Baby cough and cold medicines withdrawn

Cough and cold medicine linked to dozens of deaths

Ongoing concerns over the safety of over-the-counter cough and cold medications aimed at babies under 2 have led drug makers to voluntarily withdraw them from sale until their potential risks can be properly assessed. They’ve been the subject of debate recently, with dozens of deaths, mostly among the under-2s, being linked to their use since 1969.

One of the main issues with cough and cold medications is that they frequently contain a combination of ingredients. There have been instances where parents have inadvertently given their baby an overdose by supplementing cough/cold medicine with doses of single-ingredient pain and fever medication that is already included in their chosen cough/cold medicine. Babies under 2 are particularly vulnerable to the potential side effects of overdosing in this way.

Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) president Linda Suydam stressed that safety should come first: “The reason the makers of over-the-counter oral cough and cold medicines for infants are voluntarily withdrawing these medicines is that there have been rare patterns of misuse leading to overdose recently identified, particularly in infants, and safety is our top priority,” she said, in a prepared statement.

Health experts recently urged the Food and Drug Administration to ban the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medications containing decongestants for the under-2s and medications containing antihistamines for under-6s.

What’s being withdrawn?

• Dimetapp® Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops and Decongestant Infant Drops
• Little Colds® Decongestant Plus Cough and Multi-Symptom Cold Formula
• Pediacare® Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine), Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine), Infant Dropper Decongestant (containing phenylephrine), Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough and Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (containing phenylephrine)
• Robitussin® Infant Cough DM Drops
• Triaminic® Infant & Toddler Thin Strips® Decongestant and Infant & Toddler Thin Strips® Decongestant Plus Cough
• Tylenol® Concentrated Infants’ Drops Plus Cold and Concentrated Infants’ Drops Plus Cold & Cough

Medicines not withdrawn include cough and cold medicines labeled for the over-2s, and pain relievers and fever reducers such as Infants’ and Children’s Tylenol® and Motrin®. Doctors reiterate that when giving any medication to children parents should double check the dose and use the dosage cup supplied with the medication, and should never give more than one medication at a time without first consulting their pediatrician.

 

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