Physicians group wants FDA to ban children's cold medicines
Categories: Health & safety, Medical conditions, Home remedies
Last winter, the FDA put out an advisory warning parents and caretakers that children under the age of two shouldn't be given over-the-counter cough and cold medications. A leading physicians group, Public Citizen's Health Research Group, thinks that the ban didn't go far enough. They'd like to see the FDA ban all OTC cough and cold medications for children under 12.
According to the group, there is little evidence that these medications work in children. Not only that, there have been 123 deaths associated with these meds between 1969 and 2006, and 7,000 kids a year are treated in emergency rooms due to problems with OTC cough and cold medications. "In the absence of direct evidence that a product is effective," said Dr. Alejandro Necochea, a research associate with the group, "No amount of toxicity is acceptable."
The FDA isn't in a rush to ban the medications, however. Calling for more data, they fear that if children's cough and cold medications are pulled from the shelves, the problem will be made worse by parents who will give kids adult medications instead. We cleaned these kinds of meds out of our medicine cabinet a long time ago, treating colds with fluids, a vaporizer, and lots of TLC, though I do keep Benadryl around in case of an allergic reaction.
What about you?
According to the group, there is little evidence that these medications work in children. Not only that, there have been 123 deaths associated with these meds between 1969 and 2006, and 7,000 kids a year are treated in emergency rooms due to problems with OTC cough and cold medications. "In the absence of direct evidence that a product is effective," said Dr. Alejandro Necochea, a research associate with the group, "No amount of toxicity is acceptable."
The FDA isn't in a rush to ban the medications, however. Calling for more data, they fear that if children's cough and cold medications are pulled from the shelves, the problem will be made worse by parents who will give kids adult medications instead. We cleaned these kinds of meds out of our medicine cabinet a long time ago, treating colds with fluids, a vaporizer, and lots of TLC, though I do keep Benadryl around in case of an allergic reaction.
What about you?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Melissa 10-06-2008 @ 2:08PM
I keep the children's stuff around because sometimes my little girl gets a little cough and runny nose associated with allergies. Benadryl just makes her too drowsy to go to school, so the Tylenol Cough and Runny Nose is a life saver (it's only allergies, but you KNOW the school will be calling me anyway!). I do keep Benadryl around for the same reason, in case of allergic reactions, or a really bad allergy attack, but I would NEVER give her the adult meds! However, there are parents that would do this (hello, Britney Spears did it to calm down her youngest kid when she had her nervous breakdown!), so I don't think we need this ban. The kids that are getting sick and rushed to the hospital are the ones that the parents are giving too much of the childrens' stuff to, can you just imagine if we banned it and the only option a stressed out mom or dad had was to give them ADULT medication?? E.R.'s would fill up even more! Just my opinion!
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ablndmomnt 10-06-2008 @ 2:45PM
I'm in the health care field and believe that we should not ban these item. My kids can get nasty coughs that keep them up all night long, I don't want to give them a cough drop they can choke on and they need sleep to help their bodies fight the little bugs. The only option I have then is to give them cough and cold medicine, or a tussin medicine. The sure way to keep this in check is to keep the med admin form handy and know your child's weight! Not there age, my daughter is small for her age and thats when you end up with overdose. also never double dose, keep a written record if you share parenting duties, use a medication spoon, or cup or dropper. Never give your infant children's medicine and if you have questions call your doc's answering service. Parents please be responsible, I don't want to lose a medication my kids need because you can't be responsible.
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Jamie 10-06-2008 @ 3:58PM
Yeah, there most certainly would be a rush on antibiotics or other adult medications due to parents wanting to sooth their children's symptoms. None of these options are friendly. I do hope they keep the cold medicines for children under 12. I use them sparingly, but there are some nights that my son will cough all through the night without a little help from a cold medicine. No humidifier is going to get the funk out of the kids chest. It is great for a runny nose, not chest congestion. All it takes is Parents to read labels and not to overdose the child. I do hope they practice safe practices and not exclusion of all medications. I would be very sad and so would my children. In fact this topic makes me want to head to the nearest Walgreens/Walmart and buy them out of cough syrup (LOL).
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Karen 10-06-2008 @ 4:42PM
I'm confused. I thought they determined that they were not effective for coughs, but they do relieve other symptoms.
I think the biggest problem is that some medicines contain pain relievers and others don't. So some times people double dose.
However, are we talking infants and toddlers here or children? Also, for things like Nyquil --- if adjusted for their actual weight, is it really a big deal?
I don't do anything without checking with my resident ARNP (MIL), but I think she said it was ok to give Nyquil to my 10 year old daughter in a pinch one night. I could be wrong, but I think we just adjusted it to her weight.
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Jamie 10-06-2008 @ 5:10PM
A 'group of physicians' is calling for this ban? Pray tell me: are these physicians on the payroll of certain pharmaceutical companies who'd like to make it necessary to obtain a prescription to get pediatric cold remedies?
