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The Cold and Cough Medication Ban
Why Were Infant Cold Syrups Removed from Store Shelves?
By Lisa A. Goldstein
Treatment AlternativesIn the first two years of life, kids get an average of six significant upper respiratory infections per year. This is normal, Dr. Haller says.
"While there is not much in the way of medicine to help children with the common cold and flu, many small touches help children feel better," says Dr. Cowan, who doesn't deem vaporizers or saline drops to be very useful. Putting lip balm on your child's lips, or even some underneath his nose, will help with the inevitable chaffing and chapping. Lots of liquids and ibuprofen or acetaminophen for aches and chills are also recommended. Soft tissues and rest are always good. Vitamin C might help with symptoms and is available in fruit juices, says Dr. Cowan, but extra supplements are not medically necessary and may cause diarrhea.
It's important to remember that colds happen to the best of us, and that there's no cure. "Your child is going to get over this on her own," Dr. Haller says. "All we can do is do stuff to try to help with symptoms, and all the studies show [cough and cold medicines] do that really badly."
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The Cold and Cough Medication Ban by Ben on 11/29/2009 11:18PM
The article quoted Dr Haller as saying, "these drugs do not make kids with colds and sore throats feel better any quicker than doing nothing". But "feeling better" here is probably a misstatement. He meant to say "get better" (according to other articles I've read). But that's getting better faster is not the reason why most people take cold medication. They take it to alleviate suffering. Is there any evidence that the banned medication alleviates suffering in children? Granted, the risk of overdose from mixed medicines is real, but couldn't that be addressed with proper labeling for kids medicines? Eg., bold, simple, color coded labels for kids medicine (don't use the same color twice)