When most of you see the term over-the-counter (OTC) medication, one thing that probably runs through your head is a feeling of SAFETY. Merely from studies we've posted in this space, however, you're uncomfortably aware of the unforeseen and unintended problems that can and do occur when prescription or OTC drugs "play" badly with others, for example, SSRIs harming breast cancer patients also taking tamoxifen. When it comes to kids taking "safe" OTC medications, unfortunately, the "interaction" problem may not be with the child or the drug, but the parent who dispenses it.
Over a five-month period, Australian researchers interviewed 97 adults (60 parents and 37 day-care workers) at day-care centers in Sydney (all caring for children between four- and five-years-old) about their responses to typical scenarios involving sick children, for example, like how they would treat a fever. Even with the help of labeled OTC medicine and dosing devices, error rates among adults caring for sick kids were frighteningly common:
* Fifteen percent of adults would give a child a drug without taking his or her temperature.
* More than half would give children an OTC drug (more often than not, acetaminophen), even when their temperature was less than 100 degrees.
* Only 14 percent of caregivers accurately handled the scenario related to fever.
* Less than two-thirds were able to measure the proper dosage
* Overall, 44 percent of the participants gave children the wrong dose.
Taking into account all the recent product recalls related to lead in children's jewelry and cosmetics, these results make any reasonable person wonder whether parents are a greater health hazard, more than occasionally to their kids. Food for thought...
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Yahoo News August 29, 2010
PhysOrg.com August 30, 2010