Infant Cough, Cold Drugs Withdrawn
Makers Take Their Products Off the Market Citing Potential Misuse, Not Safety
Oct. 11, 2007 -- The makers of all over-the-counter oral cough and cold medicines for infants announced that they are taking those products off the market.
"Potential misuse of these infant medicines, not product safety, is driving the voluntary withdrawal," states the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), a trade group representing the makers and distributors of over-the-counter medicines, in a news release.
The withdrawal only applies to cough and cold medicines that refer to "infants," not to children who are at least two years old.
The CHPA today issued this list of branded cough and cold medicines that are being voluntarily withdrawn:
- 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 Decongestant (containing phenylephrine)
- 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
FDA Reviewing Products
In August, the FDA warned parents not to give children younger than 2 over-the-counter cough or cold medicines unless given specific directions to do so by a health care provider.
The FDA is reviewing the safety and effectiveness of nonprescription cough and cold drug use in children. An FDA panel will discuss the topic next week.
Trade Group's Comments
"It 's important to point out that these medicines are safe and effective when used as directed, and most parents are using them appropriately," CHPA president Linda Suydam, DPA, states in a news release.
"The reason the makers of over-the-counter, oral cough and cold medicines for infants are voluntarily withdrawing these medicines is that there have been rare patterns of misuse leading to overdose recently identified, particularly in infants, and safety is our top priority," states Suydam.
The CHPA and its member companies have recommended to the FDA that the labels on all over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children 2 and older be strengthened from "ask a doctor" before using to "do not use" in children under age 2. That way, parents will be aware that these products are not recommended for infants.
The CHPA says it made those recommendations in preparation for next week's FDA panel meeting.
"These medicines are -- and always have been -- safe at recommended doses," states Suydam.
She adds that "these voluntary actions are being taken out of an abundance of caution. The vast majority of parents and caregivers safely use these medicines to help relieve their children's symptoms."
"But as with all medicines, it's important that parents read over-the-counter medicine labels carefully, use these medicines only as directed, and store them safely out of the reach of children," says Suydam.
SOURCES: News release, Consumer Healthcare Products Association. WebMD Medical News: "FDA Warns on Tot's Cough, Cold Drug Use."
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Technorati Tags: baby cough cold medicines withdrawn, infant cough cold drugs withdrawn, Consumer Healthcare Products Association
40 Comments:
I'm frustrated that we can't be left to make our own decisions any more about anything! They have said, MOST parents are using it correctly. We follow directions! This can happen with ANY medication. I don't like that the medicines that have helped my kids will be taken away from me as a choice when these are meds I have trusted and used for many years. Why don't we just regulate everything in America? Next they'll write instructions on how to go to the bathroom and then recall the toilets or something......
All this is going to do is cause those "rare patterns" of parents to decide to take the medicines for 2+, divide the doseage to what they think equals out to their childs weight and medicate that way, which is far more dangerous than having access to medicines that are intended to be used by a specific age group! This is ridiculous!
Pseudoephedrine works. I have a 10 month old with a cold right now. When she couldnt breathe last night, I gave her the correct dosage (as directed by her doctor) of pseudoephedrine, and it cleared enough of her congestion such that she was able to breathe through her nose and sleep.
I have a 5 year old, and I gave him Pediacare when he was an infant. Basically, infants who are exposed to other infants/children will typically have half a dozen colds a year. When my kids have a bad cold, and can't get restful sleep, I give them a doctor approved dosage of pseudoephedrine/Pediacare. Apparently, because some parents manage to kill their children with pseudoephedrine, I can no longer give my kids a little comfort when they have severe sinus congestion.
This is America. A country where most people can't find Mexico on a map. A country where 50,000 people die in highway accidents EVERY year. Frankly, I am surprised by the low number of infant deaths due to the misuse of cold medicines. I am sure we have all heard horror stories about babysitters and caregivers (and parents) who give their kids cough medicine even when the kids don't have a cold/cough just to sedate and silence the kids. Like I said, I am surprised by the low number of children who have died from overdoses of these medicines. I suspect more kids die from being given aspirin or who suffer liver damage from getting overdoses of ibuprofen.
