Doctors in the US are recommending cough and cold medicines for children less often as research continues to show that these treatments may be ineffective and have serious and potentially fatal side effects. Recommendations against the use of these medications for young children has become more common since 2008. In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that kids under the age of 2 should not be given these medications. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended against these drugs for children below age 6.
Comparing the period before the 2008 recommendations and the period after, researchers found that prescriptions for non-opioid cough and cold medicines dropped 70% for children under 2 years of age. Recommendations for cough and cold drugs with opioids decreased by 90% for children under age 6.
Reference:
Horton, D. B., Gerhard, T., & Strom, B. L. (2019). Trends in Cough and Cold Medicine Recommendations for Children in the United States, 2002-2015. JAMA Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.2252
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