Who thinks it's a good idea that they are taking childrens and infants cold medicines off the shelves??

Question

I , myself, am a little miffed that they're doing it. They say they are safe and the only problem is that parents are overdosing their kids and I agree 100% with that. My kids need cold medicines. I wont stand by while my 15 month old is coughing and sneezing and sniffling all day and night and not sleeping or eating when I could have given her the correct kind and correct dose of cough and cold medicine so she could eat and sleep thru the night comfortably. Medicines doses are determined by weight most times and that's how it should be. That's just my opinion.

well for all the " lets do everything naturally people " my kids do not settle down when Im cramming their nose with a bulb syringe and sucking snot out of their sinus cavities.. It makes them cry more and plus it hurts. I've tried all the other non medicated things and for my kids it doesnt work. Cool mist humidifiers dont do squat for chest congestion . Kids die from prescription medicine overdosing every day as well but we dont stop giving them to people do we?? It's our job as parents to make sure we are giving the correct dose to our kids. If that means taking 5 minutes to call the doc then no problem there. You can overdose on just about EVERY medicine known to man but as long as we're dosing accordingly then there shouldnt be a problem. If there are drug interactions between two medicines you plan on giving you child for a cold then you contact the doc or pharmasist to make sure. Simple as that.

Im not trying to offend anyone who swears by home remidies but they just dont work for my kids. Which is why I medicate when needed. Plus they both have allergies and it usually always turns into a cold with chest congestion so medicines are needed for my kids. I just dont think they should be pulling them off the shelves because people are too lazy to call a doctor about how much to give their child.

Answer 1

I understand where you're coming from. As a parent when we can't give our children something to help them feel better we feel helpless. I also have to say that I don't like giving my children meds unless they absolutely need it. I was under the impression that it's not just a dosage problem but the fact that studies have shown these medicines just don't work for and they're potentially more harmful then helpful. I have 3 kids and it seems like they or at least one was sick all last winter. The over the counter meds for coughing and runny noses did not work. I was better of with tylenol for the fever, saline for the nose and a humidifier for the cough. I've never liked the ideas of giving my children any synthetic chemicals and running it through their little livers and kidneys. My docs always advised me to only treat a fever with tylenol or motrin when its high enough to cause them discomfort. Otherwise he's told me it's better to let the body run it's course. Look what doctors have done with antibiotics. Years ago they were prescribing them for every little sniffle and soar throat that were mostly due to viruses and now there are antiboitic resistant strains of bacteria as a result. I'm looking at these meds they've pulled much in the same way. It was an easy way out for the doc (who probably thought they really did work) and a big moneymaker for the drug companies. But just like the uneeded antibiotics used to treat viruses back in the day, so too are these medicines nowadays, useless with more side effects then help. My oldest daughter suffers from the same allergic cough I did when I was a kid. I've tried every cough and allergy medicine for her and just like for me none of them worked. Instead we found other ways to alleviate the symptoms, like with a humidifier, propping her head up, make sure we kept her room as dust free as possible, warm drinks before bed time, and so on and so on. Just some of my thoughts on the matter.


"At this point, the studies that have been done show no benefit and we do have reported, although rare, bad outcomes," said Dr. Richard Gorman, chair of the American Pediatrics section on clinical pharmacological and therapeutic studies, and a pediatrician in Baltimore.

ADDED:

"A group of doctors and public health officials had filed a petition with the FDA voicing concern over the drugs.

"There are no good studies that provide any information about appropriate dosing if they did work," said Dr. Steven Czinn, chair of the department of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a signer of the petition.

"In the 21st century, it is unacceptable to be marketing medication to infants and children that may not work," Czinn said.

Taken from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071011/ts_nm/usa_recall_coldmedicine_dc

In essence the drug companies are saying they work but doctors are saying they don't. Gee if I were a drug company making billions off these meds I'd claim they work too.

