The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have established five “doping classes”. This may sound like an evening course for steroid abusers, but in fact refers to the five categories of drugs which are banned for athletes.

The category in which many of the OTC cold cures find themselves is Class 1, Stimulants. When one thinks of stimulants, things like Amphetamines, Cocaine etc spring to mind because of their effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS). In fact, many decongestants such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) have similar CNS-stimulating properties (although on a much reduced scale).

In determining punishments for being tested positive for stimulants, the penalty for what can be determined as an “inadvertent” use of an OTC medicine, is usually substantially more lenient than if intentional misuse of say, amphetamine is found.

For this reason, athletes have been known to take very high doses of OTC CNS stimulants in the hope that, if found out, they could claim that they had only taken a cold remedy for a real ailment.

The rationale, and indeed true benefit to the cheating athlete is open to much question, and not for discussion here.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have established five “doping classes”. This may sound like an evening course for steroid abusers, but in fact refers to the five categories of drugs which are banned for athletes.

The category in which many of the OTC cold cures find themselves is Class 1, Stimulants. When one thinks of stimulants, things like Amphetamines, Cocaine etc spring to mind because of their effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS). In fact, many decongestants such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) have similar CNS-stimulating properties (although on a much reduced scale).

In determining punishments for being tested positive for stimulants, the penalty for what can be determined as an “inadvertent” use of an OTC medicine, is usually substantially more lenient than if intentional misuse of say, amphetamine is found.

For this reason, athletes have been known to take very high doses of OTC CNS stimulants in the hope that, if found out, they could claim that they had only taken a cold remedy for a real ailment.

The rationale, and indeed true benefit to the cheating athlete is open to much question, and not for discussion here.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have established five “doping classes”. This may sound like an evening course for steroid abusers, but in fact refers to the five categories of drugs which are banned for athletes.

The category in which many of the OTC cold cures find themselves is Class 1, Stimulants. When one thinks of stimulants, things like Amphetamines, Cocaine etc spring to mind because of their effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS). In fact, many decongestants such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) have similar CNS-stimulating properties (although on a much reduced scale).

In determining punishments for being tested positive for stimulants, the penalty for what can be determined as an “inadvertent” use of an OTC medicine, is usually substantially more lenient than if intentional misuse of say, amphetamine is found.

For this reason, athletes have been known to take very high doses of OTC CNS stimulants in the hope that, if found out, they could claim that they had only taken a cold remedy for a real ailment.

The rationale, and indeed true benefit to the cheating athlete is open to much question, and not for discussion here.

The purpose of this article is to provide a practical guide to those involved in regular sporting activities, especially bearing in mind that many sports are now testing players at much lower (amateur) league levels than ever before.

The opposite page shows a quick reference guide to OTC medications for different illnesses - what to avoid, and what is safe to take in its place.

An easy way to fall foul of the doping regulations is by taking something like Nurofen Cold & Flu tablets. Nurofen is a household name, and there is no restriction on taking Ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Nurofen (but remember to ensure that the athletes in your care are aware of the potential danger to asthma sufferers and the possible gastro-intestinal side effects).

Pseudoephedrine is the ingredient included in the “Cold & Flu” variant as the decongestant, and this is illegal for use in tested sports. In Sydney, the unfortunate olympic gymnast, Andreea Raducan found this out the hard way, being stripped of her gold medal as a result of her team doctor’s apparent ignorance of the rules

Manufacturers do not purposely hide these ingredients, but their inclusion may not be immediately obvious from a cursory look at the pack front.

If you have any specific queries about medications not covered here, please e-mail us on info@premier-sportsmed.com and we will reply by return. We will publish any such queries (no names of course!) on our website in the “Open Forum” section, because the chances are that other therapists will probably have the same query.