Don't tell me pseudoephedrine doesn't work. It works on me, and I know it works on my children. But, now I will have to get a prescription from my doctor, or I will have to figure out how to measure the appropriate amount of medicine labeled for adults/older children to give it to my young children.
With freedom comes responsibility. With children comes responsibility. Some people shouldn't be parents. Some people can't function in our complex society. We don't have to dumb down the whole world to the lower common denominator so as to make the world safe for the dumbest around us.
I think this is ridiculous. The medicine is being yanked because some parents can’t or won’t read dosage charts. When my daughters were babies there was a problem of people giving infant medicine to older children. They were using the dosage chart on the older childrens medicine but using infant meds (which are more concentrated). Nothing got pulled then.
People need to take responsibility for their actions and not blame others.
Maybe I should sue the paper company because I got a paper cut the other day. It could be dangerous.
I am in no way trivializing tragedy that has happened in peoples lives because of misuse of medicine. I do believe that it is wrong that the FDA is taking medicine off the shelves that they themselves say is safe.
I can understand why the drug companies are doing this, they are afraid of the big money lawsuit. You know the kind when the juries award people money for their own stupidity. I agree that it is not fair for the rest of the people who have common sense and follow directions. I think we have to do something to stop all of the lawsuits that come about when a child is injured or killed due to parents not following directions. And we need to contact our congressmen and senators and tell them we don't need laws to tell us how to live our lives. We have so many safety law now because some child got hurt and that child's parents didn't want that to happen to any other child so they fought for more regulation, like car seats until a child weighs 80lbs. This is mandatory in my state but helmets on motorcycles are not. It baffles me.
I think it's absolutely ridiculous that people are so upset over this. So are we saying that it's okay for there to be risk for those infants that have stupid parents? I agree that it is mostly a result of parents who are too ignorant and don't follow directions, but the reason they're recalling these products isn't to torture us all who use them correctly- it is to minimize the danger to those poor little infants who have morons for parents. Quit your whining- YOUR baby will be fine after losing a little sleep at night from being congested. The infants of stupid parents might not be so lucky.
OK, they are taking meds off market. Not much we can do about that. My only question is: Now what are we supposed to give our kids when they have a cold and are miserable?
anonymous above, try dr. moser's blog -- he has suggestions and a great chicken soup recipe, too.
http://blogs.webmd.com/all-ears/
Hey I agree with all the parents who want less choice in order to protect kids with criminally negligent parents. Using the same logic, I want to ban beer and all alcohol, because irresponsible parent kill their kids every year in drunk driving accidents. I want to ban cars because that crazy woman strapped her kids in and drove into a lake.
I want to ban bathtubs in all homes because irresponsible parents accidentally drown kids every year. Why does anyone need a bathtub anyway? People should have stand-up shower stalls. If banning bathtubs saves kids who have irresponsible parents, then I think the rest of society should be mature enough to give up their long, relaxing soaks, and should be able to deal with a 5 minute shower to wash off.
Yeah, I like the chicken soup suggestion too. But, I want to ban all stoves because countless children get severe burns (and there are deaths too) from pots of boiling water every year. So, chicken soup looks like a "recipe" for disaster to me... 4 AM, groggy parents trying to make soup, cranky toddler who is miserable with sinus pain and can't sleep, and a hot stove? No way! It should be banned, and the author should remove the recipe from the website, and stores should not sell soup pots because they can lead to irresponsible parents killing their kids.
Welcome to the new nanny America. Here, the rules are made and enforced to prevent the dumbest, most irresponsible, criminally negligent people from hurting themselves and their kids. You better learn to chew on grass to trim your lawn, because every years kids get seriously injured or die from lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, and weed whackers.
In case you didn't get it, let me dumb it down for you. Lawn mowers kill more kids than these medicines. So, we should ban lawn mowers. Who need pretty cut grass anyway.
Here's some info for you:
Each year, about 75 people are killed and about 20,000 are injured on or near riding lawnmowers and garden tractors. One out of every five deaths involves a child. CPSC estimates that most of the deaths to children occurred when a child was in the path of a moving mower.
"No parent wants their child to be one of these statistics," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "Young children move quickly and are attracted to mowing activity, but they don't understand the dangers it poses. Parents should keep young children away from any outdoor power equipment."
