Hold Off on Cold Medicine for Kids
We are coming up on cold and flu season and for kids this season could be deadly. Not because of the cold or flu but because of the medicine we give our kids. According to the Food and Drug Administration the medicine we should never give our children would apply to decongestant use in children under 2, and antihistamines in those younger than 6.
The review on the medicines, came in response to a petition by Baltimore officials, who charged that many over-the-counter cough and cold remedies can harm toddlers and preschoolers. Those officials, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, cite evidence that suggests the drugs are not only risky but also don’t work in the very young. I have heard that these types of medicines don’t work for children under 2, but since my children were so healthy and had no need for medicine, I paid little attention to that.
An FDA review of side-effect records filed with the agency between 1969 and September 2006, found that 54 reports of deaths in children were associated with decongestant medicines. It also found 69 reports of deaths associated with antihistamine medicines and most of those deaths were children younger then the age of 2.
I always thought that children’s over the counter cold medicine was safe and this really makes me think twice.
Do you always check with your doctor’s office when giving your children over the counter medicine?
cold and flu, sick kids, children’s medicine, children’s cold medicine, parenting, parenting children, over the counter medicine
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