COUGHING UP SOME FACTS

Coughing Up Some Facts: Warnings About Cold Medications for Kids

Alright. Now I'm really confused. I remember a while ago hearing news reports that cold and cough medication was not safe for children under 2. Got that. It's perfectly clear. But in case you didn't, recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory strongly recommending that over-the-counter cough and cold medications not be given to infants and children under two years old because of the risk of life-threatening side effects. I got a zillion "Must-read. Cold medication warnings" fwds from some of my fwd-happy friends when that went out over the news wires. I responded to a few, "Phew, thanks for the info!". But really, it was on the news, all day. and I usually zap all Fwd emails with the delete button--even if it says, don't delete. In fact, faster if it says don't delete.

So, when my son (age 5) was coughing up a storm an hour before bedtime, I thought it would be safe to give him the recommended dose and let him get some rest. I'm always very careful about reading the directions and giving the kids the proper dose, so I plopped myself on the couch, kicked my feet up and began to doze off.

Then I heard a quick little blurb on the news that cough medicine isn't safe for kids--under 11. Huh? I immediately felt a bit worried but I know some news segments are meant to perk you up and put some good old fashion fear in your heart. I was concerned--but more confused. I just gave my sniffling, sneezing, stuffy-head son some night-time cough medicine, so I knew I had to get to the bottom of this and get the facts.

Because I missed most of what was reported on the news, I hunted around to find the source of their information and went to the American Academy of Pediatrics http://www.aap.org -- and there it was: in the February issue of Pediatrics were the results of a new study that parents should know about: An estimated 7,000 patients, ages 11 and younger, are treated in hospital emergency departments each year largely from unsupervised ingestions of cough and cold medications.

Alrighty then. My mini-panic attack was over. It said: "unsupervised ingestion" so I knew there was nothing to worry about. I was cautious and measured correctly. And I always keep the medications way out of their reach (even mine). Oops! Not so fast. The more I read up on cough and cold medication for kids, the more I questioned myself. I mean, it's sold right there in CVS, why wouldn't it be safe? Then again, rat poison is sold there, too. But the bottle says it's made for kids. It's got a cute color to the packaging and boasts it tastes like cherries. So therein lies my confusion again. So I started to Google the terms: cough medicine children. 535,000 hits came up but this one caught my eye immediately: On Parenting: Cough Medicine Isn't for Kids - US News and World Report

I eagerly clicked. It was posted October 10, 2007 and the writer, Nancy Shute opens the article with:

"I confess: I drugged my kid. My intentions were good; she had a cough and needed to sleep. Surely a spoonful of cough medicine would be a mercy. My 4-year-old slurped up the grape-flavored syrup and trotted off to bed. Good mommy? Hardly."

Boy, did she hit the nail on the head. I felt the same way--that very night, Her article is a must-read, in my opinion. And considering this article was published months ago, I feel horrible for not really paying attention to what's happening on this front. But now I know better. The next morning, my son was fine and I felt a tiny bit smarter.

Janene Mascarella

February 05, 2008 11:44 PM Eastern

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