(SALT LAKE CITY)— Spring cleaning is the perfect time to reorganize and clean out your medicine cabinet. Today, the Utah Poison Control Center issued an important reminder to discard any old infant acetaminophen drops.
Up until a few years ago, parents and caregivers had to choose from several different concentrations of the pain and fever reducing medicine acetaminophen for their children. A more concentrated formulation was marketed for infants and a different concentration for toddlers and older children. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of confusion and led to some children getting too much medication and others not getting enough.
In 2011, in an effort to remedy this problem, many manufacturers voluntarily stopped making the infant drops and began producing only the less concentrated acetaminophen liquid for all children including infants. While most manufactures have adopted this practice, there still may be some of the more concentrated infant drops in the home and even on store shelves.
The Utah Poison Control Center urges parents and caregivers to discard the more concentrated infant drops and use only the children's acetaminophen liquid (160 mg/5 mL) to prevent dosing errors. Also, be aware that while not common, infant drops may still be available for purchase.
To avoid confusion, do not use or purchase infant drops. Always check the label before giving medicine to a child, to ensure the proper dose in the correct concentration is given. Use only the dosing device provided with the product. Any questions, contact your health care provider or the Utah Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222.
To dispose of unwanted medication, take to a safe disposal site. To find a site near you visit useonlyasdirected.org.