Dangers of cold medicines for children worry Valley parents

Over-the-counter drugs for kids under age 2 can cause death, a physician says.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

JESSICA JOHANNSMEIER SAYS SHE’S GOING back to old-fashioned cough and cold cures for her 21-month-old daughter, including chicken soup.

“You never know what to give your kid now,” Johannsmeier said Thursday, after reading that the federal government has declared over-the-counter cough and cold medicines too risky for children under age 2.

“You don’t know what’s safe,” Johannsmeier, of Niles, said of medications she gives her daughter, Hailee.

Sara Upshire of Bristol has a similar attitude.

Upshire said she has given her 9-month-old son, David, medications off the shelf. Now, she plans on taking her son to his pediatrician before giving him any medication. The doctor’s visit, she noted, will add to the family’s medical costs.

In issuing the warning, the FDA said that nonprescription drugs for the very young can cause “serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.”

Instead, the FDA suggests that that newborns through age 2 be given plenty of rest and liquids, saline drops to loosen stuffy noses and humidifiers while sleeping.

Dr. Carrie Fadell, a pediatrician at St. Elizabeth Health Center, said physicians haven’t been recommending over-the-counter medicines because there is no conclusive evidence they work, and they can cause side effects.

The side effects include accidental overdose, shaking, tremors and even death, she explained.

“It reaffirms what we have been currently warning parents about,” Dr. Fadell said.

She agrees with the FDA warning because it makes people aware that there are differences between very young children and older children and adults.

Dr. Joseph Bethuy, a Liberty pediatrician, said he, too, was aware of the problem with over-the-counter medicines and young children because it has been discussed for some time.

He said he believes the FDA warning was issued because of the side effects resulting from overmedication.

Pharmacist Rick Berry at the Medicine Shoppe on Market Street in Boardman said such medicines constrict the blood vessels and increase the heart rate.

Berry explained the overdose occurs because parents don’t know how much to give their children. Some are administered by droppers, others by dosage cups.

Most medications don’t have recommended dosages for those under 2, he added.

“The parents give what they feel is right,” he said.

Of the FDA issuing the warning, Berry said: “This is a very good idea.” It does, however, raise the question of how can it be enforced, he noted.

Dan Ronci, a pharmacist at Cornersburg Family Discount on Canfield Road in Youngstown, agrees with Berry that dosage is an issue. He suggests that parents take their child to a pediatrician before administering cough and cold medicines.

“They should be calling a doctor,” Ronci said.

Both Berry and Ronci said over-the-counter medicines can’t be policed because they are nonprescription drugs and pharmacists can’t determine who is buying them and for what reason.

The only way to keep track of the medicines, Ronci said, is to create another level of medicines for those under 2 and sell them from behind the counter, although he isn’t advocating that.

yovich@vindy.com