What do you need to know about Cough Medicine and Kids?
In 1997, pediatrician Ian Paul, learned from the American Academy of Pediatrics that two popular over-the-counter cough suppressants, codeine and dextromethorphan, did nothing to relieve coughs in young children and that there was scant research on the efficacy of these medications. Dr. Paul decided to conduct tests on Benadryl and dextromethorphan himself on kids aged two to 18. The results showed that the drugs were no better than a placebo at relieving symptoms and that they did not aid sleep.
Ten years later, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 1,519 children under two were brought to emergency rooms in 2004 and 2005 for overdoses and other problems caused by cough and cold medicines. In 2005 three babies died from the drugs because it is too easy to give the child too much medication.
Currently, the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Chest Physicians recommend the following safe options:
- A single ingredient pain reliever such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen
- Saline nose drops for stuffiness
- A warm steam bath to loosen phlem.
The FDA is WARNING parents not to use the medicines in toddlers and infants younger than age 2. In a public health advisory issued Thursday, the FDA said, “serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur.”
Children’s over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are sold each year in the U.S. under a range of brand names including
