Today it is a real dilemma for some people. I am surprised how many parents give totheir children over-the counter drugs like Tylenol and other similar cold and flu aids.  In a hope of fast relief Moms and Dads consume themselves and give their children antibiotics or other drugs prescribed by a family physician. They even ask their doctor for these prescriptions in a hope to shorten the lenght of time their child is sick. What a mistake! Even if your doctor is so kind to write a prescription for antibiotics for your child, you’ll waste your money and your child’s health. Remember: Antibiotics don’t affect the flu virus. Bacteria in the body, get accustomed to antibiotics and these drugs will not then be useful in the treatment of more complicated diseases.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued this month a Statement following CHPA’a Announcement on Nonprescription Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Medicine in Children. CHPA is the Consumer Healthcare Products Association that represents many of the makers of nonprescription over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines in children, recently announced that its members are voluntarily modifying the product labels for consumers of OTC cough and cold medicines to state “do not use” in children under 4 years of age. Additionally, the manufacturers are introducing new child-resistant packaging and new measuring devices for use with the products.

If CPHA members started this action to help prevent and reduce misuse and to better inform consumers about safe and effective use of these products for children, something is wrong there. It tells you again that chemical drugs harm our children and provoke other health complications.

FDA supports CHPA in the voluntary actions “to prevent and reduce misuse” of these drugs and continues to assess the safety and efficacy of these products is revising its OTC monograph where list of approved ingredients and amounts for these medicines is displayed. Although the new labeling doesn’t match the current monograph. At least, FDA will not object the new label stating “do not use in children under 4,” which reflects a more restrictive use of the drugs in children.

Do you think the new label will appear overnight? It is not how bureaucratic institutions work. They have to go through a transition period. Then new instructions for use of some OTC cough and cold medicines in children must be written. Some medicines will have the new recommendations “do not use” for children under 4 years of age, while others will give instructions for children under 2 years old.

The safe use of nonprescription OTC cough and cold medicines in children remains a big concern today. Of course, FDA understands it. So, while it is proceeding with its rulemaking and until these issues will be resolved, the Agency gives 8 recommendations to parents and caregivers:

1.Do not give children medications labeled only for adults.
2 Talk to you healthcare professional if you have any questions about using cough and cold medicines in children.
3. Choose OTC cough and cold medicines with with child resistant safety caps, when available. After each use, make sure to close the cap tightly and store medicines out of the sight and reach children.
4.Check the “active ingredients” section of the DRUG FACTS label of the medicines that you choose. This will help you understand what symptoms the “active ingredients” in the medicine are intended to treat. Cough and cold medicines often have more than one active ingredient (such as an antihistamine, a decongestant, a cough suppressant, an expectorant, or a pain reliever/fever releiver reducer).
5.Be very careful if you are giving more than one medicine to a child. If you are giving more than one medicine to a child make sure that they do not have the same type of “active ingredients.” If you use two medicines that have the same or similar active ingredients, a child could get too much of an ingredient and that may hurt your child. For example, do not give a child more than one medicine that has a decongestant.
6.Carefully follow the directions for how to use the medicine in the DRUG FACTS part of the label. these directions tell you how much medecine to give and how often you can give it. If you have a question about how to use the medicine, ask your pharmacist or doctor. Overuse or misuse of these products can lead to serious and potentially life threatening side effects such as rapid hearbeat, drowsiness, suppression of the respiratory system, seizures and other adverse events.
7. Only use measuring devices that come with the medicine otr those specially made for measuring drugs. Do not use common household spoons to measure medicines for children because household spoons come in different size and are meant for measuring medicines.
8.Understand that using OTC cough and cold medicines does not cure the cold or cough. These medicines only treat your child’s symptom(s) such a runny nose, congestion, fever and aches and do not shorten the lenght of time your child is sick.

As a parent myself, I found that in all the Agency recommendations only No.6 and No.8 can help consumers with Warnings of life threatening side effects and Precaution that use of cold and cough medicines will not help your child to recover faster from flu or cold.

Is it not better no use natural home remedies? Read the following posts: “Myths, Research and Hypotheses About the Flu and Colds” (Feb. 19, 2008); “Treat Your Colds With 12 old Eastern European Remedies” (Feb, 21, 2008) and :Old Eastern European Herbal Remedies Force the Flu to Fly Away”(March 16. 2008). And, of course, check the book, Mama’s Home Remedies, there is a whole chapter for your perusal titled “Stop Sneezes and Sniffles and Stifle a Cold.”

Your comments and replies are welcome.

Source: FDA Statement; http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW00899.html