Cough and Cold Medecines
It is official: the FDA no longer recommends giving cough and cold medicines to babies under the age of 6. This came on the heals of recommendations by pediatricians and researchers saying that the drugs were ineffective in treating kids that young and that they could in fact be dangerous. Drug makers have a certain amount of time to pull all of their cough and cold medicines from the shelves.
A few parents feel that the drugs are not dangerous and they’ll continue giving them to their children as long as possible. They plan on using up whatever is left from last year and buying whatever they can before everything is pulled. That’s not much by the way, I was recently at Rite Aid and everything for little kids was gone. Personally, however, I discourage that.
Many parents that are poo-pooing the ban say they’ve given their kids medicine before and it was fine. They think that the kids who died as a result of being overdosed had bad parents who weren’t watching them. That’s just not true. The infants that have been overdosing had parents who made reasonable judgments based on the idea that the medicine was not dangerous.
One final thought: my mom used to cart me everywhere in the back seat of the car. . .no seat belt and no car seat. I obviously came out fine. Should I then tote my five children around without a seat belt and car seats? The reality is that recommendations change based on the research that we have. It is only wise to follow research based recommendations.
Nasal Flu Spray for Kids as Young as Two
The FDA has approved the use of the nasal flu spray for kids as young as two years old. The flu spray is supposed to be used instead of a shot and the fact that is has been approved for kids that young is good news for those wanting to avoid getting the shot. On the other hand, my twins are 28 months and I cannot imagine them sitting willingly for either a shot or someone to squirt mist up their noses!
Related Articles:
Weathering A Cold Without the Meds
Why You Shouldn’t Give Cough or Cold Medicine to Your Baby