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Parents still give cough, cold medications to young children
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Despite FDA warnings, caregivers of children aged younger than 6 years still use cough and cold medicines to treat them, according to study data published in Clinical Pediatrics.
“A significant portion of caregivers report that they are still unaware of public warnings, potential side effects and interactions with other medications,” Sarah Gard Lazarus, DO, of the department of pediatrics at Emory University, and colleagues said.
The cross-sectional observational study included 65 participants aged 3 weeks to 5 years and their caregivers.
Researchers found that more than three-quarters (82%) of the caregivers said they would treat with cough and cold medicines and 40% had done so within the past 6 months. Of caregivers who said they would treat with the medication, 70% chose medicines containing phenylephrine, 58% dosed inappropriately per dosing recommendations, despite having the bottles and instructions available, and 34% said they would use more than one medication.
According to researchers, 20% of caregivers said health care professionals recommend they give cough medications. Of those caregivers, 92% chose to do so and 69% gave cough medications within the past 6 months. Researchers also found that 43% of incorrectly dosed participants reported using more than one cough medication within the past 6 months.
Researchers also found that of all the participants, 70% said they were unaware cough medicine could have adverse effects; 72% were unaware of potential interactions with other medications; and 46% were unaware of warnings related to cough and cold medicines.
“Clearly, in this and potentially the broader pediatric population, more education is necessary to fully translate present FDA and other recommendations into parental knowledge and practice,” researchers said.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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