Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Child medication measurements confuse parents






Was it ½ a teaspoon or tablespoon?  This is a common dilemma we parents face when it comes to dosing our children’s medications. Do you know the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons?  What are mLs and how do they correspond to teaspoons and tablespoons. A recent article study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics tackled this conundrum.
Many parents don’t, according to a study published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which found more than 10,000 calls to the poison center each year are due to liquid medication dosage errors.
The study says part of the reason parents may be confused is because a range of measurement units – such as teaspoons, tablespoons and milliliters – are often used interchangeably on labels for prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Parents who used the teaspoon and tablespoon dosage were much more likely to use kitchen spoons to measure their child’s medication and were twice as likely to make an error in medication, according to the study. Parents who measured their child’s medication in milliliters were much less likely to make a dosage mistake.

About 40% of parents in the study incorrectly measured the dose their doctor prescribed.
The problem with teaspoon and tablespoon measurements is that their names sound similar, and their abbreviations, tsp. and tbsp., look similar, study author Dr. Shonna Yin said.
Parents should always use the dosing device, such as the cup or syringe that comes with their child's liquid medication. Kitchen spoons are not a standard dosing device and aren’t safe to use, Shu said. Shu also recommends that parent's record the time and dosage of medicine they give their child, to make sure that they are not giving too much or too often. 

If you suspect you have given your child an incorrect dose of medication, call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/11/11/363024822/trouble-swallowing-pills-try-the-pop-bottle-or-the-lean-forward

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