Warning over use of pain medicines for children

Two thirds of parents give over-the-counter pain relief medicines to their children incorrectly — with up to a third of parents using pain relief to sedate misbehaving children.

According to a study in the Irish Medical Journal, nearly 33% of Irish parents questioned use the likes of Calpol, Nurofen, Paralink and Dozol to medicate their children in situations that are not recommended such as when a child is misbehaving, won’t sleep or needs calming on a car journey.

Others incorrectly give these medicines to vomiting children and suppositories to children with diarrhoea.

Analgesics such as paracetamol and ibuprofen should only be used for pain relief, to reduce a high temperature and for inflammatory musculoskeletal/joint conditions.

The researchers behind the study say that greater restrictions need to be attached to the sale of these medicines, similar to the restrictions recently attached to the sale of codeine.

The study by Dr Aisling Garvey, from CUH’s paediatrics department, also found that a fifth of parents routinely give these medicines to their children before immunisation. However research shows that analgesic use before immunisation reduces the efficacy of the jab.

Some 90% of such medicines are sold from pharmacies but the study showed that only a quarter of parents consult a pharmacist about usage and14% of parents admitted that they do not consult the label prior to usage.

Over-the-counter pain relief accounts for one fifth of Irish pharmacy sales but up to this study, little was known of its use in Ireland, especially in children.

The researchers found that parents with health insurance were more likely to use the medicine properly with 40% of them using the medicines for the correct ailments compared to just 22% of medical card and doctor card holders.

In the study, Dr Garvey called for greater information and guidance for parents on the usage of over the counter analgesics.

“Restricting their availability to pharmacies, accompanied by a discussion with a pharmacist prior to sale, as was implemented by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland to increase awareness and reduce consumption of codeine containing products, could potentially result in improved usage.

“All sellers should be aware of their responsibilities and use the point of sale to reinforce correct information to parents. Finally, healthcare providers should inquire about over the counter analgesic usage at routine health visits allowing for opportunistic parental education,” she said.