Because Parents are Dumber than Five Year Olds, Of Course

It appears that's what the FDA thinks of us. The FDA has decided that cold medicines are too much of a hazard for kids under 6, not just 2, and are debating whether they are safe and even effective for kids up to age 11:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011700006.html?hpid=sec-health

What the heck is going on here? I understand not giving those medicines to kids under age 2, my pediatricians (who are wonderful) have told me from the beginning that cold medicines do nothing to help and to save my money, so I have. But no Dimetapp for my three year old? Potentially for none of my kids? What gives?

Does the FDA think all parents are so stupid that we can't safely give our kids medicines? Mistakes happen sometimes, yes, but honestly, I think more medication mistakes are made every single day in hospitals across the country than happen in two years with parents medicating their kids.

They say the medications aren't needed because the illnesses in questions are "self-limiting." WTF? Adults are allowed, nay encouraged, to take medicines to help us rest and feel better when we have colds, but we can't be responsible adults and make that same decision on behalf of our kids? When we adults get sick, we take cold medicines to help us feel well enough to function so we aren't evil grumpy grownups, so why can't we make the decision to help our kids not be evil, grumpy kids? I have to imagine that those who are making these decisions/recommendations haven't spent much time with more than one sick kid, haven't lost sleep as the kids stay up all night coughing and sneezing and blowing their noses and whimpering because they feel so awful and there's nothing anyone can do about it. A little bit of medicine to help them feel well enough to get a good night's sleep so their little bodies can heal can make a huge difference.

And do they honestly think that most of us don't know that the medicines don't HEAL anything, but rather treat the symptoms? I've grown up knowing that the Dimetapp that was prescription when I was a kid that my mother gave me when I got sick was to help me feel well enough to get some rest so my body could get better. Honestly, I've known that since I was 5 years old. They really think that an entire generation of parents isn't as smart as I was at five? Please.

When our kids get croup, we give them a steroid cough medicine to quiet their cough and help them rest so they can heal. When they get a fever, we give them a fever reducer to help them feel well enough to sleep without delirium, so they can get better. When they are teething or have an ear infection, we give them a pain reliever so they can eat and drink without pain, so their bodies can do the work needed for them to recover. I don't think any of us is under any delusions that it's anything other than a leg-up to their little immune systems, which are doing all the work of healing.

And with the advent of those little cups for dosing, and all the helpful syringes handed out by Target and other pharmacies, do they really think we don't know not to use a household spoon to dose our kids? Are they not aware that a few decades have happened since this was commonplace? I know NO ONE who does this, not even my father, or in-laws, not even my grandparents when they were alive. Not a single person. That's three generations, people, who DO NOT do this. Do you?

The FDA is apparently a bunch of asshats. I happen to like it when I can give my kids a little bit of medicine to help them feel better so their bodies can heal when they are sick, and I'm pretty sure I can do it safely - I haven't killed one of them yet. Dropped them on their heads, yes. Let them eat food off the floor, sometimes. But given too much medicine? Never. Who do I have to vote for to get the FDA out of my medicine cabinet? Off to go find a libertarian candidate who isn't insane...

Comments

[Summer]

I can't believe how stupid this is, and I can't believe that the people at the FDA can't see the GLARINGLY OBVIOUS problem that I see... to whit, they're concerned about parents mis-dosing their kids with cold medicines, so to solve that problem they will forbid the manufacturers to PRINT DOSING INSTRUCTIONS for small children. Uh-huh. That makes so much sense.

Now, I haven't had nearly as much mothering experience as you have, but I've gotten my son to age 5 with health and a goodly number of brain cells intact. I have given him cold medicines since infancy, starting with "Little Colds" drops for babies, and we now use Triaminic. As far as I can tell, they DO work for him. Does it cure the cold? No. There is no cure for the common cold. Does it help him cough less, have a less runny nose, and sleep better? Yes. So why wouldn't I want to give him a dose of Triaminic before bed? Don't you think I'll still be tempted to, even if the FDA has said he's still a year too young for them? Can't you just imagine me GUESSING at the proper dose for a 40-lb. human, even if it's not listed on the box?

I think we're going to see a lot more cases of overdosed kids, as tired and sick parents just give 'em a little nip of NyQuil instead of reading the instructions on the back of a (now contraband) bottle of Dimetapp.

[carmen]

You know what? My HUSBAND still tries to use a household spoon. And he's the father of NINE.

Otherwise, I agree 1000000%.

[Agincourtdb]

Personally, there's very little I disagree with that takes as it's basis the idea that people are stupid. The reason being that, well, people are stupid.

[angi]

We do not take/give many meds around here, but my husband probably would give it that way because IF he takes meds (which is seriously like next to never) he still uses the spoon.

THe good news? My kids have had so little of anything that if he ever tried to give them a SPOONFUL of anything, he would wear it all, for sure! And, he would never give anything (or even know what to give them, etc) without talking to me because the man still gets mad when he can not put together the correct sippy cup parts. Love him to death, but you can tell I do waaaayyy too much around here, LOL :)

All that being said, I agree with you, as well as what summer said. I worry about kids getting adult medicine now because the parents have no better choices...

[hokgardner]

One reason I love my kids' pediatrician is that he recognizes that I have some degree of common sense. When I asked him about all this furor and whether the meds were really not safe on the rare ocassion that I've used them, his response was that they, like everything else, were only dangerous if used to excess and gave me a list of dosing amounts for various meds and weights.

[SunSpotBaby]

As usual, "they" are bowing to the lowest common denominator of stupid people who don't know how to read directions on the medicine bottles. So, the solution is to ban the stuff from the shelves, and those of us who actually do have the ability to read directions are without recourse. My suggestion would be just administer a short I.Q. quiz to each person who wants to buy some children's medicine and those who are too stupid to pass it, don't get it!!