Study finds that some children's medications don't meet federal standards

By Staff Writer

Researchers from the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine have found that one in four over-the-counter (OTC) children's medications do not meet the guidelines that are required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to ABC News, the study also revealed that dosing directions that accompany many medications are misleading and hard for parents to understand. Researchers sampled 200 of the top-selling cough, cold, allergy and gastrointestinal OTC liquid drugs that are designed for kids.

NYU researchers discovered that 25 percent of the medications did not include a measuring device, even though the FDA recommends that instructions are included with every product. Considering that the new guidelines were implemented in November 2009, the study's author said that the same medications will be examined again in a year to see if the changes have been made.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that accidental medication overdoses among children under the age of 18 result in approximately 70,000 emergency department (ED) visits per year. OTC medications are responsible for about one-third of all ED visits among kids under the age of 12.