Oxymetazoline
Topical decongestant / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Oxymetazoline, sold under the brand name Afrin among others, is a topical decongestant and vasoconstrictor medication. It is available over-the-counter as a nasal spray to treat nasal congestion and nosebleeds, as eyedrops to treat eye redness due to minor irritation, and (in the United States) as a prescription topical cream to treat persistent facial redness due to rosacea in adults. Its effects begin within minutes and last for up to six hours. Intranasal use for longer than three days may cause congestion to recur or worsen, resulting in physical dependence. It is estimated that 700,000 people in Norway could be dependent on nasal sprays.[1]
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Trade names | Afrin, Ocuclear, Rhofade, others |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
Dependence liability | Moderate |
Routes of administration | Intranasal, eye drop, topical |
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Metabolism | Kidney (30%), fecal (10%) |
Elimination half-life | 5–6 hours |
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ECHA InfoCard | 100.014.618 |
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Formula | C16H24N2O |
Molar mass | 260.381 g·mol−1 |
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Melting point | 301.5 °C (574.7 °F) |
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Oxymetazoline is a derivative of imidazole.[2] It was developed from xylometazoline at Merck by Wolfgang Fruhstorfer and Helmut Müller-Calgan in 1961.[3] A direct sympathomimetic, oxymetazoline binds to and activates α1 adrenergic receptors and α2 adrenergic receptors, most notably.[2] One study classified it in the following order: α(2A) > α(1A) ≥ α(2B) > α(1D) ≥ α(2C) >> α(1B), but this is not universally agreed upon.[4] There is little consistency across the (relatively large) number of in-vitro studies with respect to binding affinity/selectivity.
Another study classified it with selectivity ratios in alpha 2 adrenergic receptors of 200 for a2A vs a2B, 7.1 a2A vs a2C, and 28.2 a2B vs a2C.[5] Making it a highly selective a2A agonist.
In 2021, it was the 292nd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 600,000 prescriptions.[6][7]