Cough and Cold Medicines in Children

Cough and Cold Medicine to Look Out For

2009-03-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Cough and cold medicines has been taken off the market for fear of improper usage. Mainly children under the age of two years should not be associated with these cough and cold medicines unless instructed so by a physician otherwise. The smaller your body mass the easier you absorb the medicine, causing toxicity. Here is a list of six cough and cold medicines given to infants permanently taken off the shelves. Make sure to be in the look out for:

-Asda Children's Chesty Cough Syrup
-Boots Chesty Cough Syrup One Year Plus
-Boots Sore Throat and Cough Linctus One Year Plus
-Buttercup Infant Cough Syrup
-CalCough Chesty and Bell's Children's Chesty Cough

Some other cough and cold medicines that are voluntarily being taken off the market for fear of potential misuse of infant cold medicines are:

-Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops
-Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops
-Little Colds Decongestant Plus Cough
-Little Colds Multi-Symptom Cold Formula
-PEDIACARE Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine)
-PEDIACARE Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine)
-PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
-PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
-PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (containing phenylephrine)
-Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops
-Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant
-Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Plus Cough
-TYLENOL Concentrated Infants ' Drops Plus Cold
-TYLENOL Concentrated Infants ' Drops Plus Cold & Cough

There are a dozen other cough and cold medicines for children that are temporarily being taken off the shelves also. However, these medicines are being repackaged with better instructions before being placed back on the market. Instructions such as, not allowing a child under the age of two to take the medication, and the right dosage needed for the child. Consumers need to be aware that reading the labels are very important in the lives of children, especially under the age of 6.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/child-cough-remedies-taken-off-shelves-801345.html

http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-children/2007/10/infant-cough-cold-drugs-withdrawn.html

Why aren’t OTC cough and cold medications as safe for children as they are for adults?

2009-03-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

I understand that drugs are metabolized differently in infants and children than in adults! Haha now that that is out of the way, lets get down to the real issue.
I’ve read a LOT of information on the web. From countless .com sites to several scholarly articles and research studies conducted. The overwhelming consensus is that OTC cough and cold medications do more harm than good in children as old as 12 years old. I’ve learned that many research studies comparing the efficacy of OTC cough and cold medications to the efficacy of a placebo show that most (if not all) positive effects of OTC cough and cold medications are non-pharmacological in nature. Or in other words, medicines such as codeine and dextromethorphan which are believed to exert their antitussive action on areas of the brainstem which control the cough reflex have little to do with the claimed effects of the drug on the body, but rather it is the placebo effect of these medications which results in the desired positive effects. However, this does NOT mean that they are ineffective in temporarily alleviating symptoms.
Many studies have shown how unsafe OTC cough and cold medications can be for children. However, I have been unable to find pharmacological or physiological evidence that explains the increased safety risk shown by the data from these reports.
I welcome any in-depth input that explains pharmacologically or physiologically, why and how OTC cough and cold medications are more dangerous for children.

Sources:
1) http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/12/1140
2)http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6X16-4HPKBYV-2&_user=108428&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059731&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=108428&md5=c398e8c9cd7c655457f0e3f3e5058235

Helpful Information

2009-03-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

The CDC states that many leading manufacturers of cough medications are now putting on their labels that cough meds should NOT be given to children under the age of four. They previously stated that they should not be given to children under the age of two.

Whether you are a parent yourself or not, everyone can benefit by knowing a few simple steps to help protect children from overdosing on meds. Here a few helpful hints:

DO:
- Throw away old cold and cough meds labeled for children less than age four
- Read the label carefully to see what ingredients are in any medication you give your child

DON'T:
- Don't leave any medicines where your child might be able to reach them.
- Don't tell children that medicine is candy.
- Don't take adult medicines in front of your child.
- Don't give children younger than age 4 any medicines intended for older children.
- Don't give your child two medicines that contain the same ingredients.

sited links: http://www.cdc.gov/features/pediatricColdMeds/

Alternatives

2009-03-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

OK all we hear is how Cold and flu medications are not good for kids under the age of 2, when you are a mother and you child is sick,sitting and doing nothing is not really an option.once your child is sick the maternal instinct to make your child feel better kicks in,so its natural for us to go to the pharmacy and find something to relief the pain.

But these over the counter drugs don't really help,studies have shown that cold medications are no more as effective as a placebo and that low grade fevers actually helps a child to fight infection.

so you ask what can i do to make my child feel better? well

Offer lots of fluids: fluids can help loosen congestion and help make coughing more productive.fluids like hot soup,hot tea, Gatorade's (for electrolytes and water), juice.
Resting: when our body is less stressed we are more able to fight infections and also if you think about it,when your sick you have less energy because your body is fight or flight mode.
Moisten air: a humidifier in your child's room to help soothe irritated nasal passages. Hot showers can also help soothe achey body.
saline drops: saline drops helps loosen thick and hard mucus in the nasal passage which makes it more difficult to bring out and contributes to the feeling of discomfort

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-medicines/CC00083

2009-02-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

We could always agree that children who have cold feel a miserable experience and when our babies and young children are suffering with them. it is even worse because surely something must be done in other to be able to help them think that we could give them the help they need and if we could not the doctors would have as well. The unfortunate reality is that there is little or more that we could do other than wait.
These are few things that you could try and l will describe them below:
1. Dimetapp decongestant infant plus cough infant drops.
2. Dimetapp decongestant infants drops
3. Pediacare infants dropper longer-Acting cough
4. Tylenol concentrated infants' drops plus cold and cough.
In n addition you have probably read recently that a panel of experts advisors to the FDA recommended that the most over-the counter cough medicines don't work for children under 6 and that their use cannot be recommended.
The FDA will be taking the panel's recommendations under advisement and it s likely that they will issue new requirements the labeling of these products in the near future.