You can read about it here:
http://www.kidsource.com/CPSC/riding.mower.cpsc.html
I agree with most of the parents and posters here. They shouldnt be removing working medicines because a few people abuse them. Like the anti-lawnmower post above says, more people kill their kids with lawnmowers than kill their kids with these medicines. In the mean time, the rest of us have less medicines available to us because we are trying to make the world safe for the dumbest people in our society.
Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face with a shotgun while quail hunting. Should we ban all shotguns and hunting because some people have bad judgement and terrible shooting skills?
I also agree that someone is taking our rights away little by little to keep those very few, who refuse to follow the rules, in control. Not just with this issue but many others. Needless to say, someone knows someone who abuses these drugs for their own means and ends. I know a mother who sadly does this to keep her child docile. A runny nose to her means alternate infant tylenol with ibuprofen every 3 hours.
The amazing thing about this conversation is the number of posters, with such strong opinions, who did not even bother to fully digest what occurred. Lots of comments about our rights and freedoms and about these medications being banned, when, in fact, the FDA has not banned anything (yet.) The FDA has decided to take a close look at the safety and efficacy of these drugs when used in children. The drug manufacturers have voluntarily withdrawn these products.
To add a little background to the whole affair: the FDA's actions are in response to a citizen petition submitted to them back in March. I don't know all of the details of the petition. I do know that it was asking for stronger labeling, to the effect that the medications have not been found to be safe or effective in children under 6 years old. They were also asking that labeling not include terms such as baby or infant in the product name and that images of children under 6yo not be pictured on the products.
The Nonprescription Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committees are scheduled to meet on Oct 18 & 19th to discuss the issue. (The meeting is open to the public.)
Yes, the agenda includes issues such as unintentional overdose and the abilities of caregivers to correctly administer cough and cold products, but it also includes discussion about extrapolation of data. Much of the current dosing and efficacy information has been extrapolated from adult or older child data, and health care practitioners are beginning to recognize that apples are not oranges.
Now what I don't quite understand is the political impetus behind the drug companies withdrawal of the medications prematurely. I admit, I am quite naive when it comes to politics on any level. (I can't stand all the BS.) So is it a legal cover-their-butts decision? Are they putting money in someone's pocket w/ the tactic of removing the offending products, laying low, and then rolling out their new and improved packages tomorrow with the understanding that those products are not going to get banned today? I don't know. As I said, these things are way beyond me...
I think this really stinks, worse than my infants diapers. I have used these meds. with no proplems never over medicating or undermedicating my children expecially as an infant and know I will not have any option to treat a cold or flu. The doctors are not going to start presrcibing meds since over the counters are gone. So it will be harder for parents to keep their sick child from getting better. Yes, colds don't last a life time but getting up every time your child coughs fells like it is. What fustrates me is instead of the FDA finding correct dose amounts and making meds that will not make children dependant they would rather just get rid of them. So instead of making their jobs harder and spending more tax dollars on research they make the parents jobs more complicated and having a harder time intreating these children and having to take more time off of work because the school or day care the child may go to will not except them until they are completely better. Go Figure, don't we just love our american goverment. They can make every choose and we have to live with it.
what about good old vicks? works great for my kids.
This post has been removed by the author.
Delete Comment From: Healthy Children
Stephanie said...
In response to some of the suggested alternative medications in some of the comments above.
No I'm not giving my one year old Vicks, it will 100%, without a doubt end up in the eyes and of course the mouth, for easy digestion. I also saw a chicken soup suggestion. Please tell me how many infants can eat chicken soup and how many toddlers will eat it when you need them to? Especially when ill? Not exactly like you can talk them into it ... please, you should be tarred, feathered and pubicly stoned for those redicculous suggestions.
Parents will only be left with a couple of bad choices. Wait do nothing. Then hospitalize, after the mucous has created a bacterial infection, subsequently dropping into the lungs and anti biotics treatment being refused by your pediatrician.... or
Take the bull by the horns, nip that nasty cold in the butt immediately. Buy regular medicine and guess the dose.
