The FDA warns that children can become very sick from swallowing eyedrops or nasal decongestants. (National Eye Institute / medhealthwriter.blogspot.com)
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday (Oct. 25) warned parents
and pediatricians about the dangers of swallowing over-the-counter eyedrops and
nasal decongestants by children age 5 and younger. The agency cited 96 cases of
serious illness resulting from accidental swallowing of the products, with 53
hospitalizations. There were, fortunately, no deaths.
The eyedrops, which are sold under a wide variety of brand and generic
names -- including
Visine, Opcon-A, Naphcon, Afrin, Dristan, Mucinex and
Sudafed -- contain either tetrahydrozoline, oxymetazoline of naphazoline. In
the eyes, these products work by narrowing blood vessels to relieve redness due
to minor eye irritations. In the nose, they narrow blood vessels to relieve
nasal congestion due to the common cold, hay fever and allergies. When used as
directed, they are very safe. But when the products are ingested by young
children, even at levels as small as 1 or 2 milliliters (5 milliliters are in a
teaspoon) they can cause serious or even life-threatening side effects. Among
the events that resulted in hospitalization of children were coma, decreased
heart rate, decreased breathing and excessive sleepiness.
Most of these products currently do not come in child-resistant
packaging, but this year the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed requiring
such packaging on all such products.
LA Times
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