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Cold medicine is accused of harming children, and its side effects may be fatal-parent-child paradise-Wei Yi. com
Qiu Meng Ru's Autumn Water and the Sky.
Common over-the-counter cold medicines and cough medicines for children are not only useless, but also may bring various side effects and even fatal dangers. In 2008, nearly 7,000 children in the United States were sent to hospital emergency rooms for taking over-the-counter cold medicines. The US Food and Drug Administration advises children under 2 years old not to take cough and cold medicine, and children under 6 years old should use it with caution.
It's normal to buy some medicine for a cold and cough, but who would have thought there were hidden dangers?
The British "Sunday Telegraph" recently reported that the Drug Safety Administration under the British government recently found that 69 kinds of over-the-counter cold medicines and cough medicines for children are not only useless, but also may bring various side effects and even fatal dangers. According to the agency's report, at least five children under the age of two died of taking such cold medicines in excess, and there were more than 65,438+000 serious adverse reactions.
This cold medicine storm not only caused a strong shock in Britain, but also quickly spread to China. Well-known cold medicine brands such as New Contac, Baijiahei, and Exclamation Point were all impacted and fell into a "crisis of trust". A well-known website made a "Do you trust brand drugs such as Baijiahei and Xinkangke?" One day, nearly 10,000 people participated, of which 58.7% expressed "distrust" and 69.8% netizens said "they will not continue to buy these cold medicines". At the same time, major hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities also frequently received consultation calls, and many citizens panicked and asked whether cold medicines had serious side effects.
Children under 4 years old should not take cold medicine, and children under 6 years old should use it with caution.
According to experts, the risks of 69 drugs exposed by the British media this time are mainly due to the fact that the drugs contain 15 components, such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine, antihistamines dextromethorphan and pholcodine, and expectorant guaifenesin. It is understood that these ingredients are impressive in the brochures of most cold medicines and cough medicines sold in China market.
In fact, as early as 2007, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that in 2004 and 2005, at least 1500 children under 2 years old had convulsions and cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous system side effects after taking medicine. In 2008, nearly 7,000 children in the United States were sent to hospital emergency rooms for taking over-the-counter cold medicines, and related symptoms included measles, listlessness and unsteady walking. Due to the lack of proper care by parents, many children still overdose. The US Food and Drug Administration advises children under 2 years old not to take cough and cold medicine, and children under 6 years old should use it with caution. American pharmaceutical companies jointly issued a warning to parents not to give over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines to children under 4 years old. Experts say that 2 to 3 years old is the most dangerous age group, and more than half of the cases of children taking cold medicine are related to this age group.
Cold medicine can only relieve symptoms. Generally, a cold can heal itself in 7 days.
"Just because some ingredients that may have adverse reactions are listed in the instructions, it is a bit alarmist to say that cold medicine can't be eaten!" Bai, deputy director of the Respiratory Science Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and director of the Respiratory Department of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said: "As long as taboo people avoid taking it and others take it according to the instructions, cold medicine is basically safe."
Sun, a special expert from the Drug Evaluation Center of the State Pharmaceutical Products Supervision Administration and an expert from the National Monitoring Network for Rational Drug Use of the Ministry of Health, further explained that in fact, the "adverse reactions" involved in this incident were mainly aimed at children's medication. "This is mainly because cold medicines and cough medicines often contain a variety of active ingredients, such as antihistamines, decongestants, antitussives, expectorants, antipyretic and analgesic drugs. Children are not mature in all aspects, and their drug metabolism function is far less than that of adults. At the same time, according to the data provided by the National Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center, so far, there is no case of death due to taking cold medicine.
Some people put forward the problem that cold medicine "treats the symptoms rather than the root cause". Xiao Yonghong, deputy director of Peking University Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, believes that a cold is a disease that can heal itself. Even if you don't take medicine, the average person will be well in a week or so. "At present, cold medicines on the market are used to relieve people's discomfort. Unless the patient has a complicated bacterial infection in the later stage, such as coughing up yellow sputum, some other antibacterial drugs are needed. Therefore, there is a saying that it is good to take medicine for a cold for 7 days and not take medicine for a week. " Bai chun's theory.
Zhang Yun, director of Sino-American Medicine Department of Tianjin SmithKline, said, "New Contac and other cold medicines can't kill cold viruses, but can only relieve cold symptoms and can't cure colds." Relevant sales staff even said, "Not only the new Contac, but all cold medicines can't kill the cold virus. Cold medicine is a palliative, not a permanent cure, which can only relieve the symptoms of patients. This is medical common sense. "
Learn to take cold medicine according to symptoms. Excessive or mixed medication is the most dangerous.
During the interview, several experts also reminded that it is very important to learn to take cold medicine correctly.
First of all, you can stop taking medicine without taking it. Bai reminded, after all, "medicine is a three-point poison." If you are young and in good health, you don't need to take medicine at first. It is best to carry it yourself, but pay attention to rest and drink plenty of water.