It is already bad enough with the anti biotic scare, now we're doomed. Last year my son was 4 months old, became ill at Thanksgiving and remained sick for more than 2 months. His pediatrician resisted treating with anti biotics or any over the counter medicine, even though the congestion had hit his lungs and breathing was labored and difficult. It wasn't until months later and muccous began to seep from his eyes and yes I mean his eyes, that I DEMANDED treatment.
Two days after receiving the anti biotics and prescription decongestant he was darn close to a 100% recovery. That was last year with more choices .... What will happen to our children this year?
11/13/2007 12:46:00 PM
I find the fact that i can't get this medicine for my child annoying. I make the effort to take my child to the pediatrician, TALK to the pediatrician about my child's care, get dosing charts, etc. for my child FROM THE PEDIATRICIAN. I am not a hibitual user of infant/toddler cold medication on my children. However, I do believe, as, apparently, my pediatrician does, that with proper dosage, these products can alleviate symptoms so that my child can be more comfortable, rest, and recover faster.
I'm not begrudging anyone the fact that there are indeed a lot of people out there who shouldn't be parents, and who are too stupid to know how to care for their own children. However - does removal of these products change that? Of course not...there have always been and will always be people who don't know how to care for children, shouldn't have children, don't deserve children, etc. I agree with all the other people who feel that those of us who are trying really hard to do things correctly, intelligently, and to ensure the comfort and health of our children are being penalized.
Parents need to start reading medical literature and not buy into expensive marketing campaigns that sell unnecessary drugs. Clinical trials have proven these medications are not effective, they are as effective as a placebo. To start, read a report written by The Prescription Project. The dosage instructions vary by product either using weight or age, the difference in weight in an infant can vary greatly, how can the makers of these medications assume two 3 month old babies get the same dosage. Look at the marketing dollars spent to sell these medications, drug manufactures are making millions, they don't want the consumer to stop buying their products. Parents are the target market and they play on out weakness, no one likes to see their child suffer from a cold, so they offer the quick fix and show a happy baby in their ads. The manufactures of these drugs don't care about kids they are solely profit driven. Kids get colds, it is a part of life, we all get colds, they run their course and go away after a few days.
Sorry to the parents who like ineffective drugs, you may have to stay up with your kids at night or get up a few times during the night to comfort them instead of medicating them to sleep.
My childs Doctor wouldn't even perscribe a cough med to my 4 yr old because of this stupid stuff that the are trying to pull!!!
Commenting back to the 12/02 post.
I agree that parents need to be as educated on these products however, we need to best tools posible. I keep a med. dose chart on my fridge, but it needs to be accurate and that is the job of the medicine makers/govt reg.
Each child can react differently to these medicines but I and many of the other mothers that have posted are saying it does help symptoms. Do you have a child?
my 9 mth old has been seen twice in the last two months at the pediatrician for severe congestion
each time she has been prescribed an antibiotic this time she has a severe diaper rash and diarhea i believe a side effect of the antibiotic. i would think that a little decongestant would have helped her recover instead of coughing all night believe me i have tried the humidifier,etc. just frustrating.
I'm a grandmother that is very concerned about my 8 month old granddaughter. She had been sick with chest congestion and wet cough for about a month. She can't blow her nose...she can't try to "spit" it out...instead she's just suppose to suffer and gag? Several calls to the doc by my daughter result in the old..it'll run it's course. This is crazy that she can't do anything to help bring relief for the congestion or cough. When my children were young, if you didn't take care of them since they are pretty much helpless,it was neglect. Make the stuff a persription with measured doses. Don't NEGLECT it. This is rediculous when we have nedication that used properly has worked. One more thing to be fed up with.
mommom,
When my kids were little our doctor didn't like us to use any pediatric cold remedies -- he recommended the saline spray and an aspirator, which really worked pretty well. It wasn't a barrel of monkeys to do, but it was still easy enough -- we just did one squirt of the saline spray in each nostril and then used the aspirator to suck the mucus out.
Vaporizers are great, too.
I believe that what they are trying to say is that the meds are not effective, and can be dangerous if used incorrectly. When my children were young, I wasn't sure I trusted the drug companies. As mentioned, they are in it for the money. This is fine except I tend to want to protect kids from people that will sell them or their parents just about anything, regardless of it’s safety or worth. Drug companies will do this you know …So while I don't believe that the meds should be pulled, as it appears that many parents rely on them successfully, labeling could improve greatly.
