Pfizer is recalling its liquid children’s Advil due to mislabeling of its 4-ounce bubble gum-flavored selection. A batch of the medicine had dosage instructions recommended in milliliters on the package, but in teaspoons on the actual dosage cup. The difference in the measurements could cause confusion for parents, and accidentally cause them to give children an overdose.
Too much of the medication can cause drowsiness and nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, headache and blurred vision, the Daily Mail reported — and in extreme cases could even cause kidney damage, seizures and coma.
Drug recalls for both prescription and over-the-counter medications have soared in the past decade. From the deadly Vioxx scandal to recent concerns over blood thinner medications, the implications of all these recalls are clear: You absolutely must be your own health advocate. And, when it comes to children, with flu season gearing up, it’s more than dosing labels on a fever and pain reliever that you need to be concerned about.
What I’m talking about here is the push — and sometimes mandates — that parents face when it comes to deciding whether or not to give their kids flu shots. This is especially concerning because studies show that flu vaccines not only offer negligible protection against the flu, but that being vaccinated may even make you more susceptible to the disease.
Point-in-fact: Data collected from Canada and Hong Kong during 2009 to 2010 showed that people who received the seasonal flu vaccine in 2008 had twice the risk of getting the H1N1 “swine flu,” compared to those who had not received a flu shot. What’s worse, research published in 2011 warned the seasonal flu vaccine appears to weaken children's immune systems and increases their chances of getting sick from influenza viruses not included in the vaccine.
A 2012 study also showed that children had a 4.4 higher chance of contracting a viral upper respiratory infection following seasonal flu vaccine administration. Additionally, should you or your child come down with the flu and your doctor or pediatrician recommends Tamiflu, you should know this antiviral drug has been shown to shorten the duration of flu symptoms by less than 17 hours.
And, it not only does not reduce viral transmission or lower your risk of complications from the flu, such as pneumonia, but scientists warn the risks from Tamiflu outweigh the benefits. These risks include convulsions, brain infections, psychosis and other neuropsychiatric problems. Tamiflu made recent headlines after a 6-year-old girl started hallucinating and attempted to jump out a second story window.