Cough and cold medicines for children and infants were recently recalled and taken off the shelves. It was all over the news a few months ago. An advisory committee of leading pediatricians has warned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that not only are over-the-counter medicines ineffective on infants, they probably are not even safe.
Below is a report issued by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about a year and a half ago. This report warns against the dangers for children 2 & under but since this report cam out they have found that these types of medicines are risky even for children under 6, including Benedryl. It's scary and surprising & I know it's hard because their symptoms can be bad but they should ride it out and use a cool mist humidifier in their room when they sleep and ask your pediatrician about saline nasal solution..
Parents Magazine has a helpful article on this topic, here is the link:
http://www.parents.com/baby/health/cold/how-to-soothe-kid...
Here is the CDC report:
Cough and Cold Medications in Children Less Than Two Years of Age
Audience: Pediatric and primary care healthcare professionals and patients
[Posted 01/12/2007] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) article describing three deaths in U.S. infants aged less than 12 months associated with cough and cold medications. These medications were determined by medical examiners or coroners to be the underlying cause of death. The cases described in this report underscore the need for clinicians to use caution when prescribing and caregivers to use caution when administering cough and cold medications to children aged less than 2 years.
Secondly, we discussed a Center for Disease Control report about infant deaths due to cold medication. Julie Hunter looked the report up and I have pasted it here for you. Cold medicine relieves symptoms of a cold but does not “cure” a cold. Here is what the CDC said
Infant Deaths Associated with Cough and Cold Medications – United States , 2005
PRESS CONTACT: CDC - Division of Media Relations
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Cough and cold medicines can be harmful and should be used with caution in children under 2 years of age. Cough and cold medicines can be harmful and should be used with caution in children under 2 years of age. Although it is very rare, we identified three infants who died from the toxic effects of cough and cold medicines in 2005. In addition, in 2004 and 2005, over 1,500 children less than 2 years old were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for adverse events from cough and cold medicines. While these drugs are effective in older children and adults, there is little evidence these drugs help in children under 2 years old. Parents should always consult a healthcare provider before giving cough or cold medicine to kids under 2 years old. Healthcare providers should use caution when giving cough and cold medicines to children under 2 years old.