Related Audio Courses: Caring For Your Baby From Birth To Age One, Caring For Your Toddler , Ages One To Four
Blog Author: Dr. Dennis Kuo
It was only about a year ago that I first heard about a petition among colleagues of mine seeking to call attention to the complete lack of evidence for the effectiveness of cough and cold medicines in children. Still, I am absolutely amazed at how it all turned out, and that the FDA made the right call. What a turnaround from years of implied approval of medicines that were at the very least ineffective, and at worst downright dangerous for children.
If you hadn’t heard, on January 17, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration officially recommended that cough and cold medicines not be used for children under two years of age. Products labeled for infant use had been voluntarily recalled several months prior in anticipation of such a decision. These medicines are still on the market in “child” form, but at least parents have been made aware that perhaps these medicines weren’t as helpful as their labels promised.
News media have been reporting that we’re returning to the “old-fashioned” way of saline drops, humidified air, lots of fluids, and time. While I agree and advocate the same treatments for common colds, I don’t see this as “old-fashioned,” unless truth and honesty is old-fashioned. The widespread use of cough and cold medicines simply hid the basic truth, that common colds will go away by themselves regardless of what one does. Cold medicines will NOT change the course of the illness, they’ve never been shown to have any effect in children, they’re easy to misuse, and even if used correctly, they can have dangerous side effects. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Of course, it’s much harder to think that when your 18-month-old is coughing so hard he can’t sleep at night. I know and understand that it’s easy to succumb to the temptation of trying something that must be safe because it’s over-the-counter.
Hopefully the FDA ruling will make you think twice about using OTC cough and cold medicines. The keys to getting through these colds are (1) know how long colds last–generally 1-2 weeks; (2) know the warning signs that something else may be going on, including prolonged fever, difficulty breathing, and trouble drinking.