The Not Quite Crunchy Parent: This Just In from The FDA – Didn’t They Already tell us About Cough and Cold Medicines?

Back in October, The FDA issued an advisory warning parents not to use over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children under six. I wrote about that here and here .

At that time a number of manufacturers withdrew their products from the market. After an editorial in the December issue of The New England Journal of medicine urging that the FDA take a firmer stance, it looks like they have.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a Public Health Advisory for parents and caregivers, recommending that over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products should not be used to treat infants and children less than 2 years of age because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur from such use. OTC cough and cold products include decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines, and antitussives (cough suppressants) for the treatment of colds.

There are a wide variety of rare, serious adverse events reported with cough and cold products. They include death, convulsions, rapid heart rates, and decreased levels of consciousness.

Well didn’t they just say that in August ?

And again in September?

I know there are processes that the agencies need to follow but, it seems this is getting a little confusing. I think I'll stick with honey and cold compresses.

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