6 baby cough medicines pulled - MRHA press release also

Sherlock

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Posting here as not sure where to put it and thought more people might see it here. Mods feel free to move if need be.

Just an FYI so people are informed :)

From BBC

MHRA press release 27 March 2008

Six baby cough medicines pulled

Cough remedies aimed at very young children are to be removed from shelves amid fears of accidental overdose. The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has ordered six products be permanently removed from sale for children aged under two.

They are Asda children's chesty cough syrup, Calcough chesty and Boots chesty cough syrup one year plus.

Also, Children's chesty cough and Boots sore throat and cough linctus one year plus and Buttercup infant cough syrup.

The medicines are to be removed from open shelves, and will not be sold by pharmacists for children under two. However, the medicines can still be given to older children.

Instead, parents are being urged to stick to paracetamol and ibuprofen medicines, vapour rubs and simple cough syrup such as glycerol, honey or lemon.

There are 12 ingredients found in the remedies causing concern.

They are brompheniramine; chlorphenamine; diphenhydramine; dextromethorphan; pholcodine; guaifenesin; ipecacuanha; phenylephrine; pseudoephedrine; ephedrine; oxymetazoline and xylometazoline.

The medicines of concern all contain a combination of these ingredients.

The MHRA says there is no evidence that such multi-ingredient medicines are of any benefit to the under-twos. There have been concerns in the US over such medicines after parents gave children the wrong dose, or more than one product containing the same ingredients.

There have also been some similar reports in the UK.

About 90 more cough remedies are to be removed from shelves until they can be repackaged to include advice that they should not be given to children under two. And, until that time, they will be kept behind pharmacy counters.

A full list of the affected medicines will be published on the MHRA website.

MHRA spokeswoman Sara Coakley said: "It's a precautionary measure. They are not dangerous."

She went on: "If they had been dangerous, we'd have had them off the market in seconds. Nobody should panic. "There's nothing wrong with these medicines, it was the way that they had been given."

Anyone who asks to buy these products will be questioned about the age of the child who is unwell. The product can be sold if the child is older than two and an advice leaflet will be provided.

The spokeswoman said the medicines could be dangerous if people gave a child more than the recommended dose, or gave them more than one product at the same time. She said the advice had been updated after they found many parents were unwittingly overdosing children.

She said youngsters under two are "particularly susceptible because of their small size", creating a "risk of overdose".

And she admitted there had been an increase in "adverse reactions" to the products, although she said this had been more widely observed in the United States where improved packaging had since been introduced.

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i was just coming over here to post the same thing!
 
I dont agree with selling medicines for children over the counter so i think this is a good thing. If your child is actually ill enough to need to medciating then they need to see a Dr. I think childrens medicines in general need a real review, we dish them out far too easily.
 
Melanie said:
I dont agree with selling medicines for children over the counter so i think this is a good thing. If your child is actually ill enough to need to medciating then they need to see a Dr. I think childrens medicines in general need a real review, we dish them out far too easily.

I must admit I am not one for using over the counter medicines either and prefer to use things like Calpol and paracetamol based products. And even then I err on the side of caution as to when its given.

This part of a MRHA press release caught my eye

Coughs and colds in young children and babies can be unpleasant and upsetting both for the child and for parents/carers. However, these are self limiting conditions which will get better themselves within 2-3 days. Medicines intended to treat the symptoms will not cure the illness or shorten the length of the illness.

Same as in adults. Hence why I never does myself up with over the counter things. Doesn't actually cure anything so I prefer to build up a natural immunity as far as possible. Paracetamol is about as much as I take. I've not taken meds from the Doctor for such things either in decades. The only time I require prescribed meds is when my asthma gets bad and alas I need a course of steroid tablets to sort it :?
 
I see your point but overhere, with direct care, you go to the pharmacist ususally because docs appointments are like hens teeth.

I tried to get one for today because joes eye has swollen up like a golf ball and the gormless edjit at the end of the phone told me emergency appointments were finished but I could bring him down at 2 to see if there is a cancellation. GRRRRRRRRRRR.
 
I overheard my chemist say they pulled them because people are doing things to them to make crystal meth from it :shock: That cant be true :?
 
I've just put this in Babies and Toddlers General Discussion xx
 
natalie&jake said:
I overheard my chemist say they pulled them because people are doing things to them to make crystal meth from it :shock: That cant be true :?

:shock: :shock: NO I dont think it can be as there are other medicines for older kids / adults with the same ingredients in so surely they could just use them instead - however im only just learning to make CM so im not 100% sure :wink:

I tried to get Oran a Dr's appoint on MOnday as he has had a cold for a week and its now a chesty cough so I think he has an infection - Sorry no appointments today or tomorrow and can only book a day in advance so ring back tomorrow 8am to see for wed - Tues I ring - sorry no appointments for wed and no cancellations today.... WTF I rung at 8am Tue, if on Monday they were not booking for Wed where were all the apoints gone, Wed I ring and I get the same, despite kicking off, no joy (by the way this is for evening appoints as were both at work this week and cant get out) so I got some of the Buttercup cough syrup as mentioned above to try and ease him abit, I game him half a dose made no difference so I didnt give him it again (however I have a sore throat and cough now so Ive been having it as nothing else in :rotfl: ) so today I rung and again no apoints so I kicked off big time asked to speak to practice manager as was going on holiday end of next week and need it sorting etc and before I got to speak to the practive manager they ''allowed' me to book one MOnday 6pm...ooohhh Im sooo greatfull your ALLOWING me to see my NHS DR which I pay my frigging taxes for!! Im sure they say ring back in the hope that people who have nothing much wrong with them wont ring back - checky sods.

Anyway yeah so Ive bought over the counter medcine but use it for myself now but I did get that medised which he just has one does before bed but then its the usual baby olbus oil and chect rub.
 

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