Old-time remedies best when it comes to fighting kids’ colds
Written by Jeff Wiebe
Friday, 19 December 2008
When coughs and colds hit kids, old remedies may be the best. That’s the message from local pharmacist Rick Siemens, after Health Canada announced this week that children under six years old shouldn’t be treated with over-the-counter cough and cold medications, because the potential risks outweigh any possible benefits. Siemens, pharmacy manager at London Drugs in Lethbridge, was busy Friday moving the store’s supply of children’s cough and cold medicine behind the pharmacy counter. He said parents should consult with a pharmacist to determine whether such medicines are the right solution and if so, what kind of dosage to give. “Those medications, if they’re used properly, are safe. It’s just that the effectiveness has never been proven to be that great for any cough and cold medication,” Siemens explained. “You’re still going to have the cold for the same amount of time; it just may make it a little more bearable.” Siemens said part of the problem lies in product labelling — manufacturers specify dosage according to age, rather than a more appropriate measure, like weight. “If a child is overweight or underweight, you get into a situation where you could give an overdose or an underdose.” Manufacturers of children’s cough and cold medications have been told to revise their labelling to reflect Health Canada’s new recommendations, and the changes must be completed by autumn 2009. While the risk is relatively low, a number of adverse reactions to cough and cold medicines — many of them serious — have been reported in children over the last 13 years. From January 1995 to 2008, Health Canada received 164 reports of adverse events related to over-the-counter cough and cold medications in children under 12, including 105 considered serious. For kids under six, there were 124 adverse reactions, 80 of them serious. Five children under age two who were taking the medications died, although it has not been confirmed that misuse or overdose of the products was the direct cause. Siemens said simple alternatives, like using humidifiers, drinking more fluids, and getting plenty of rest, are still among the best ways to fight a cold. “There’s just the old, everyday, common things we could try, that we know are safe, we know they’re not going to harm (kids) at all. They’re probably just as effective,” he explained. “Probably the safest way to go, just like in the old days, is chicken soup and rest.” Getting rid of cold symptoms isn’t always the best solution anyway, said Siemens — runny noses help drain the sinus, and coughing can help clear the chest. “There’s some things you might not want to suppress. There are reasons for the body doing what it does.” In other cases, like children with asthma, eliminating symptoms can be dangerous — if the child’s cough is suppressed, parents could be unable to tell whether his or her asthma is worsening.
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