You can buy OTC cold remedies for your kids - that can kill them!
Very young children simply should not take some
commonly used cold and cough medicines.
Very young children simply should not take some commonly used cold and cough medicines, federal health officials say in recommending that the “consult your physician” advice to parents on the labels be dropped.
The preliminary recommendation, from Food and Drug Administration safety officials, would apply to decongestant use in children under 2, and antihistamines in those younger than 6, according to agency documents.
“The basic question is, why should a product be so relentlessly marketed when it’s not safe or effective?” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore health commissioner. “It does not make sense, in the absence of information, to say ‘consult a physician,’ because they do not have superhuman powers. They cannot make a product safe or effective.”
The Baltimore petition came on the heels of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that found more than 1,500 toddlers and babies wound up in emergency rooms over a two-year period because of the drugs.
There are 800 over-the-counter cough and cold remedies on the list to be re-evaluated. Great job you’ve been doing - FDA.
Posted: Sat - September 29, 2007 at 08:02 AM