Wang Fengming, deputy chief physician of internal medicine of Nanjing Children's Hospital, pointed out that people who catch a cold will have self-physiological protection, fever is to kill the virus, and cough is to expel mucus. These are all good physiological manifestations. If there are no complications, drink more water, rest more and don't take medicine. It usually heals itself in 7 days. "Parents should not give their children cold medicine at will, because cold medicine does not strictly limit the age range of users in China." Wang Fengming said that children's drug resistance is different from that of adults, not only in terms of dosage, but also in some drugs banned by children. Children should take cold medicine according to symptoms, age and other specific conditions, especially infants under 4 years old, and should use cold medicine with caution. Because under 4 years old is a dangerous age, the liver and kidney functions of infants and young children are not fully developed, the cooling tower is sterilized and beautified, the enzyme system is immature, and detoxification, drug metabolism and excretion are slow, which easily leads to drug accumulation obstacles and problems. Therefore, parents had better give their children cold medicine under the guidance of a doctor.
Cao Ling, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, believes that if it is just a common cold and there are no other complications, most children can heal themselves. Unless the child's condition is serious, such as abnormal blood routine and high white blood cell index, indicating bacterial infection, antibiotics should not be used.
In fact, foreign doctors don't prescribe cold medicine to patients easily, but rely more on food. For example, in the United States, hot chicken soup is called "liquid penicillin"; North American Indians used to eat a little bitter root when their throats were uncomfortable; English people drink ginger tea when they have a cold; In Australia and New Zealand, hot lemon drink with honey is a traditional drink to treat colds.
Secondly, choose drugs according to symptoms. Chen Xin, deputy chief physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Ministry of Health, suggested that in addition to taboo people, if the symptoms of cold are serious, even if they are in good health at ordinary times, they should take medicine as early as possible to prevent complications such as tracheitis or lower respiratory tract infection.
But we should pay attention to, first, never abuse antibiotics, otherwise it will not only cure the disease, but also produce drug resistance. Second, when taking western medicine, patients with fever, headache and sore throat can choose drugs with antipyretic and analgesic drugs as the main component; Patients with runny nose, sneezing and stuffy nose can choose drugs containing pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.
Third, don't overdo or mix several cold medicines. When talking about her cold experience, Ms. Wang, who works in sales, said, "When you have a cold, you usually choose to take cold medicine. One cold medicine won't work, and then another. Sometimes you have to change all kinds of cold medicine for a cold. "
"This kind of behavior is very dangerous!" Xue Lifu, chief physician of respiratory department of Shandong Provincial Hospital, said that many cold medicines on the market are compound medicines, and each patient's physique and symptoms are different, so it is necessary to prescribe the right medicine. Some cold medicines and granules may contain some of the same ingredients at the same time. If taken at the same time, the dosage of one of the ingredients may be high, which may easily lead to adverse reactions. In fact, in clinic, serious adverse reactions caused by cold medicines are rare. However, taking too many cold medicines or taking several cold medicines together can easily cause some adverse reactions.
Experts specially reminded that some ingredients in cold medicine do increase the burden on the heart, and patients with cardiovascular diseases had better not eat them; Patients with chronic diseases, allergic constitution and poor liver and kidney function should also be used with caution. No matter what cold medicine you take, you can only take it for a short time, and 5~7 days is enough.
Luo, chief physician of the emergency department of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said that the fever caused by the common cold will not last more than three days. If the body temperature has not returned to normal after 3 days, it means that the condition is serious and complicated, and you must go to the hospital for further examination. If the body temperature is lower than 38.5℃, it is best not to use antipyretics, that is, it should not be used for more than 3 days. Commonly used antipyretics include Tylenol, ibuprofen and taurine. The service life is generally 3 days.
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If you don't take medicine, your cold will be fine.
If you don't take medicine, is there a better way to fight cold germs? Clinical preventive medicine experts at Charlotte Health Center in Virginia recommend traditional diet therapy. As long as you eat the following four kinds of food, you can also "get rid of the disease".
Chicken soup: Drinking chicken soup is the best way to treat nasal congestion caused by a cold. Chicken soup can moisten the nasal cavity and get through the blocked nasal cavity, thus helping to drive away germs. Medical experts at burgas University in the United States believe that chicken soup can help relieve inflammation such as cough, sneezing and stuffy nose. They also believe that other foods in chicken soup, such as vegetables, also contain many potential medicinal values because they are also rich in vitamins and antioxidants.
Pepper: Pepper is rich in vitamins, which can effectively relieve nasal congestion. Studies have shown that pepper can stimulate the sensory nerves of the human body, making people cry and have a runny nose. This is a self-cleaning process and can help clean up germs. For those long-lasting colds, experts suggest that pepper be made into mouthwash with warm water four times a day.
Cocktail: If you have a cold and want to have a good sleep, you can try drinking hot homemade cocktails. The method is very simple, just use hot water or tea, add whiskey or brandy, lemon juice and honey. Researchers in philadelphia university believe that alcohol has antibacterial function, which can reduce the concentration of nasal mucus and play a calming role; Lemon is rich in vitamin C and citric acid, which can resolve phlegm. Honey can diminish inflammation and reduce fire. But don't drink too much, especially when the cold is the worst, otherwise it will backfire, cause dehydration, hinder the immune system from functioning and aggravate the cold.
Garlic: Garlic contains both anti-infective compounds and compounds that promote immune function, especially raw garlic, which has a strong antibacterial effect. Eating one or three cloves of garlic raw every day or putting a little garlic in the soup can help relieve the symptoms of a cold. If you are afraid of garlic, you can add honey to eat; Or eat while eating to prevent irritation to the stomach.
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