Comments on: FDA: Cold Medicine Too Risky For Tots

Side Effects Too Dangerous For Children Under 2; No Final Word On Safety For Older Kids

[kristins126]

This is completely ridiculous. I gave OTC cold medicines to my daughter when she was an infant and toddler, of course with my pediatrician''s approval. And they DO help! They are the only way she could get some sleep to fight off the cold. It''s utterly ridiculous that because some parents are too ignorant or lazy to actually read labels and dosage instructions, or talk to a doctor or pharmacist, all kids have to suffer. The vast majority of kids who have had problems with these medicines were due to overdose. Pulling the meds from the shelves is not going to solve this--all it will do is make some parents reach for the medicines targeted for older kids or even adults and guess at what the dose might be for a toddler, which will probably result in *more* overdoses, not less.

I''m in total agreement with the poster below who said that more kids die in car crashes than from these drugs, but we still allow kids to ride in cars. Better watch out though--next thing we know, that will be illegal.

[kristins126]

This is completely ridiculous. I gave OTC cold medicines to my daughter when she was an infant and toddler, of course with my pediatrician''s approval. And they DO help! They are the only way she could get some sleep to fight off the cold. It''s utterly ridiculous that because some parents are too ignorant or lazy to actually read labels and dosage instructions, or talk to a doctor or pharmacist, all kids have to suffer. The vast majority of kids who have had problems with these medicines were due to overdose. Pulling the meds from the shelves is not going to solve this--all it will do is make some parents reach for the medicines targeted for older kids or even adults and guess at what the dose might be for a toddler, which will probably result in *more* overdoses, not less.

I''m in total agreement with the poster below who said that more kids die in car crashes than from these drugs, but we still allow kids to ride in cars. Better watch out though--next thing we know, that will be illegal.

[alexma50085]

400 people in the U.S. die from penicillin every year and we don''t stop people from taking it. Why?? Because the benefits out weight the risks. Same with the cold medicine. How many children are helped compared to how many children die? That''s the question that should be asked.

[apdepetris]

Well, I think you have two things going on here. The first is people who are giving their kids more than the proper dosage as well as giving more than on OTC that has some of the same ingredients (therefore giving them double doses of say a decongestant). The second are kids that actually have a reaction or an intolerance to the medication that land them in the hospital or worse. I saw an interview with a woman who''s baby died because of OTC cold medicine. She gave him the proper dosage listed on the package, but he had an intolerance to one of the ingredients (the decongestant I believe) which caused him to die. He basically died of an overdose because his body couldn''t properly process the drug even though he was given a "correct" amount.

Kind of a scary thing since none of this was known when my children were smaller. Luckily they didn''t have any problems. But I didn''t give them too much OTC medicine when they were really little besides Tylenol/Motrin and, from what I understand, it isn''t the pain relievers that are the problem.

[yg5gon]

It all sounds to be like doctors and the FDA are working together on this somehow. They want us, parents, to always go to the doctors, pay the doctor''s visit so that they can prescribe our kids the same medicine you can get over the counter. C''mon, give me a break. I''m also a resposible parent who always, always give the right dosage of medicine to my son when necessary. It is really unfair that we have to pay for those irresponsible parents that don''t bother in reading the label for instructions.

[alexma50085]

dredre2k:

Why do you have such a problem with cloned meat?? You would never know a cloned animal from a regular animal. I would accutually think it could be healthier for us. We can keep the abnormalities out of the livestock, while keeping numbers high. Why do people have such big issues about this?? Millions of people are starving, cloning could be a way to end world hunger.

[alexma50085]

Last October, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reported that the cold and cough medicine industry admitted that 92 deaths were connected to combination cold medicines - but claimed 79 of them were due to misuse or overdose.

That number is wrong, it''s 123 children and that is from 1969 to 2006. So that puts it at about 3 deaths a year. More children die in car accident, but we still let them ride in cars.
These FDA expert must not have ever had to deal with a toddler suffering from a cold. Maybe if they had to spend the week with a sick toddler that cry''s and complains and doesn''t sleep, they would realise the grave mistake they have made.
No person would think of suffering through a cold without some kind of relief, why are we making our children suffer?? All because some parents can''t read and adhire to the dosage label?? That to me is a poor excuse to make millions of parents suffer along with their children.

[antoniof123]

This is not the first warning about cold remedies and tots: Drug companies last October quit selling dozens of versions targeted specifically to babies and toddlers, CBS News reports.

What big Pharma doesn''t have our best interest at heart. But that has been the way we were taught. No wait in the 60''s we took control of it but by 2002 big business took control from us.

[nonameabc]

I blame the government and the drug company, any corruption inside, how do we know after so many years!? Second though, if the clone meats are ok, send the meats to those who said are ok and feed them free for 10 yrs. It is all corruption.

[dredre2k]

... and this is the same FDA that''s telling us that Cloned meat is safe to eat... yeah right. Cold medicine has been helping children for years. Where''s the proof?