Unless prescription drugs were required, which was rare, I generally went with natural remedies for colds and coughs both out of principle and because they cost less and money was a real issue when my children were young. Funny...now some of the things I used with success are being poo-poo'd. Gee I guess I'm lucky my kids survived the ginger tea, the honey and lemon cough syrup, and dabs of “dragons blood” (pet name for a mix of Chinese essential oils that worked somewhat like Vicks) on their chests under their PJ’s..
Of course, they are also lucky to have survived my 64 Bug that had not one seat belt. How I survived my parent's big red Mercury convertible with the big rumbling "Turnpike" engine is another mystery…
I say: Less Legislation! More Education!
Advise Please, I wrongl gave to my baby the pedia care Infant drops Decongestant & cough by nose, i was supposed to give him by mouth. wls what are the side effects?
My child is sick with a fever and congestion. In the past I have used Tylenol Cough and Cold and it was VERY effective at reducing the fever to a more tolerable less dangerous level, and increasing my child's ability to breath. I believe this qualifies this drug as a VERY EFFECTIVE drug as it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Tonight my child is sick again only this time there is no Tylenol Cough and Cold on the store shelves and my old bottle is out of date. I wish you could hear his cries and moans as I write this letter!! He is suffering unnecessarily!!! Now seriously, do you think taking these meds off the shelves is going to help anything??? The Stupid FEW parents that misuse OTC meds are going to continue to do so, only with meds designed for older people. This is just going to increase the overdosing hazard instead of decrease it!!!
In short, I believe that by taking the OTC infant cough and cold meds off the shelves, you are causing millions of children to suffer unnecessarily, and all for a few CRIMINALS (isn't administering meds not in accordance with the labeling a crime?) that will undoubtedly continue to misuse the meds by switching to the meds designed for older people!!! Use your heads people!!! Sure there are a few rare exceptions where the meds may not help, but that's the case with most meds. I can tell you from personal experience that the meds do help, and my baby Jonathan is at this very moment suffering the most he's ever suffered in his short life because of this Craziness!!! I hope those responsible will sleep well tonight. I won't be.
I think it is ridiculous that people are arguing about this. To the person that said "you might have to get up with your child at night rather than medicate them to sleep" I think you're an idiot. I do know people who abuse medications, I however am not one of them. I would like to be able to offer my children some relief when they don't feel well. It is miserable when you can't breath and you need sleep. It has nothing to do with me having to get up with them at night, but to make them more comfortable while they sleep. So I would suggest that you quit talking down to people who actually use these meds correctly and would just like to offer their children some relief. I'm sure your children really appreciate your sympathy.
My 3mth old son is having a horrible time trying to "get over" his congestion and coughing. You can hear the mucous in his chest as he coughs and there is absolutely nothing I can do for him. He wont cough it up. I clean out his nose before every feeding but the fact that he is crying so much just produces more snot. Now he isnt eating all of his food and the food that does go down, gets thrown back up. I have called the doctor's office countless times and have even gone to the emergency room and they just told me to do the same things I am already doing. My son should not have to suffer b/c some people decide that they want to abuse OTC meds. My son's well being should not revolve around idiots. The meds that I used for my first son were VERY EFFECTIVE so I dont care what some article says. No one knows what meds do for my children better than me. I should get a petition together to get meds put back on the shelves until after their investigation.
After being told five different times by five different people, I was finally able to get my son's pediatrition to give him some medicine. It took having him sick for two weeks to get him some relief and you know what it cost? $175 for meds. He is now on a breathing machine to clear out his airways. And I havent even been billed yet for the machine that we have to use. They wouldnt even say how long he has to do this. So, where I could have just paid less than $10 and he would have been over it in five or seven days, I had to pay $175 and it may take longer than that to get over. People talk about fairness to those children with the messed up parents. Is this fair?
Ok, has everyone who loves cold products for infants even tried the alternatives? My oldest is eight, and we haven't even used them, because we've had an excellent doctor who has always recommended not using them. It's not only about people abusing them or overdosing, it's the fact that they are generally innefective in infants and toddlers, and can cause more harm than good by drying up the mucous up in their sinuses isntead of allowing it to drain.