I would be willing to bet that these 'problems' with kids' cold remedies stem from parents not reading labels and improperly dosing their children (such as the Tylenol scare a couple years back, when parents were accidentally giving kids mega-doses of infant product, which is highly concentrated and usually dispenses in drops rather than teaspoons.) I understand that a small minority of children may have some sort of allergy to these meds, but by and large this is not a problem (at least among the MANY parents I know!)
I am a mother of five, and I have been awakened at 3 a.m. by a coughing, sneezing, hacking child on more occasions than I can count. Had I not had access to a medicine cabinet stocked with safe, effective cold remedies (used alongside a traditional vaporizer and raised mattress head,) I would have ended up in the emergency room with my child(ren), racking up an astronomical bill (both with and without insurance- $200 copays add up, too!) and waiting until dawn to fill a prescription which I may or may not have been able to afford. This is nonsense!
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Jenni 10-06-2008 @ 5:28PM
I'm glad I have yet to face the issue to give or not give my child OTC. To me, OTC medication only mask the symptoms. I don't take them for myself. I haven't needed to decide yet if I would give them to my child; I don't know yet what my decision would be.
I'm not opposed to taking them off the shelf; but this is because I have seen many parents giving medications for the slightest symptom: runny nose, slight cough, low-grade fever, I-think-she-might-get-a-cough...
I've seen it all. I'm not saying there isn't a time and place to use medication, I just think we use it WAY too much (adults and children alike). I like to wait the symptoms out and see where they go. Most of the time, my symptoms go away with rest and taking it easy. Then again, we live in a time where being sick is just another inconvenience that we can get rid of, so why not?
I would hate to see these off the shelf because I use them for myself. Because I don't take medication, my body reacts really strongly to the adult medications; I find that when I absolutly have to take something, the children's version is much better for me.
I think we rely for too much on these medications. Whether or not it is doctors on the payroll of a pharmecutical group, which I would agree that to probably be the case, I just think that we need to allow ourselves to be sick every once in a while. It'll make for a healthier community.
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Karen 10-07-2008 @ 8:53AM
Sometimes masking the symptoms is a good thing.
I don't generally medicate my children for fevers unless they get very high OR if it is making them so miserable they can't sleep.
The same goes for cold medicine. Even if it just masks the symptoms enough for the child to sleep through the night, I find that sleep is far beneficial than most other meds for healing. There is also value in just feeling better.
A cold, is a cold, is a cold. You can't really do anything for it EXCEPT treat symptoms.
Jamie 10-07-2008 @ 10:24AM
As long as they are being safe, why control what others do? Before the ban on medicine under 6, I would be alright giving my son cold medicine to help him sleep through the night. I read labels and only one does of one kind of medicine. I NEVER gave pain reliever when giving cold medicine. I am very careful and a bit stingy with cold medicine. Why take the drugs off of the market for those who use it properly? That is the BIG problem that I have with this whole issue. Why not teach safe practices! Make better warning labels, etc.
nia 10-06-2008 @ 9:50PM
it is always something. u can never have a peace of mind!
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lin 10-07-2008 @ 12:16PM
"group of physicians" sounds like socialized medicine!
NO THANKS! I'll feed my kids what I want and when I want for their colds. It's none of the dr's business! I use vaporizers, humidifiers and all that "natural" stuff but nothing is better than an expectorant for getting phlegm out of your chest. And I'm sorry but Vicks doesnt quiet a cough good enough for me.
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Rosslynn Carpenter 10-08-2008 @ 12:37AM
I give my children only the exact otc meds that is on the label. Too many parents give the incorrect dosage, and that is why soo many children get taken to the hospital. If I did not have the otc's in my cabinet I would have spent many sleepless nights. I give my children only the bare minimum that they need to make them comfortable, and then use other means to help them such as humidifiers, raised head mattress, lots of liquids, washclothes to bring down fevers, and vaporub.
People depend too much on otc's and get anxious if meds don't work in the first 5mins, then they redose instead of waiting or even looking at other methods.
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lml 10-08-2008 @ 10:09AM
I find it infuriating that they are taking cold meds off the market for children under the age of 4. There is scant evidence that cold meds work - but that's true for adult meds too! Are adult meds next? No way - there would be an uproar - because we all know they provide relief! We need something to alleviate our children's symptoms when they get sick. That's called humane treatment! No other country is being this "cautious". They are citing deaths from overdose going back 37 years - are they serious? Because 69 people over a 37 year span overdosed their kids they are going to make all kids under the age of 4 now suffer?! Am I going to really have to have friends from England mail me cold medicine??!! Insane. I wish I knew which pediatrician groups to start sending hate mail.
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Heather 10-08-2008 @ 11:23AM
We use it only when the kids are real sick and to make them comfortable enough to sleep. Only I give medicine exdh does not unless I am not there and then he calls me. We do this so as to not give a double dose.
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