The links between these OTC drugs and dementia are far from certain. For individuals who took these drugs about once every three days (or more), their dementia risks rose by 54% compared to people who did not take these types of medications. One 2015 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that over a 10-year period, people who regularly took the amount of diphenhydramine found in two Benadryl or two Extra Strength Tylenol PM pills roughly once every week or two were at significantly increased risk for dementia. “Another concern for which evidence is growing is that long-term use appears to increase the risk of dementia-and the more use, the greater the risk,” Maust says. In addition to Strom, who is affiliated with Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science and the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, the study was co-authored by Tobias Gerhard, Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.There is also growing worry about another more-serious risk associated with these OTC drugs. For more information and suggestions, visit ’s Caring for Your Child’s Cold or Flu information page. The American Academy of Pediatrics has various suggestions for treating children with the cold or flu, including use of over-the-counter medicines for pain or fever, honey to relieve cough in children over 1 year old, and plenty of rest and hydration. “It is nice to see physicians are heeding the advice to avoid cough and cold medications for children, but switching them to antihistamines is not necessarily an improvement,” said co-author Brian Strom, chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. We do know that these medicines can make kids sleepy and some kids quite hyper.” “However, there is little evidence that antihistamines actually help children with colds feel better or recover faster. “Sedating antihistamines such as diphenhydramine may have a small effect on some cold symptoms in adults,” said Horton. At the same time, researchers saw a 25 percent increase in doctor recommendations for antihistamines to treat respiratory infections in children under 12. During that period, physicians ordered approximately 95.7 million cough and cold medications, 12 percent of which contained opioids.Īfter the FDA’s 2008 public health advisory, however, physician recommendations declined by 56 percent for non-opioid cough and cold medicines in children under 2 and by 68 percent for opioid-containing medicines in children under 6. The researchers looked at national surveys representing 3.1 billion pediatric ambulatory clinic and emergency department visits in the United States from 2002 to 2015. “Also, many cough and cold medicines have multiple ingredients, which increases the chance of serious accidental overdose when combined with another product.” However, there is little proof that these medications effectively ease the symptoms in young children,” said study lead author Daniel Horton, assistant professor of pediatrics, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Families often treat their children’s respiratory infections with cough and cold medicines, some of which include opioid ingredients, such as codeine or hydrocodone. The American Academy of Pediatrics subsequently recommended avoiding cough and cold medicines in children under 6. The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, found a sharp decline in cough and cold medicine recommendations for children under 2 after 2008, when the Food and Drug Administration recommended against the medicines for that age group due to safety concerns and uncertain benefits. However, these medicines have little known benefit for children with colds, and some older antihistamines (e.g., diphenhydramine or Benadryl) cause sedation and occasionally agitation in children. However, these medicines have little known benefit for children with colds and can cause sedation and occasionally agitation in children.įor respiratory infections in children under 12, physicians are increasingly more likely to recommend antihistamines and less likely to recommend cough and cold medicines, a Rutgers study found.Īntihistamines are widely used over-the-counter to treat various allergic conditions. Rutgers study finds increase in antihistamine use for colds, following the 2008 FDA advisory to decrease use of cough and cold medicines, despite risks and unclear benefit of antihistamines for children with colds Antihistamines are widely used over-the-counter to treat various allergic conditions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |