Sep 21, 2010
Infant- and child-strength Tylenol products remain unavailable after being taken off shelves in April during a massive recall of more than 50 children's medications. On its website, manufacturer McNeil Consumer Healthcare says it doesn't expect to return products to stores until next spring. As kids return to school and begin exchanging germs, some parents are wondering how their children will get through cold and flu season without many of the medicines on which they've traditionally relied.
Parents can feel safe, however, giving their children generic versions of Tylenol (acetaminophen) and Motrin (ibuprofen), which are cheaper and just as effective, says Daniel Frattarelli, a pediatrician and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
While those generic products can relieve aches and pain, Frattarelli says, parents should avoid many other over-the-counter products on the shelves, giving no cough syrups or cold medicines before age 6, because of the risk of rare side effects.
Experts say parents also should never give children aspirin, which can sometimes lead to a rare but serious complication called Reye's syndrome. Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing hypoglycemia. The exact cause is unknown, and while it has been associated with aspirin consumption by children with viral illness, it also occurs in the absence of aspirin use.
