WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — When you’re feeling under the weather, you likely grab your go-to cough and cold medicine. But are all the ingredients helping you fight off that cold?

“If a drug is not effective, you know, the question is, should it really be on store shelves for patients to use?” Stanford University Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Lauren Eggert asked.

Phenylephrine is widely used in many over the counter medicines. The Food and Drug Administration announced a new proposal to remove products from stores with the common decongestant ingredient, pointing to studies that question its effectiveness.

“This evidence that’s been mounting for years that phenylephrine, an oral over-the-counter decongestant, is probably just not very effective,” Eggert said.

Eggert says this is a move years in the making that got some help from health experts talking about phenylephrine on social media.

A final decision from the FDA would force manufacturers to remove products from shelves that contain oral forms of the ingredient, but Eggert says it’s still safe to use these drugs if they are in your medicine cabinet.

“Going forward. You know what I say to continue buying these medications or stocking up before they run out? Probably not, because you kind of don’t want to waste your money on drugs that aren’t effective,” Eggert said. 

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association said it was disappointed in the proposal saying, “Americans deserve the option to choose the safe and effective OTC medicines they prefer and rely on.”

A final decision could come in May.