We have always use the infant vapor bath, a humidifier, the Vicks (and similar) rubs and creams (creams for infants, does NOT get in their eyes or mouths), and the Vicks inhalant, along with plain old Tylenol, and have found it to be extremeley effective.
If these products are relieving symptoms in your infants and toddlers, chances are it's the Acetomenophen in the product making them feel better, and that's in regular Tylenol, and not being reviewed. THe cold medications will still be available by prescription for those few cases where it's effective.
I don't see the reason to give infants and toddlers a medication that is ineffective and possibly going to do more harm than good in that age group. There are other great alternatives.
I HAVE TRIED HUMIDIFIERS, VAPORIZORS, VAPOR RUB, TYLENOL (TO RELEVE THE ACHES FROM THE COLD), STEAM FROM SHOWERS AND NOTHING HAS HELPED WITH MY SONS COUGH UNTIL THE NEBULIZER AND THE MEDS THAT COME WITH THAT ARE $175. THE
"NEFFECTIVE MEDS" WERE VERY EFFECTIVE AND I PREFER THOSE. I WAS TAKING THEM WHEN I HAD COLDS, I GAVE THEM TO MY FIRST SON AND THEY DID NO HARM TO EITHER ONE OF US
Inneffective? Uh, no way. I am totally on the side of using irrigation, steam, saline, warm liquids as the first defense. When they are not enough to give my sweet girl even a few hours rest, the most wonderful helper in the world is waiting in the wings- sudafed. Just enough to let her close her mouth, breathe through the nose and get just a few moments rest. Keeping your child and yourself decongested is the #1 way to possibly avoid all the ENT infections. If the mucus hangs out, it goes bad. The trick really is the timing of when to go for meds. Rember the E tube is horizontal in babies, so it doesn't drain. (stays this way for people with Down's Syn, but shifts downward a bit in "average" adults)
i have 2 kids and my youngest one is 10 mos old. yes we are one family affected by all this recall on infant cold and cough medicine. i for one always try to follow the directions on the label all the time. i've used this meds to my first daughter. and i agree that Pediacare meds were effective. Now my second one is going thru the cold and cough period and he has been for few mos now.. seems like it is a cycle that never ends.. i always call my pediatrician's office to ask for what medicine i can give him. and they have given me some like dimetapp cold n cough but for a lesser dosage at .8 ml. i think it is always best to check with your doctor's office first. i agree that they need to place back those meds in the shelf as parents are now more aware that directions should be followed more carefully for their own
Wow..So many angry people. I have a 2 year old daughter and have given her tylenol when absolutely needed. (Being a very high fever) One that I did not see mentioned was (Motrin) Good for bringing down a high fever quickly. I don't understand why everyone is so angry about this. If you need medication for your baby/child take them to there pediatrician. That's what there for. Most likely they will prescribe somthing for them..Or just tell you to have your child drink plenty of water and get rest...The cold or flu has to run it's course no matter what meds you give your child. These over the counter meds may help with some of your childs symptoms..though in the long run they do more damage to the body than good weather you know it or not...One being to the liver. So complaining about what you can't give your child..Put that energy into what you can give your child. There are so many things to help your child when they are sick...Though most parents just break out the over the counter meds with out even thinking twice.
Cool Air Humidifiers: are wonderful for the child with the stuffy nose and chest congestion.
Plenty of Water: Helps thin the mucus..so it's easier to get rid of.
Healthy eating: Helps to boost the immune system to help fight off the cold/flu.
Love and Care: All children especially when sick need to know your there for them. Spend quiet time reading books...or snuggle time wathcing there favorite movie. Or singing them songs..for the babies who don't watch TV.
Bringing up our rights and all this other crap that's not even relevant...obviously shows that your more concerned about Yourself than your childs health. So do your homework..take your child to the pediatrician when there sick..and get over it. There are so many more horrible things in the world to worry about than over the counter meds that are not good for your childs body anyway.
in New York Times Jan18 2008:
"Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, said she was “very disappointed that the F.D.A. did not extend that advisory for children under 6.” The delay, Dr. Zuckerman said, “enables major drug companies to continue to make millions of dollars selling families children’s cold and cough medications that have never been proven effective.”
and more(same article):
"There is no evidence that pediatric cold medicines provide any relief to children suffering from colds, and there are growing reports of deaths, convulsions, rapid heart rates and some loss of consciousness associated with them.
