Spoon Size Could Affect Your Health

A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports that patients who use household spoons to dole out medicine never seem to get it right.

The report finds patients using kitchen spoons may be under or overdosing when they're measuring out medicine. The research found that the amount of cold medicine varied with the size of the spoon.

Interestingly, most of the patients were confident that they could eyeball the correct amount. Patients underdosed when they used a medium-sized spoon, and over-dosed when they used a larger spoon.

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said on "The Early Show" any type of medication is dosed based on amount and frequency.

Ashton demonstrated that with an average household spoon, the amount that actually pours out into a serrated cup is one and a half teaspoons.

"This is potentially -- and we have to underscore potentially -- a big difference in dose. Either too much, or some cases, too little," Ashton said.

But is it really a big deal?

Ashton explained, "One teaspoon, medically, is the equivalent of five milliliters or in the hospital, we say five CCs, and this study actually showed that the amount can vary. It can be as little as eight percent less than the amount of the dose or 11 percent more. So again, toxicity and therapeutic effect depend on getting the right amount."

The side effects of too much medicine can be more pronounced in children, Ashton said. Excitability may occur -- or extreme drowsiness, nausea or dizziness. Another thing to be concerned about, Ashton said, is a common ingredient in medicines is acetaminophen. Taking in more, she said, can do some serious liver damage.

If you lose the dosing cup that comes with many medicines, Ashton recommended dose spoons or syringes, available at any pharmacy, instead.

"Be sure to measure liquid medicine at the eye level," Ashton said. "Make sure you read the directions on the bottle. Always make sure you know the difference between teaspoon and tablespoon -- another study surveyed poison control centers, and found one of the major causes of overmedicating was the confusion of tablespoons and teaspoons."

Ashton added, "Never give your child over-the-counter medicines that are meant for adults. You cannot just 'half' the dose. Some medicines are formulated differently for children. Use only products that are labeled for use in babies, infants, or children."