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posted by martyb on Saturday April 22 2017, @02:59AM   Printer-friendly
from the kill-the-pain-not-the-kid dept.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/20/524376484/dont-give-kids-cough-syrup-or-pain-meds-that-contain-codeine-fda-says

The Food and Drug Administration says children under 12 should not be given prescription medicines that contain codeine or another narcotic, tramadol, and that such drugs can also be dangerous to youth between 12 and 18.

On Thursday, the FDA said it will require that prescription drugs containing codeine or tramadol carry a warning on the label against using them in children under 12 or in women who are breast-feeding. The agency cited evidence that the drugs could cause dangerously slowed breathing in some children, which could lead to death.

Multiple prescription drugs contain codeine or tramadol. For example, the painkiller Tylenol 3 contains acetaminophen and codeine. Drugs containing codeine already carry a black-box warning against using it to treat pain in children who have their tonsils removed.


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  • (Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Saturday April 22 2017, @11:27PM (5 children)

    by art guerrilla (3082) on Saturday April 22 2017, @11:27PM (#498110)

    *sigh*
    that is not really the point...
    i wasn't arguing that one *SHOULD* buy/take 'prescription' medications totally on one's own say-so (although, that is assumed at a minimum), but that IF one IS free, one *COULD* take ANYTHING (or refuse to take anything) without the interference of a state-sanctioned gatekeeper of whatever competency...
    do you ONLY take aspirin/ibuprofen, cough medicines, skin ointments, hot/cold compresses, and bandaids IF and ONLY IF a doctor 'prescribes' it ? ? ?
    no ?
    self-diagnosing, self-medicating, are we ? ? ?
    huh, maybe it is just a matter of degree...
    imagine that, something that is NOT a binary decision: either take ANY meds ONLY upon advice/scrip of a doc, OR go apeshit and stuff any/all drugs in your mouth, will-I, nill-I...
    that there could be a viable state between extremes seems impossible to imagine in a world such as this...
    huh...

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  • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Sunday April 23 2017, @01:41AM (4 children)

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 23 2017, @01:41AM (#498131)
    You are the one being binary here. Your position assumes that everyone be educated enough to not kill themselves with Rx drugs in general, and additionally wise enough not to get addicted to opiates or stimulants. I hold that there is a not insignificant portion of the population that are not educated enough, and/or wise enough not to kill themselves with unfettered access to any Rx drug they want. I find most people think they know way more than they actually do about healthcare. There are going to be lots of deaths. Which is fine. They will end up harming/killing themselves and weed themselves from society. Win/Win in my book.
    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 23 2017, @03:44AM (3 children)

      by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 23 2017, @03:44AM (#498157) Journal

      At one time, you actually could buy a lot of prescription drugs OTC and we didn't have the huge problems with it that you imagine.

      • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Sunday April 23 2017, @12:36PM (2 children)

        by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 23 2017, @12:36PM (#498297)
        We also didn't have many of the drugs or even entire classes of drugs we do today. Think about antibiotics and the idiots who will run and take a handful every time they sniffle.
        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 23 2017, @03:13PM (1 child)

          by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 23 2017, @03:13PM (#498345) Journal

          I could accept a special restriction for antibiotics on the grounds of potential harm to the society at large. A simple double check from the pharmacist would be adequate in most cases.

          Of course, we did have laudinum and other drugs similar to the ones in TFA.

          • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Sunday April 23 2017, @05:14PM

            by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 23 2017, @05:14PM (#498401)
            What kind of check with the pharmacist? Idiots with a cold would just lie to get a z-pack. It's bad enough now since even doctors are not great gatekeepers for antibiotics. Look at India where they are easy to get and massively overused. They are breeding some scary shit there right now.

            As to the opiates and opioids they used to have, we now have drugs like fentanyl, which makes laudanum look like ibuprofen. People are dying today because illegal drug makers are cutting heroin with it. And even back then, people killed themselves abusing drugs like laudanum. Plus there are lots of other drugs that people can harm themselves with. Even things like "little blue pills*" can be harmful if misused.

            Again though, I am all for it. It will weed out a good chunk of the idiots out there.


            *Apparently the shitty spam filter doesn't allow me to name those little blue pills. It's V ! A G R A if you are wondering. There, shitty spam filter that blocked my legit reply bypassed.