FDA: Cold medicines too risky for tots - seems like a scam

[Prefer]

"Thursday's move is a good first step, said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner. He petitioned the FDA last year to end use of nonprescription cold remedies by children under 6, a move backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The reason: There's no evidence that these oral drugs actually ease cold symptoms in children so young — some studies suggest they do no good at all. And while serious side effects are fairly rare, they do occur. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year reported that more than 1,500 babies and toddlers wound up in emergency rooms over a two-year period because of the drugs."

All these years go by and now these are dangerous? Don't think so. Let me tell you what I think this is really about : a $100 visit to the doctor to get a prescription for a $40 bottle of medicine that used to cost $8 over the counter last month. It's really that simple. "Oh - we're protecting the children". Sure...

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. There does seem to be a pattern, phenlyproponalimine a very effective decongestant pulled from the

market while pseudoephedrine, with much more unpleasant side effects and risks, remained. :shrug:

MKJ

[BadgerKid]

2. PPA is a meth precursor

so that's probably a contributing reason. There's a review article from 2006 claiming that PPA hasn't been shown to be effective in young children. That's not to say that it doesn't work, just that it hasn't been tested.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

3. I should have been clear that it wasn't for children, it was just seeing PPA pulled from the market

in general and locking up pseudoephidrine, now saying children shouldn't take ANY OTC's.

Or, banning ephedra and then the FDA immediately approves "ALLI" for OTC use. (I know their medicinal actions are different, but why not have both available?)

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the decisions that are made by this agency.

MKJ

[BadgerKid]

10. It's both, IMO

Like Alli/Orlistat, ephedrine is also useful for weight loss, but that has been made more inconvenient to get OTC. Various reasons include 1) it's a meth precursor, 2) a few high profile professional athletes dumbassedly overdosing and dying, and 3) it's not a patentable compound. It works all around: protect a drug market and play into the politics of the war on drugs.

Since you seem in touch with the FDA's actions, you probably have come across the ongoing Dendreon scandal, no?

[gollygee]

4. It's complete bullshit

any parent of a young child who couldn't sleep because of a stuffy nose, took cold medicine, and then could sleep because his/her nose wasn't so stuffy, knows that they're simply wrong.

I don't doubt they're overused, and if this kind of thing makes parents think twice before giving medication to their young children, then something good will come of it. But they absolutely help children who have colds. They help adults with colds, and it isn't like children are a different species than adults.

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I have had occasion to use these products many times over the

years with my children and my experience was that they gave them some relief from the symptoms of the cold with no adverse reaction. If parents don't have access to the child specific medication, many of them are going to try to calculate a safe dosage of adult strength cold remedies which will really put them at risk.

[knitter4democracy]

8. I agree. Some of it does work.

Those Triaminic strips help with a bad cough, we've found, and Benedryl helps with allergies and gets them through the night. I don't understand what all of this is really about.

[RB TexLa]

5. Is a quarter of a shot of Jamesons still ok for them?

[Wednesdays]

7. The way things are going...

that may be the only affordable remedy left!

:eyes:

[earth mom]

9. Yup the CROOKS are in control make NO mistake.

:puke:

[hedgehog]

11. I will say this - I took a young kid in for what I thought was a nagging cough

because he was so young the OTC medicines didn't give any dosages. I was sheepish about bothering the doctor about a simple cough until he gave my son a shot of epinephrine and told me he had asthma!. On the other hand, I've given all my kids decongestants and antihistamine not to mention cough suppressants to help them be comfortable when they've had colds.