We're Making Lots of Mistakes When Giving Our Kids Meds
Pretty scary. A new study says most of us make mistakes when giving our kids medicine. One child is affected every eight minutes, usually by a well-meaning parent or caregiver unintentionally committing a medication error, according to newswise.com. The most common medication mistakes in children under the age of six occur in the children’s home, or another residence and school. The most common medicines involved are painkillers and fever-reducers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, the Web site reports. “This is more common than people may realize,” said Huiyun Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD, director of the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, principal investigator at the hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy. “The numbers we report still underestimate the true magnitude of these incidents since these are just cases reported to national poison centers.” Instances in which these mistakes can occur include caregivers giving one...