wanted to share this with any parents out there, since its cold and flu season. I read this article and it talks about how over the counter (otc) medications are inconsistent with directions and dosage. here is some of it:
"A new study of dosing instructions for children's over-the-counter medication warns that inconsistencies are creating "an issue of patient safety" that needs "urgent attention."
Researchers say the results of the study, appearing in the December issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, are a major cause for concern.
“We obtained a list of the top children’s liquid medications, and then we purchased approximately 200 of them,” Dr. H. Shonna Yin, assistant professor of pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine, who co-led the study told FoxNews.com. “We found the inconsistencies really were across the different medications, with a vast majority having a problem.”
Yin and her colleagues conducted the study for a period of one year and looked at children’s over-the-counter liquid medications including cough/cold, allergy, painkillers and gastrointestinal. And what they uncovered was pretty shocking.
“We found 25 percent of over-the-counter liquid medications don’t contain a dosing device like a cup or a dropper for administering the medication. We also found that 99 percent had markings on the dosing device and directions on label that do not match up exactly.”"...
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/11/30/childrens-counter-meds-confusin...