Children’s Tylenol dosage info added to prevent ER visits

Children's Tylenol Dosage Info Added

Children's Tylenol dosage instructions for kids younger than 2 years old need to be added to the said product and other over-the-counter medications containing acetaminophen, the Food and Drug Administration said today.

A panel of health experts voted 21-0 to add Children's Tylenol dosage for 6-month to 2-year-old kids to ensure safety and prevent overdose or adverse complications.

The FDA said parents need to have clear information on how to use these products which have not been required in the past to explicitly display doses. Health agency felt the urgency for the move after discovering that overdoses related to acetaminophen among kids below 2 years old have been increasing in number in the last ten years.

Children's Tylenol, Prestige Brands' Little Fevers and Novartis' Triaminic were among the prominent brands who were examined by the FDA panel.

Acetaminophen is considered safe even for young kids but under certain circumstances overdosage has occurred because parents misread dosing instructions or have used spoons or other receptacles instead of using the cup that comes with the package. The instructions will be displayed more clearly to avoid confusion. Liver damage can result to overuse of acetaminophen.

The advisory panel's recommendations for Children's Tylenol and similar products will likely be followed by the FDA who will later create more binding rules for pharmaceuticals.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers said that acetaminophen-related errors were responsible for some 7,500 emergency cases in 2010.

The FDA's decision to finally require manufacturers to add Children's Tylenol dosage instructions has been praised by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday May 23 2011, 7:19 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0