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It’s Official! Feds Nix Cold and Cough Meds for Kids Under Six

October 20, 2007 By Matthew Naythons MD Leave a Comment

After weeks of speculation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the additional step of recommending that cold and cough medicines used by parents for generations no longer be administered to children under six.

While the resolution of the FDA is "not binding," it will surely impact how such medications are marketed, displayed and used.

The recommendation applies to medications containing any of the following ingredients: decongestants, antitussives (against cough) and antiistamines.

Not only to the over-the-counter medicines for cough and colds apparently not work for kids, but there are documented incidents of the meds leading to death in the recipient kids (generally due to parental misuse).

In a separate action, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently backed a petition by pediatricians urging banning such medications from kids under six.

Source: FDA

 

Filed Under: Common Cold, FDA News & Alerts, Pediatrics & Parenting Tagged With: children, common cold, cough, pediatrics

List of Withdrawn Pediatric Cold Medicines

October 13, 2007 By MedNews Leave a Comment

The following medicines are among those that have been withdrawn from the market by their manufacturers for treatment of coughs and colds in infants. If you have any of these medicines at home, it would be wise to discard them to avoid accidental administration.

If you wish to use any of these medications for children between the ages of 2 -6, please contact your pediatrician for additional information. Be advised that their use in the 2-6 age group, while not covered by the current voluntary withdrawal, remains controversial.

Manufactured by Johnson & Johnson:

  • Concentrated Infants’ Tylenol Drops Plus Cold
  • Concentrated Infants’ Tylenol Drops Plus Cold & Cough
  • Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant (PSE)
  • Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (PSE)
  • Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant (PE)
  • Pediacare Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
  • Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (PE)

Manufactured by Novartis:

  • Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant
  • Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Plus Cough

Manufactured by Prestige Brands Holding

  • Little Colds Decongestant Plus Cough
  • Little Colds Multi-Symptom Cold Formula

Manufactured by Wyeth Labs

  • Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops
  • Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops
  • Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops

Source: FDA

Filed Under: Common Cold, FDA News & Alerts, Pediatrics & Parenting Tagged With: common cold, pediatrics

Baby Cold Medicines Withdrawn

October 13, 2007 By MedNews Leave a Comment

In a voluntary drug withdrawal initiated by the FDA, major manufacturers of over-the-counter cold and cough medicine targeted to infants have withdrawn their products.

The stated reason was to avoid misuse by misinformed parents. The withdrawal only affects products for infants, leaving products for use in children 2 and older on the market.

Further research, and further negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and the FDA will decide the fate of cold medicines marketed to the 2 – 6 year old population.

In the New York Times, Dr. Daniel Fratarelli, a pediatrician on the American Academy of Pediatric’s committee on drugs stated in regard to pediatric cough and cold medicines, "I don’t recommend their use in any child… These medicines don’t help, they may hurt, so don’t use them."

Filed Under: Common Cold, FDA News & Alerts, Pediatrics & Parenting Tagged With: common cold, pediatrics

Taking Zinc for colds? Think Again

August 15, 2007 By Matthew Naythons MD Leave a Comment

In a paper by Stanford University Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, with the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and published in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases, 105 published reports of zinc efficacy in warding off the common cold were studied.

Of the 105 articles reviewed, fourteen were randomized placebo-controlled studies—in other words, proper scientific studies. Of these fourteen studies, eleven featured the qualities of inquiry representative of a proper clinical trial.

In reviewing these eleven trials, the author’s concluded "this structured review suggests that the therapeutic effectiveness of zinc lozenges has yet to be established. One well-designed study did report a positive effect of zinc nasal gel."

Filed Under: Common Cold, Infectious Diseases Tagged With: common cold, zinc

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