Parents Warned To Use Metric System When Giving Medicine To Kids

BOSTON (CBS) - Patients are often told to give their child a teaspoon or 2 ½ teaspoons of a medication like Tylenol or ibuprofen or an antibiotic.

The problem is, some parents will use a regular kitchen spoon and could inadvertently give too much medication. For example, a tablespoon of liquid is three times as much as a teaspoon.

So pediatricians are encouraging parents to focus on milliliters instead...and once again are calling on drug manufacturers, pharmacists, and doctors to be consistent about metric dosing.

Look for the milliliter line on the little medicine cups or if you lose that cup, instead of reaching for a kitchen spoon, buy a medicine spoon from the drugstore so that you accidentally don't give the wrong dose.