Cold Medicines for Tots Yanked -- Amid Warnings They Don't Work, Pose Risks

Oct 13, 01:50 PM

Current Headlines: By Lauran Neergaard Mark Watson

WASHINGTON - Drug makers pulled cold medicines targeted for babies and toddlers off the market Thursday, leaving parents to find alternatives for coughs and runny noses just as fall sniffles get in full swing.

The move represented a pre-emptive strike by over-the-counter drug manufacturers - a week before government advisers were to debate the medicines' fate. But it doesn't end concern about the safety of these remedies for youngsters.

Thursday's withdrawal includes medicines aimed at children under age 2, after the Food and Drug Administration and other health groups reported deaths linked to the remedies in recent years, primarily from unintentional overdoses.

A remaining question is whether children under 6 should ever take these nonprescription drugs.

Baltimore city officials filed a petition with the FDA - joined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and prominent pediatricians around the country - arguing that oral cough and cold medicines don't work in children so young, and pose health risks not just for babies but for preschoolers, too.

"Pediatricians are taught these products don't work and may not be safe. Yet almost every parent uses them," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner and a pediatrician, who blames ads that overpromise relief.

The challenge, he says, will be to convince parents to try old- fashioned methods, like suctioning out infants' noses or using salt- water nose drops.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association announced Thursday that manufacturers were voluntarily ending sales of over-the- counter oral cough and cold products aimed at infants. The list includes infant drops sold under the leading brand names Dimetapp, Pediacare, Robitussin, Triaminic, Little Colds and versions of Tylenol with cough and cold ingredients.

CVS Caremark Corp. added that it would also end sales of CVS- brand equivalents.

"It's important to point out that these medicines are safe and effective when used as directed, and most parents are using them appropriately," said Linda Suydam, president of the industry trade group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said in general the drugs shouldn't be used for colds in small children.

On the Web

FDA: fda.gov/cder/drug/ advisory/cough-cold.htm

Consumer Healthcare Products Association: chpa-info.org

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Doctors' Advice

Instead of using cold medicine to treat symptoms in children under 2, try the following:

Use clean dehumidifiers and salt-water solutions to alleviate congestion.

Give plenty of fluids to keep the child hydrated.

Before feeding, gently squirt clean saline solution into the infant's nostrils and use a bulb to suck out excess mucous.

Greater Memphis Reacts

Dr. Burton Hayes, University of Tennessee Health Science Center assistant professor of pediatrics and internal medicine: "They have more side effects than any potential benefits. The common thing we see is increased irritability. The reason they're ineffective is infant nasal membranes are about the same thickness as adults, but their nasal passages are much smaller. So, if you reduce the swelling of the membrane a little bit, it doesn't help as much."

Dr. Russell Chesney, Le Bonheur Chair of Pediatrics at UTHSC: "Having been a parent, I recognize the frustration parents can feel, especially at night when a child is irritable and uncomfortable, but you don't want to give a child something that has not been proven to be effective. I think parents today tend to be a little more sophisticated."

- Compiled by Mark Watson

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Originally published by Lauran Neergaard Associated Press / Compiled by Mark Watson .

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