Warning About Children & Cough Medicine

A persistent cough can be painful and inconvenient for children when they are sitting in class or playing at home. This is why many parents turn to over-the-counter cough medicines, which can be bought without a doctor's prescription. There are two types of cough medicines that they can buy: antitussives and expectorants. Antitussives such as Triaminic Cold and Cough are cough suppressants that stop the cough reflex. Expectorants such as Mucinex suppress coughs by getting mucus away from airways. There are also other medications, such as pain relievers, decongestants and antihistamines, which treat a number of symptoms associated with colds, including coughs.

Function

• Cough medicines that are packaged for adults shouldn't be used for children. This is because like other drugs that can be purchased in a store, cough medicines come in different strengths. Parents should use medications that are prescribed by a child's doctor for severe colds, but when deciding on over -the-counter treatments, it is best to stick with those that are specifically designated for kids. Sometimes these medicines are labeled as being "pediatric." The Federal Drug Administration recommends that no cough medications should be given to children 2 years old or younger without a doctor's prescription.

Effects

• When using cough medicines, it is also important to stick to the directions and recommended doses on the labels and to know the ingredients and side effects. Cough and cold medicines often have more than one "active ingredient," which are used to treat certain symptoms. It is also important to look at the labels, especially if giving children more than one medication, because they could have the same "active ingredients." It is important to make sure that they do not receive too much of something, such as a decongestant.

Research

• According to an article in Science Daily on January 23, 2008, there is no conclusive evidence that supports that cough medicines are effective in treating adults or children. An analysis of research in The Cochrane Library by Thomas Fahey, professor of general practice at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and others showed that studies on cough medicines have conflicted on whether different drugs work in stopping coughs. In the seven studies that were looked at that used children, drugs were found to be no more effective than placebos. Coughs are sometimes a condition that does not go away so easily, and they can last two weeks or longer for some children, especially in the presence of a condition such as a cold or sinus infection.

Findings

• Some cough medicines have been found to be harmful to children, especially those who are aged 2 or younger. Some young children's deaths have been associated with decongestants and antihistamines. According to Steven Reinberg in his article "FDA Advisers Urge Ban on Cold Medicines for Young Children," the FDA has found that 123 deaths were related to these drugs, especially decongestants made with pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine and ephedrine and antihistamines made with diphenhydramine, brompheniramine and chlorpheniramine. These findings prompted the FDA in 2007 to urge a ban on decongestants made for children under 2 years old and antihistamines made for children under 6 years of age.

Concerns

• One reason that the FDA and others are concerned with the use of cough medicines for children is that the drugs are often not tested on younger people during clinical trials. In 2007, an advisory panel for the FDA said directly that cough medicines should not be used for children under the age of 6 because clinical results for adults could not be applied to children, whose bodies are at different stages of development than adults.

Alternatives

• While cough medicines may seem like an easy solution to many parents, there are alternative ways to treat symptoms related to colds, including coughs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using vaporizers, nose drops, nose bulbs and chicken soup. There are other household remedies that have been found to be effective for coughs as well, which include running hot water in the shower and sitting in the bathroom, sleeping with humidifiers and drinking cold liquids such as juice and water.