Seven medications never to give your child

That article concerns me. Most of the recommendations are to preschoolers, but what if your child is a bit older? My daughter is 10 ... how would I know what medicines are safe?

(Other than asking her doctor obviously -- when a cold strikes around midnight or two a.m., I'd like to know what I can and can't give her until she *can* see a doctor)

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Reye's syndrome (a liver and brain illness) sometimes follows influenza or chickenpox in children and appears to occur more frequently when aspirin is taken than when acetaminophen or ibuprofen are used during these illnesses. Reye's syndrome, however, can occur even when NO medicine is used. If influenza or chickenpox is NOT the illness of concern, however, there is no evidence that aspirin is any less safe than other medications.
(from a family doctor of 25 years)

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As a pharmacy professional I am pretty shocked by the statement in the original article stating "After the use-by date, medications may no longer be effective and can even be harmful," because it is simply untrue.

While medications do eventually break down into inert substances and lose their potency, this process is slow and most medications are still very effective even 10 years after they "expire." Also, NONE of the medications in use today, prescription or otherwise, break down into anything harmful for children or adults. This statement appears to be one of pure conjecture, and that conjecture was wrong. It sounds like it may be right, but it isn't.

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I read the article about saying medications should be thrown out after they expire, I agree with the pharmacist it takes a long time to really break down. The other comment I have is that I give both my kids ages 8 years old and 10 years old Mucinex and tha is OTC I also give them both Tylenol Cold of course not at the same time. This all sounds good but some of the info is wrong.

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I would love to know what pharmacy school Josh went to (comment 3) because I too am a pharmacist and some medications are actually toxic if they are used past their expiration date. To state that some medications are good even 10 years past their date is absolutely crazy...As for the mom in comment 1 there are plenty of things your child can take. medications are based on weight and if you ask your local pharmacist (not josh please) they will be glad to dose them for you. The medications that were pulled from the market were for toddlers because parents were in fact overdosing their childern. The medications for children 6 and over still remain on the market. The concentrated drops are what were pulled. There are plenty of options out there for your 10 year old. As a retail pharmacist I no longer can recommend for children less than 2 years old and after that i use my professional judgment based on the childs weight and their condition. If it is something minor I will gladly point out something over the counter if not I will turn them in the direction of their family doctor. I hope this clears things up for parents out there who were confused and were given false information.

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Author obviously never had a child who couldn't sleep because they can't breathe due to congestion.

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Author obviously never had a child who coughed so much and so hard from their illness that they would vomit. The problem isn't the medications, it's those parents that overdose their kids.

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Josh - you state you are a "pharmacy professional." What's that mean in real life? It means you are a cashier at the front end of a retail drug chain and you're a complete and total idiot.

The common medication aspirin becomes toxic when expired. Go open a bottle that's past it's expiration date and take a sniff. Smells like vinegar. It can do some nasty things to your body, esp. your liver if ingested when old. NEVER use any medication after the expiration date. That date is there for a reason, people!

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Well, what has started to happen already is that wise parents of babies and toddlers feel frustrated at not being able to treat early signs of illness and are left with nothing at hand but lame treatments such as saline drops, which kids hate. My 5 month old grandson started with a cough and nasal congestion. The pediatrician, on the phone, recommended the humidifier and saline drops. A week and a half later he had developed awful bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection requiring antibiotics and breathing treatments. I really think that some low-level early treatment could have avoided that level of illness. My daughter is an RN. Most parents are not idiots about medicating their children and the ones who are will not stop giving them medications they shouldn't.

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Too many children and Adults are over medicated, then given other madication to fix the overmedication!!! I am talking for personal experience.
Children are more apt to be damaged and it is crazy to think that a childs immune system is so down that he/she needs medication because they have a snifle.

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I worked in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Medications were kept for many years and all were still effective past 10 yrs of the manufactured date.

