In a couple of past blogs, FDA: Skip OTC remedies to treat colds in young children and Cold medicines and children: a dangerous mix? I’ve warned parents about the dangers of using over-the-counter (OTC) cold medications in children. However, many parents have missed the memo.
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports, “More than half of parents continue to give over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to children under the age of 2, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that the medications are not effective and that they have poisoned or killed hundreds of children,” according to a poll released by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In 2008, the FDA issued a warning on the drugs, “which prompted a voluntary recall of many of the products. … ‘Unfortunately, this latest poll indicates that the FDA warnings have gone unheeded by the majority of parents and, surprisingly, many physicians,'” said Dr. Matthew Davis, Director of the hospital’s National Poll on Children’s Health.
According to a report in HealthDay, the survey of more than “300 parents of children ages 6 months to 2 years found that 61 percent of parents gave OTC cough and cold medicines to their children within the last 12 months.”
In addition, more than 50 percent of the parents “said their child’s doctor said the medicines are safe for children under 2 years, and about half reported that their doctor said the medicines are effective.”
I’ve written a blog, Tips on giving over-the-counter cold (OTC) medications to children over 4 years old, that may help you with older children. But, what about younger children? Here are some of my tips:
ALTERNATIVES TO OTC MEDICINES:
WHEN TO SEE THE DOCTOR:
With or without over-the-counter drugs, it’s sometimes hard to know when the is the right moment to make an appointment with your child’s physician. Here are the conditions that suggest it’s time to see the doctor:
More important than any list I can give you is for mom’s to trust their intuition. If you think, “This just doesn’t seem like my child,” have the little one seen by a doctor.
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I get requests for cough medicine frequently from parents, and usually they’re more receptive than I expect when I explain the dangers. It helps having kids so that I can say “This is what I give my kids…”