Cold Medicine - New Warnings May Be On Their Way
Categories: In The News, Home Remedies
The FDA already warns parents that if you've got a sick kid under two, don't give them cough and cold medications. There are just too many side effects and scant evidence that the medicine actually works.And now, British regulators have come to the same conclusion, with an important twist -- caution should extend up to the age of 12. There's no clear evidence that cold medicines relieve children's symptoms, and allowing kids to take them risks allergic reactions, sleep disruptions and even hallucinations.
"There should be no side effects acceptable for a medication that doesn't work," pediatrician Dr. Daniel Rauch tells The Early Show. "Since the cold and cough medicines don't produce any good effects, you shouldn't accept any risk at all for your child. And there's no proven benefit for any of these medications for kids of any age."
It's a tough pill to swallow for parents who've made a habit of feeding a cold with OTC medications. Pediatricians might find the habit hard to break too; at least one nurse practitioner in our doctor's office still regularly recommends cold medication every time my kids get the sniffles.
So what should you do when your kids catch a cold? "Bear with it for a couple days" says Rauch. "It will just get better on its own. The tried-and-true benefits of fluid, rest and just keeping clean are the best things you can do."
And in the meantime, there are some safer ways to make your little sniffler more comfy:
- Run a cool mister humidifier.
- Use a saline nasal spray. (Make sure it's just saline)
- When babies and toddlers get sick, try a few drops of saline and a nasal bulb.
- Step into the shower. It's a classic croup remedy, but it helps loosen nose and chest congestion, too.
- Push liquids. They'll soothe a sore throat and keep kiddo hydrated.
- Prop up one end of the bed or crib. Babies can't have extra pillows and toddlers are too small, so try propping up the end of the bed instead. (Fair warning: Whenever I did this, my kids ended up at the bottom anyway.)
Do you regularly use OTC cough and cold medications when your child gets sick? What do you think about the idea of banning the use of them in kids under the age of 12?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kirstie 3-03-2009 @ 2:06PM
I grew up with severe asthma and sinus issues (for which I'm actually having surgery soon), and even being on several asthma/allergy medications, there were a lot of times when if I wasn't able to take OTC medications on top of it, I'd have been making an ER trip.
I think they're overused, yes, but that doesn't mean there isn't sometimes a legitimate need for them.
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Melissa 3-03-2009 @ 2:08PM
This is just stupid....it may not get rid of the cold, but it helps their symptoms and makes them feel better. I just use Tylenol Cold and Allergy and it doesn't seem to give my daughter hallucinations or anything. It helps her sleep better and gives her some relief.
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ninainindia 3-03-2009 @ 8:01PM
I think it's smart to be cautious. You don't actually need medicine for a cold.
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Jamie 3-04-2009 @ 7:26AM
I understand being careful. But where does it stop? When will our children be running around in football helmets with complete padding because "It's smart to be cautious"? If the child does not have a poor reaction to the recommended does of medication and the parent is capable of following dosage instructions, then why pull the medicines off of the counter? I can tell you that I see a difference on nights when my child does or does not receive a dose off cough medicine before bedtime. He is 4 and if he goes one restless night without sleep due to a severe cough, then the next night he will receive a calculated does of kids cough syrup. I still have a bottle with the correct dosing on it, so you can see we don't use it that often. Why is it that we have to be a society driven by fear because some small population can't correctly treat their child's cold. Maybe the medicine companies just need extra large print warning labels in every imaginable language. Or they could keep the OTC medicines behind the pharmacy desk so that the pharmacists could check in with the parents to make sure that they understand the risks and give the correct does to the child.
We do not need to live in a fear based society. My parents did not use a car seat, or safety gates, or cabinet latches, and yet we all survived. When I start to over react to something as a parent, I just remember the previous statement and reassure myself that my child will survive too.
Michelle 3-03-2009 @ 9:27PM
Tell that to my son who was up coughing for 3 nights in a row, all night. The poor dear got absolutely no sleep and neither did I. He's on an antibiotic and his nebulizer and his ped actually recommended an OTC med for his cough. Just because some people can't be responsible enough to read labels and/or talk to their doctors regarding correct dosing instructions does not mean that the vast majority of us are morons and are misusing the products. Whenever I have to give an OTC to either of my children, I either ask their ped, or call my mother, a ped RN long distance and have her look it up the dose by weight for me.
How difficult can it be?
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sarahm 3-07-2009 @ 10:45AM
It is always imperitive to be cautious in any situation that arises with children, and that is pretty obvious. Something to keep in mind is that all children are different. Some kids react to certain things differently! I am fortunate enough that my daughter has not been seriously ill, and the OTC meds I have given her have worked fine. When I read or hear about recalls and new information about meds and such for kids, I always panic a little bit, but in the end, I am just more aware of what her symptoms are and what the correct dosage of medicine is that I give her. Now, I am not saying that I give my kid medicine for every little cough and sneeze, but a little cold medicine isn't going to hurt my daughter.
I do think that people tend to over react over some things that are told to us. As Jamie said, when is it going to be enough? When are parents going to be able to not worry about the things are kids are doing and ingesting? Never.
For my kid, she will be getting the right meds & dosage when needed, and I call her dr if I have any questions at all, and my daughter will be playing in the dirt and living the life a kid is supposed to.
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