Health Information

< Nov. 24, 2010 > -- The number of young children treated for drug overdoses has dropped by about half since nonprescription infant cold medicines were taken off the market three years ago.

Drug manufacturers voluntarily withdrew the medications in 2007 because of concerns about potential harm and lack of effectiveness. In 2008, the drug makers extended the withdrawal to medications meant for 4-year-olds.

The CDC tracked visits to hospital emergency departments by children younger than 12 who were treated for problems tied to over-the-counter cold medicines in the 14 months before and after the withdrawal.

The results, published in the online version of the journal Pediatrics, showed that ER visits for children younger than 2 dropped by more than 50 percent – from 2,790 to 1,248.

Accidental overdose

But the CDC researchers stress that removing the medications from the market didn’t completely solve the problem of overdoses. Seventy-five percent of ER visits involving cold medications occurred in young children who got into cold medications on their own, while no one was watching. This is the same percentage as before the medications were withdrawn.

Other overdose cases may have resulted from parents who gave their young children cold medicine meant for adults or older children.

"The lesson for parents is, don't give cough and cold medicines to your infants" or any child younger than 4, says Daniel S. Budnitz, M.D., of the CDC. "Also, keep all medicines up and out of the way of children."

To help prevent children from getting into medications, the CDC is working with manufacturers to get safer caps on medicine bottles, Dr. Budnitz says.

Home remedies

So what’s a parent to do? "An 18-month-old that's up all night coughing, sneezing, and just miserable is very disruptive to a household," says Andrew Racine, M.D., chief of general pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

You may be tempted to offer medicine for relief, but Dr. Racine says you have other, safer ways to help your child.

If your child has a fever and is uncomfortable, you can give him or her acetaminophen. "I tell parents not to be doing that at the least sign of fever, because a little fever is actually good. It helps make it difficult for the virus to replicate," Dr. Racine says.

Offer plenty of fluids and run a room humidifier to relieve congestion. For infants, you can also use nasal saline drops and a bulb syringe to suck mucus out of the nose.

What’s Serious and What’s Not?

When your child is sick, when do you call the doctor and when do you treat him at home? Colds and mild stomachaches fall into the home-treat category. When symptoms are serious – or you just aren’t sure – it’s time to pick up the phone.

Here are a few examples of symptoms or conditions that need a doctor’s expertise:

• Earache

• Strep throat

• Severe abdominal pain

• Eye pain or change in vision

• Severe vomiting or diarrhea

• High fever

• Severe headache

Also, if your child has milder symptoms that don’t get better after home treatment, call your child’s health care provider.

Always talk with your health care provider to find out more information.