 Children's cough and cold medicine manufacturers continue to be sued for injuries or even death caused by over- the-counter medications. Parents are now being reminded of their responsibility to stay informed about the safety of medications marketed for children. In January, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory recommending that cough and cold medications not be used for children under 2 years old. While the FDA investigates the safety of the medications for children 2-years to 11-years of age, they recommend parents with children in that age group do the following: - Check the "active ingredients" section of the DRUG FACTS label. This will help you understand what "active ingredients" are in the medicine and what symptoms each active ingredient is 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 reducer).
- Be very careful if you are giving more than one over the counter (OTC) cough and cold medicine to a child. Many OTC cough and cold medicines have more than one "active ingredient." If you use two medicines that have the same or similar "active ingredients" a child could get too much of an ingredient which may hurt your child. For example, do not give a child more than one medicine that has an antihistamine.
- Carefully follow the directions in the DRUG FACTS part of the label. These directions tell you how much medicine to give and how often you can give it.
- Only use the measuring spoons or cups that come with the medicine or those made specially for measuring drugs. Do not use common household spoons to measure medicines for children since household spoons come in different sizes and are not meant for measuring medicines.
- Choose OTC cough and cold medicines with childproof safety caps, when available, and store the medicines out of the reach of children.
- Understand that using OTC cough and cold medicines are intended only to treat your child's symptom(s). OTC cough and cold medicines do not treat the cause of the symptoms or shorten the length of time your child is sick. They only relieve symptoms and make your child feel more comfortable.
- Do not use these products to sedate your child or make children sleepy.
- Call a physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional if you have any questions about using cough or cold medicines in children 2 years of age and older.
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