Kids, colds and meds

HHS HealthBeat (June 23, 2009)
Kids, colds and meds

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends against giving over-the-counter cough and cold medications to children under age 2 because of the risk of overdose and death. But a study indicates a lot of parents would do it.

Nicole Lokker of the University of Wisconsin asked about 180 caregivers, generally moms, while she was doing research at Vanderbilt.

[Nicole Lokker speaks] "An alarming portion of caregivers of children under 2 years are already using or would use over-the-counter cough and cold medications in children less than 2 years of age without consulting a physician first."

About 85 percent of caregivers who looked at a drug’s front label thought this was safe. Lokker thinks they may have been misled by things like pictures of infants.

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
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Last revised: June, 23 2009

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