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The government wants to make sure you are paying attention! First, there were the recalls of millions of toys having lead content, then the millions of cribs that were not being assembled correctly and now the recall of millions of cold medications that may cause more harm than good. So, are you up on all of this? Who has the time? Right? Here is what you need to know and what to do about it... 1. The brands involved are Robitussin, Little Colds, Dimetapp and Tylenol. - Concentrated TYLENOL Infants' Drops Plus Cold
- Concentrated TYLENOL Infants' Drops Plus Cold & Cough
- PediaCare Infant Dropper Decongestant
- PediaCare Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
- PediaCare Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine)
- PediaCare Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough
- PediaCare Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine)
2. The reason behind the recall is complicated, but basically the Center for Disease Control and the National Association of Medical Examiners determined that cough and cold remedies can cause adverse reactions and even death if not administered in the correct dosages to children under 2. In addition to this, there has been no evidence to prove that these medications are even effective in children of this age. 3. The bottom line is that if your child is under 2 and is sick and you feel the urge to dose them up with a cough or cold remedy, call their physician for a recommendation before administering the medication. The CDC wants to make sure caregivers are fully aware of the potential dangers of an overdose of this kind of medication (possibly lethal) and that caregivers use this medication only as directed. They also want to stress the importance of caregivers not giving additional medications after the cold medication has been administered due to the possibly dangerous effects this can have on the child. As responsible parents and caregivers with children who will most likely get sick this fall, the best thing is prevention! Practice regular hand washing in your house (adults and kids)! There have been studies that showed regular hand washing in preschools can cut down on viruses by 75%. So, wash those little hands! In our home, we wash our hands every time we come in the house, every time. We ask visitors to do the same. Another prevention technique is to teach kids to cough and sneeze into a tissue or into their elbow. This keeps the germs from spraying across the room into healthy noses and spreading illness. I suppose, if we really want to keep the bugs away, we can all wear latex gloves and respiratory masks! But, imagine getting any of those on a two year old! Fat chance. So get a flu shot, get your kids a themerisol-free flu shot (or Flu Mist), keep everyone's hands clean and hope that those around you are as responsible and respectful as you are! **(Give offenders a subtle hint by sending a link to this posting!)
Recall Press Release: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5601a1.htm Recall News: http://www.usrecallnews.com/2007/10/recalled-childrens-cold-medicine-and.html Hand Washing: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/washing_hands.html
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Communication 
