Less cough and cold medicine on store shelves means fewer ER visits for kids

With flu season upon us, there is good news concerning cough and cold medicines for very young children.

A new study in the journal Pediatrics shows removing the medicines from store shelves has led to a big decline in emergency room visits for bad reactions to the drugs.  Makers of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines voluntarily withdrew medicines, mostly liquids, labeled for infants and kids up to age 2 in October 2007 after Pediatricians complained the products don't work in young kids and posed a safety risk because of accidental overdoses causing extreme drowsiness, increased heart rate and even death.

The Food and Drug Administration  warned in 2008 against using the medicines in children younger than 2; labels now advise against using them in children younger than 4, noted Dr. Daniel Budnitz the study's senior author and a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those cases that still end up at the ER, the study attributes undiscarded bottles, and poor childproof caps.

And it isn't just toddlers parents need to watch.

The Rhode Island Department of Health says a number of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, including cough and cold medicines, can be abused by teens to get “high”.  An alarming trend is for teens to take cough medicine 25-50 times the recommended dose to get “high” from the active ingredient dextromethorphan or DXM. 

Misuse of the drug can cause a number of effects, including impaired judgment, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, coma, and even death.  

The DOH says you should be concerned if you notice your teen is taking too many doses of a cold and flu medicine, or if your teen continues to take medicine even after symptoms have subsided.  Your teen may also be abusing the product if cough and cold medications seem to disappear from the medicine cabinet or if you find packages of cough and cold preparations in your teen’s room or backpack.

The DOH says talking with your teen and staying in touch with their lives are the first steps to keeping them free from abusing OTC medications:

• Be mindful of the season. Your teen can benefit from relief of cough, cold, and flu symptoms by taking OTC cough and cold medicines according to the instructions on the manufacturer's label. But be aware if your child is using cough and cold medications outside of cold and flu season. Or if he continues taking the medicine after symptoms have subsided.
• Check your home. Take a quick look at all OTC medicines kept in your home. Be aware of the medicine in your medicine cabinet, and ask questions if you notice that any of them are used often or disappear.
• Monitor your teen’s Internet use.  It is important to know: where your teen is getting information on the Internet, what sites he/she is spending time on, or with whom he/she may be talking to.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, non-medical use of prescription medication peaked this year among high school seniors: 15.4% reported use of at least one medication within the past year.

To avoid misuse:

• Properly conceal and dispose of old or unused medicines in the trash. Unused prescription drugs should be hidden and thrown away in the trash. You can mix them in a bag with garbage to prevent teens and others from taking them out of the trash. Unless the directions say otherwise, do NOT flush medications down the drain or toilet because the chemicals can pollute the water supply.
• Ask friends and family to safeguard their prescription drugs as well. Make sure your friends, relatives, and especially grandparents, know about the risks and encourage them to regularly monitor their own medicine cabinets. If there are other households your teen has access to, talk to those families as well about the importance of safeguarding medications.