Dangerous Inconsistencies Found in Dosing Directions for Children's Medications, Study Says

[HuckleB]

Source: Parent Dish

"If you find yourself reading the instructions on over-the-counter children's medications repeatedly, just to be sure you've got the dosing right, you may be alarmed to know you still may not have the correct information to safely medicate your child.

An examination of 200 of the top-selling over-the-counter (OTC) cough/cold, allergy, analgesic and gastrointestinal liquid medications for children reports a high level of variability and inconsistencies in medication labeling and measuring devices, according to a study released online today by JAMA.

More than half of U.S. children are exposed to one or more medications in a given week, and more than half of these are OTC medications. In fact, analgesics, cough/cold medications, antihistamines and gastrointestinal drugs account for more than a quarter of medications administered to children, with liquid formulations typically used for young children, the authors report.

In November 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released new voluntary guidelines to industry groups responsible for manufacturing, marketing or distributing OTC liquid medications -- particularly those intended for use by children. These guidelines were developed in response to numerous reports of unintentional overdoses attributed, in part, to liquid medications with inconsistent or confusing labels and measuring devices, the authors report.

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Read more: http://www.parentdish.com/2010/11/30/dangerous-inconsistencies-found-in-dosing-directions-for-childre/

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This isn't news to most parents, I suspect. Of course, part two to this is that many of the cold medications don't work anyway. Hopefully, this will lead to positive changes.