There are about 800 pediatric cold products sold in the United States that use one or more of 39 different drugs. Parents spend around $500 million every year buying nearly 95 million boxes containing 3.8 billion doses of medicine.
The American College of Chest Physicians recommends that pediatric cold medicines not be used."
...hello all...i encourage you do to some quick and independent research on the effects of these over the counter cough remedies, i have, and though webmd wont say it, these drugs can have very bad health effects on your young children. they says publicly that they are not removing them for safety, but think of the lawsuits that would arrive if they really say the cough medicines you have been using for a long time are not suitable for consumption in youngsters.
I strongly encourage you, so that you see real research for yourself. science magazines are at most librarys and if not local they can be requested. colleges and university libraries have specifically large collections. or online databases such as jstor and many others easily found surfing the internet.
please be aware...traditional herbal remedies have worked for ages...colds and flus must follow their course, there is nothing you can do to stop them and most OTC medicines have been documented to slow down the healing process..
so if your child wants releif, make her ginger tea with lemon, squeeze a real lemon or half lemon into the cup and add a teaspoon of honey...let them drink or spoonfeed them all they want and dont force it on them. insticts are very strong in infants, and a childs head rearing away from artificially grape cough chemical brews is a sign from them. our bodies know best and nature knows best all the same. ask most independent physicians and they will tell you that cold/flu cannot be cured and it must run its course...we can easily make it more comfortable however...make sure that your child is getting full hugfulls of your love, real emotional and physical contact, much rest, fluids water and fresh juices and food based vitamins appropriate for their age.
be kind, be intelligent, treat your kids with respect and love, they will usually heal in a short time. Be aware of symptoms worsening though and be sure to bring them to a doctor if mild symptoms worsen.
peace be with you
When my children were babies they got colds too, but I never medicated them unless the doctor prescribed something. I used the old remedy my mother taught me for colds/congestion. I put Vicks Vapo Rub on their back. This way it penetrates the lungs, not the nasal cavaties and they cannot put their little hands in it and then in their mouth. It works wonders!
i have tried all the natural remedies for my child, but her problem is not just the common cold, she has allergic rhinitis, and yes, the doctor at one time gave me some decongestant, and told me to give her a small dose of zyrtec, but she is older now, and that dose is not as effective as it was. I looked in my nursing drug guide and found that i can give a larger dose of claritin to her than the zyrtec. This is very frustrating, i don't want my child to be miserable, but when you are 1 and there is nothing out there to take, how do you avoid being miserable. We as adults can take what ever we want to treat our cold symptoms, and we as parents should be given the choice as to whether we give our children medications for cold relief. Yes, they may still take a week to get better, but they won't feel so miserable. If you don't have an infant, then you should not voice an opinion on this matter, because it really doesn't affect you. Also, HOW DO YOU GIVE A 1 YEAR OLD WITH 3 LITTLE TEETH, STILL LEARNING TO CHEW, CHICKEN SOUP??????????????? THAT IS JUST CRAZY and IGNORANT to suggest that remedy. I wish i knew what the safe dosage of the medications is for her so i could get the childrens syrup and give her the medicine.
This is so stupid, I have had no choice but to get the regular dosage and split it in half minus half just so that my childs cough goes away enough time for her to get a goos 2 hours of sleep. It's 4AM and I can't sleep because I feel that if I don't stay next to the bed and watch her she may get worse!
DAD
You know people are so worried about vicks vapor rub getting into eyes and mouths, why are you not using them where they are absorbed the quickest ,on the feet. I have 3 grandchildren, ages 3 years, 8 months, and 2 months. They all three have caught the latest virus going around. For them we only use tylenol for fever and then apply mentholatum or vicks vapor rub to the bottom of their feet every 6 hours. We then put their socks and try to get them to drink as much as possible. If they don't eat that is fine but they really need to drink. The kids breathe easier and it starts to break up very quickly.
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