A community health nurse is making a family home visit. The family consists of the mother, father, 1-year-old child, and 4-year-old child. The mother states that the 4-year-old child who is in preschool had a cold last week and now the 1-year-old child has it. She asks the nurse if she can use the over-the-counter cold medication that she gave to the 4-year-old child for the 1-year-old child. Which response would be most appropriate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Community health nurses should emphasize that over-the-counter cough and cold medications should not be used for children under age 2. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) questioned their safety and effectiveness at a hearing in October 2007, and manufacturers removed medication targeted to infants and toddlers; they also changed labels on all cold and cough medications to read that they should not be used in children under age 4. This was in response to emergency room visits and deaths linked to their toxic effects. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally recommended that the drugs not be used in children under age 2 as they had "serious and potentially life-threatening side effects."

A Community Health Nurse Is Making a Family Home Visit