Please read the article at:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Drugs/story?id=3718265&page=1

Answer 2

i agree and i dont. i agree because theyre right, most over the counter medications really dont work all that well. pseudoephedrine is really the only thing that works well for colds. antihistamines work ok for allergies. most of the other stuff does little or nothing except like you said make them drowsy, but crying wont hurt them. theyll get tired after a hour and fall asleep. youre not as bad of a parent for letting them cry than if you kill them off. so why keep them around if kids are dying from improper use?

but if they start pulling stuff though people will start self dosing their kids themselves with adult medications, that and running to the doctor everytime their kid has the sniffles and getting an antibiotic which contributes to antibiotic overuse and the bugs becoming resistant to them, which is more and more of a problem every year

and by the way there actually is a link between SIDS and certain antihistamines, its not just overdosing

Answer 3

I think that when it comes to saving the life of a child, you must take the steps necessary. Also, the companies know that they can be sued if they keep the products on the market. It's unfortunate that not all parents are willing to simply call their pediatrician to ask if it's ok to give so and so medicine....but it might also be because the parents don't know English (we all know there are A LOT of immigrants in our country now), or they don't have health insurance (and we all know that not every family has health insurance). It's better to be safe than sorry in this instance. It is an inconvenience to us mothers who read labels and consult professionals, but I can still survive without the cold medicines. Colds are viruses and need to run their course anyways. The medicines simply suppress the symptoms, not eliminate them. Just be glad that you're a great enough mother to be able to call your child's pediatrician and get the appropriate meds when needed.

Answer 4

if the only reason why they are pulling them from the shelves is overdosing, i think the parents should just pay more attention to the directions. i don't know what the medicine manufacturers have to do to make it simpler, but maybe they can make some kind of adjustment on the label or on the fill-lines.

i'm not a mother, but i can totally understand. when your baby has gotten like three hours of sleep and you've gotten less, you want some relief for you and your baby.

i do appreciate the alternatives they put in the yahoo article about it, though i think there are going to be a number of sleepless parents come this cold season.

Answer 5

I know want you mean. What I do is look at the box and read it first. If I don't know the correct amount to give and I call my two boys doctor before giving them any medicine and that wasn I always do. It not hard for my 5 year old. I have more problems with my three year old since he has asthma. I have to call his doctor and he can;t use cough medicine because of using his inhalers. He will have to use steriods. I done that for year since my first was born read the box before I buy and it if I can;t find the correct amount to give i call my doctor and they tell me how much to give him and how many hours apart has well.

Answer 6

I understand why they took it off the shelves,
It was because some parents don't measure it the way they are suppose to or they give it to often, and are over dosing their children, they have given warning after warning about the chance of over dosing children but some just don't seem to care about the warnings so to save children's lives from incompetent parents they had no other choice but to remove it from the shelves.
Now from a parents point of view this will make it rough for us parents that understand the dangers of medications we have to use things like humidifiers, vapor rubs to help our little ones with their colds this winter.

Answer 7

I agree...all they need to do is re-word the dosaging on the box. I don't know why it's so hard to read it as it but apparently a lot of parents don't know how...if it says consult Dr if under 2 or whatever age then do it. Thankfully I had stocked up on all the meds we may need for allergy/cold/flu season before all this.

Answer 8

I agree that it's all about politics and money. I don't buy the adult versions for myself, I definitely wouldn't buy them for my child. God knows what's in those. There are cheaper home remedies that are just as effective and more natural. I prefer a cup of tea or coffee with a hot bath and a book for my illness. Parents, including my grandparents effectively nursed their children without this stuff and I plan on doing the same. What my grandmother effectively used on my father will likely be effective on my daughter, while giving multi-gabillion dollar corporations what little money I don't have.

Answer 9

I agree. Why pull the meds off just because a few ignorant people can't dose right? I have a feeling they won't be pulled long, but in the meantime, we can go to our pediatritions and get cold meds there, altough not near as easy or cheap!

Answer 10

Miffed! Good grief. They've had deaths.

My pediatrician has always recommending against these cough and cold meds in kids so young anyway...he's always said 'use a cool humidifier, saline drops and a bulb to help with a stuffy nose'...etc.