Cough and Cold Meds Result In 7,000 ER Visits Annually

Cough and Cold Meds Result In 7,000 ER Visits Annually

A new report outlines the dangers that are associated with cough and cold medicines when administered to children.

This is the first such report to analyze the amount of hospital visits brought about by adverse reactions to cough and cold medicines.

The report finds that each year in America, hospital emergency rooms see up to 7,000 visits by parents with children who have had some form of adverse reaction after being administered a cough or cold med.

The authors of the report state that if parents are going to continue purchasing these cough and cold medicines, then tougher warnings should be applied to their labels.

The report finds that the majority of visits to ERs are children between 2 and 5 years of age.

“Anytime a child ends up in the emergency department because they had access to a bottle of medication, that is a problem that could be prevented,” said Daniel S. Budnitz of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the research.

“This is a lot of trips to the emergency room for products that have no known benefit,” said Joshua M. Sharfstein, Baltimore’s public health commissioner and the leader of a coalition of pediatricians that petitioned the FDA to restrict promotion of the products for use by children.

“However, if these medications are removed from the market, caregivers may be tempted to substitute products that are labeled for use by older children and adults,” the CDC team wrote.

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