A January 2008 FDA Public Health Advisory “Recommends that Over-the-Counter (OTC) Cough and Cold Products not be used for Infants and Children under 2 Years of Age.” The risk of serious and potentially life-threatening side effects has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to advise parents not to treat infants and children under 2 years of age with OTC cough and cold medicines. The FDA is still reviewing safety information regarding the use of these OTC medicines in children 2 to 11 years of age and anticipates communicating its recommendations in the near future. The FDA stated, “we are aware of reports of serious side effects from cough and cold medicines in children 2 years of age and older.”
Helping Honey
A December 2007 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine study should help parents find an alternative to OTC medications for their children having trouble sleeping at night due to upper respiratory tract infections. The findings of this recent study suggests that buckwheat honey is a great remedy for children 2 to 18 years old with nocturnal cough and difficulty sleeping. When the study compared honey, honey-flavored dextromethorphan (cough medicine), and no treatment, for children suffering from nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief. Overall, the trial found that “honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection.”
**Please keep in mind that honey should never be fed to infants under 12 months of age.**
Raw honey should not be given to infants under one year of age because of the rare possibility of infection with the bacteria that causes botulism. And remember, as with all health issues concerning children, please consult your family’s pediatrician regarding treatment of your child’s ailments.
Finding Answers
At Matthews Chiropractic Center, I strive to provide excellent treatment of the spine and assist patient’s with all their health and wellness concerns. Stay tuned to learn more about current health, wellness, and chiropractic topics as I work to help keep patients and readers well and informed.
Review the FDA advisory at: http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/advisory/cough_cold_2008.htm
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine article:
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/161/12/1140
September 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Thanks for informing people about buckwheat honey.
As a dad and a doctor, I find this a very scary topic. I used to think that as long as my patient’s or I dosed the children’s cold & cough medications right, then everything would be OK. But when I researched this further, it turns out that children have died from “over dose” of ALL THE MAJOR CHILDRENS COLD AND COUGH MEDICINES even when given the correct dose (Pediatrics Link).
Here are a few interesting facts:
1. Last October 2008, the drug companies promised the FDA that they would change all their labeling to say “do not use” for children under the age of 2, but I was just in the store last week, and a number of packages still had the old labeling!
2. The FDA reviewed safety and effectiveness data this last fall and its expert panel said that “right now the current cold & cough medications should not be given to children under 6.” Here is a link to the FDA’s minutes, “http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/07/minutes/2007-4323m1-Final.pdf”, see page 6. The FDA made a public advisory in January 2008 about never using it for children under 2, because the Drug companies are fighting them on the panels ruling to never use cold and cough medications on children 2 to 6. Since these drugs were previously allowed by the FDA, the FDA is forced to go though “due process” before they are willing to make an official public statement about never giving these medications to children 2 to 6.
3. The number of infant deaths attributed to cold and cough medicines is dramatically underreported. New research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrated that there were at least “10 unexpected infant deaths that were associated with cold-medication” in 2006 alone in the state of Arizona. Extrapolated over the US and Canadian population, that would be over 500 deaths a year associated with cold-medication! (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/122/2/e318)
The thing that the drug companies don’t want anyone to know is that these medications never underwent the rigorous safety and effectiveness studies modern medications have to go though, they we grandfathered in the early 1970’s because at that time experts felt like they seemed to work, and they seemed safe enough.
Interestingly, some researchers from Penn State have shown that Buckwheat honey is better then the OTC drugs for children’s cough. There is a web site that talks about this, and gives lots of research to help parents be better informed about how to help their kids. Check out http://www.honeydontcough.com/
-Daddydoctor