The Commission on Human Medicines advises parents to give children under two simple cough syrups.

Cough and cold medicines for children under the age of two have been removed from UK shelves today following a review by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM).

Parents and carers are instead advised to treat youngsters with paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower their temperature, or simple cough syrup – such as glycerol, honey or lemon.

Medicines removed from shelves include Asda’s Children’s Chesty Cough Syrup, Boots Chesty Cough Syrup 1 Year Plus, Bell’s Children’s Chesty Cough, Buttercup Infant Cough Syrup, and CalCough Chesty.

All dosage instructions for children under the age of two are to be removed from packaging, whilst additional instructions for children aged two to six years will be added. Products containing the updated advice are expected to be in pharmacies and stores by October 2008.

Before reaching its decision, the Commission took into account cases in the US where a safety review of children’s cough and cold medicines revealed a number of serious reports.

These involved children being given too much medicine through parents or carers being confused over dosage, or being given more than one product containing the same active ingredient.

As a result, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced that over-the-counter cough and cold preparations should no longer be used in children under two years.

There have been fewer reports in the UK, the CHM said, however it has followed suit as a precautionary measure. “The data does suggest that children under two are at greater risk of any potential harm. This is because children under two are more vulnerable due to their small size and therefore may be particularly susceptible to the effects of overdose,” the Commission said.

By Natasha Piscitelli