Admiral_Snackbar
Veni, vidi, Lionel Richie
As some of us with kids may know, the FDA came out with a ruling last year indicating that the majority of cold/cough medicines available over-the-counter for children under age 2 are not effective according to clinical testing. Well, a new investigation is set to be put in motion that may restrict ALL cough/cold medicines for children under age SIX, again demonstrating that the medications have not truly been proven effective.
Now, as someone who did give their kids these medicines at those ages, I will say that there are several other 'causes' for illnesses and fatalities that again, put responsibility (Gasp) square on the heads of the parents and drug makers. These are just a few bits of advice I've gathered over the years. It's pretty basic:
Parents:
Now, as someone who did give their kids these medicines at those ages, I will say that there are several other 'causes' for illnesses and fatalities that again, put responsibility (Gasp) square on the heads of the parents and drug makers. These are just a few bits of advice I've gathered over the years. It's pretty basic:
Parents:
- Monitor the child before you give it medication. Try some simple remedies (suctioning the nose), soup, fluids and basic tylenol before going into the decongestant route. For bedtime, try a humidifier, Vapo-Rub or other non-medicinal method of alleviating cough and congestion.
- Read the dosing information in terms of time. Just because you give the child a decongestant at 3pm and it says every 4-6 hours doesn't mean you give another whole dose at 6pm just to piggyback on the new one.
- Dose accurately. In the chemistry world, there are 'to deliver' droppers and 'to contain' droppers. There is a difference. This is as much a parenting issue as it is the people who make dosing cups/droppers. Most kids medicine is a viscous, sugary syrup. The method I have found that works the best is that the barrel of cups and droppers need to be coated with it beforehand, otherwise it remains inside the barrel or goops at the bottom. I aspirate a full dose of medicine inside to first coat the barrel, expel it, then draw up the dose to be used. Miss Vicki may want to fact check me on this, but this is what my pharmacist said would be the best strategy. I've yet to see a TD or TC mark on the in-store bought medicine droppers.
- Consider homeopathic alternatives. Buckwheat honey has been demonstrated to be as effective if not moreso than cough suppressants. I have this and it does work. Even clover honey available from stores can be effective as a throat coating remedy. To be fair, the study was sponsored by the National Honey Board, but it's nothing that people going as far back as Ancient Egypt haven't known already regarding honey's medicinal properties.
- Read some guidelines from the FDA, which are pretty straightforward.
- Quit putting dosage information on the inside 3rd flap of the packaging or bottle just to squeeze as much info on it as possible.
- Not every child responds to the same dosage at 1-4 years of age. Report the recommended dosage by WEIGHT rather than by age. A 3 year old who weighs 40 lbs is not going to be ODed at that dosage, but an underweight 29 lb. one will.
- Make a dropper or cup with more than three simple graduations on it, or else make one that can be reused/sterilized regularly without the lettering wearing off. Design a syringe barrel/plunger assembly that doesn't have a shearing force so high that it shoots into my kid's mouth with the force of a Super Soaker just because I have to push so hard to get it to even deliver the dose. It shoots to the back of the mouth, triggers a gag reflex, and then you have a big mess.
- FDA, care to tell us WHICH studies you are using as a basis for your conclusions? I'd really like to find some linked to your original notices but I'm damned if I can find them.
- While you're at it, how about a study comparing the cold medicine abuse with autism, so we can get rid of some of this "thimerosal" scare tactic being used now regarding the vaccines and maybe indicate a real culprit for a change.