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being an er nurse the most important thing you can do for a child is give them tylenol or motrin if they have a fever.... trust me we believe you... dont let your child suffer. children under 2 should not take over the counter decongestants unless prescribed by your pmd. there are plenty of ways to decongest your child.... fluids( water in your systems loosens up secretions) , nasal suctioning with saline and a bulb syringe, humidfiers, elevating there heads.... etc. psuedophed and cough meds can make it worse. it is important for your child to cough...this is a natural defense... its the only way to get the mucus out and keep them from having pnuemonia. sometimes as frustrated parents we forget that medications ment for adults can be toxic to our children. to be honest with you i would rather try these "lame" treatments as MEA put it than let my child suffer or be put on antibiotics that are not needed.

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i just cannot believe how adults cannot make a decsion on how to treat their sick children, but they are wiiling to listen to strangers who don't know diddly about what they are talking about. If your child becomes sick do your job based on what your gut tells you to do. when you get a chance take him to the doctor. damm it doesn't anyone take any responcibility any more for knowing what you should know or do. stop living in fear of making the mistake. because your going to make alot of mistakes raising children i hope you peace tonight

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...so basicly what this article is stating is don't give your kids anything when their sick???? Ludicrous!! Most parents aren't idiots. MOST over the counter cold/allergy medications could be given to kids proportionate to their weight/age. Is the author also suggesting we shouldn't even give our children these medicines that are specifically PEDIATRIC? This is nothing more than alarmist journalism.

P.S-try giving your child something like Omoxicilline after the expiration date.....not recommended.

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Is this article for real? Who lets their kids sit and cough their heads off or lets a fever spike? Granite I do use vicks vaporizers and other non medicinal remedies, but when my child is 3000 ft up in the air and I've given her wrist bands and she's still vomiting, I'll guarantee you I'm using medicine.ADULT MEDICINE AT THAT (She's 9 and is 5'4" and weighs 85lbs) If she's got a fever, she's absolutely getting ADVIL/TYLENOL. That's like telling a woman that is miscarrying to go take an ADVIL! (yes I had a WOMAN DR tell me that!!) Sometimes I'm wondering if people have that little thing called common sense to discern what to do for their children. Why do parents have to get a dr's permission to treat their kids? I've seen parents give children vomitting food and wonder why their kids keep vomitting. Hey how about some milk?
If you don't know how to treat your kids , then by all means, surf the medical sites, read a book or just go ask your grandmother! But don't read an article by Bethany Sanders?!?!?!?!

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Josh did not say he is a pharmacist. He referred to himself as a "pharmacy professional". Maybe he's a tech?
I'm a tech & always interested in learning. I would appreciate it if Pam would tell me which medicines are toxic past their expiration dates.
Thanks.

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I'm so sick of doctors who are afraid to prescribe ANYTHING anymore. My daughter was sick for weeks with a cold that developed into Bronchitis. The damn doctor would not give her anything ( gargle with salt water, use saline nose drops my arse ), even though she was running a constant low-grade fever. FINALLY, when she ended up in the emergency room, they put her on a decongestant and Zithromax. After suffering for weeks, she was almost 100% better in 48 hours. This crap about denying medication is B.S. There are times when an antibiotic is not called for ... but other times when it IS and the physician is either too stubborn or too scared to prescribe it.

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I think that all of these were interesting comments. With a child in Daycare I have seen what allowing my childs fever to remain without treating it until it got to 102 did for his ability to return to school the next day without the virus that was being spread ramped around the room. We need to allow our bodies the opportunity to fight these bugs. If we medicate too early then our body does not learn to fight these battles. Yes I have sat up with kids crying at night and have made those trips to the ER at 3:00 in the AM just to be sent home with nothing more than what we went in with. It is very hard to know what is right and what is wrong when we deal with our children. Know your children and learn what things work for them. Yes it is very hard to let you 3 year old have a fever, but that is a whole lot easier than holding them while they throw up for 12 hours/or a week.

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Josh is actually correct, most medications are not harmful when expired. However, I've always heard that they lose its potency and effectiveness when expired l. I've taken many pharmacology classes and they all reiterate that fact.

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Who is Bethany Sanders anyhow? What credentials does she have if any that give her the right to dispense medical advice on this or any web site? If she is a leading medical practitioner or a qualified researcher on any of these topics please let me know.

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