredients: sunflower oil, gelatine, glycerine and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). All of these are generic, cheap ingredients that I can readily buy (cholecalciferol is made by extracting the lanolin from sheep's wool). Given these constraints... it is going to take me a while to retire onto the mega-yacht that I am going to buy with my ill gotten gains.

To make any sort of money counterfeiting vitamins and supplements, I would probably have to go after the really expensive products like these - but none of them fit in the category of the every day vitamins you have described. Or, of course, I could branch out into making fake prescription drugs and do way better for my pains.

What about if I really was limiting myself to vitamins? I would try to find a way of buying generic low cost pills - probably ones with rather low concentrations of actual vitamins - and then marketing them in an attractive manner, priced with a huge mark-up and sold as "purer, most trust worthy". That might work.
posted by rongorongo at 6:51 AM on September 29, 2021