cough medicines for children under two years old were taken off pharmacy shelves on Thursday over fears of possible accidental overdose. The government's medicines regulator said it had ordered the action after increasing reports of adverse reactions by small children to drugs in the preparations, including five deaths since 1981. Parents will be advised instead to use paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower temperatures in young children suffering a cold or cough and to give them a simple cough syrup containing glycerol, honey or lemon. A spokeswoman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the products were not dangerous and would return to open sale once manufacturers had altered packaging making clear they were not suitable for children under two. "If it was a dangerous drug we would have it off the market in seconds," she said. "It's not dangerous, it's what people are doing with it." "We have seen an increase in adverse reactions over the last 20 years starting to build up a head of steam," she added. The following six products directly targeted at children less than two years were ordered to be removed from shelves: -- Asda Children's Chesty Cough Syrup -- Boots Chesty Cough Syrup 1 Year Plus -- Boots Sore Throat and Cough Linctus 1 Year Plus -- Buttercup Infant Cough Syrup -- CalCough Chesty -- Bell's Children's Chesty Cough The medicines can still be sold under advice by pharmacists to parents for older children. "Children under two are more vulnerable due to their small size and therefore may be particularly susceptible to the effects of overdose," the MHRA said. "This new advice will reduce that possibility and is a precautionary measure." Medicines trade body the Proprietary Association of Great Britain stressed that the treatments had not been banned and were safe to use as directed. "Companies are taking this action voluntarily because the wellbeing of babies and young children is paramount," said the association's executive director Sheila Kelly. "Parents should not be concerned that they have harmed their children in any way if they have given them cold remedies in the past. They are safe when used as recommended and can still be used for children over two."
I've not heard of any of those, but I have never given my two cough medicine under the age of two without seeking the advice of our Doctor first. I think that this is a very wise move though as some parents aren't fully aware of the complications and it isn't that hard to over dose a child either. I say it should have been brought in long ago. If a young child has a persistant couhg it should be looked at as Amity began with a persistant cough and we found out she had a twig in her Bronchial Tube that almost killed her and now she suffers all the time. You can't take chances when children are young and fragile. What you do with/to them now, affects them for the rest of their lives.
I think you haven't heard of them because its a UK report, isn't it? A few of those are own-brand supermarket kind of products. I think that they're alright so long as they're used sensibly, so once the packaging has been changed to state that you shouldn't give it to children under 2 there shouldn't be a problem.
Yes Kit that is true. But still packaging makes no difference to some people. These sorts of medicines should be only available in chemists if you ask me. I only by medication of any kind from a chemist. And I always consult the doctor before hand. I don't want to give my child something if it isn't required and most times it isn't! Only now do I give my children medication asap and that is due to Amity's health condition and making her life as easy as possible to prevent further and more severe problems. A infants cough is mostly to do with them clearing their bronchial tube and it isn't such a bad thing unless it is persistant. Then you should consult your doctor, mostly it is through mucus build up that is lodged in the tube for some reason or an irritation. Cough medication isn't always the right thing.
In fact, surpressing an infants cough can at times be a very bad thing. Because coughing may be the only way to clear the obstruction that has occurred. Not many realise that. But when you choke what do you do? Cough to clear it! Huzzah! Children cough to clear obstructions a lot. Always consult a doctor before giving cough medication. It could be far worse for you to administer the medication than for the child to continue to cough. My daughter takes cough medication rarely and she is always coughing. She has an anti inflammatory most of the time to reduce inflamation, but surpressing the cough isn't so good as we need her to cough to get the mucus to pass through the bronchial tube. So if I were ignorant and gave her cough medication all the time, would it help her out? NO! It would make matters worse. There is always a reason for a cough.
Our old family dr. told my mother to forget cough syrups. He told her to go to the liquor store and get the cheapest bottle of brandy she could get. Pour a tsp into a tsp of honey and give it to us. The honey took out some of the horrible taste but the brandy would cause you to bring up all the phlegm that was in your lungs. Worked like a charm. My brother had asthma and bronchitis and that was the drs. prescription. My brother by the time he was 15 no longer had the problems. But you sure feel cheap when you walk into the liquor store and ask where to find the cheapest bottle of brandy. Then say it is for your children. Get some pretty funny looks. Canadian Gov. has been posting warnings about the cough syrups for a few months now but I haven't really been paying attention since I don't have little ones around.
It is amazing how many people I know who very quickly run to get their children cough medication when their child gets a cough. It does cause irritation in the bronchial tubes and cause inflamation as well, but it brings up mucus. So I still believe that you should not try to surpress a cough until such time as it becomes a persistant problem and have consulted a doctor or other health profession. People are always over medicating children. It's a well known fact. Children's panadol is another that should not be so easily obtained in my opinion. I've known people who purshase it and use it to get their children to sleep at night just because their child has broken it's bedtime routine. That disgusts me.
They do take up alot of space, and they arn't worth much... sure they can be fun but... it only lasts for so long
