It seems to me that parents don’t have the same hesitation when it come to medicating their children as they used to. Take this worrying trend as an example:
One in five NSW families are doping their children with medication to keep them quiet on long road trips, a new national study of motorists has revealed.
The driving survey, commissioned by insurer GIO, shone a light on the behaviour of 3700 parents, including 600 within NSW, who embark on extended road journeys.
While four in five families give youngsters hand-held computer games, including iPads, and 70 per cent keep treats up their sleeve, 18 per cent of NSW drivers admit to tranquillising their children with drugs that sedate – such as the antihistamine Phenergan – to make the journey more comfortable.
Those warnings have been in place since 2006 when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified links between the drug and 22 cases of respiratory depression among infants, seven of which proved fatal. Labels also often state that caution should be applied when the medicine is given to children 2 years of age and older.
Westmead Children’s Hospital head of general medicine Joanne Ging told The Sun-Herald: “In terms of sedation, this is an unpredictable drug.
“We would never recommend it for children on plane trips, car trips or wherever, because its side effects can trigger the exact opposite effect, including hallucinations. It’s a medication that really should only ever be used for allergies.”
Click on the link to read my post on An ADHD Epidemic or an Over-Diagnosis Epidemic?
Click on the link to read my post on More than 1 in 10 U.S. Children Diagnosed with ADHD!
Click on the link to read my post on Doctors are Hypocrites When it Comes to ADHD
Click on the link to read my post on Shock Horror: Sleep Deprived Children Diagnosed with ADHD Instead!
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