Should Children's Medicine Taste like Candy?

Children's medicines today taste nothing like medicines of old which tasted awful and no child wanted to take them. Today their tastes are so agreeable to children that children are taking them like some kind of sweet tasting treat instead of medicine. My younger brother and his wife had a scare over the weekend when their 3 year old daughter (Danicka) managed to open and drink some of a bottle of children's Tylenol. My parents were over visiting at my brothers when this occurred; the next thing they knew they were rushing my niece to the hospital. This story ended well as Danicka was given the thumbs up by the doctor; she was so lucky as it could have had a much darker ending.

In recent studies it is estimated that 7,226 kids are administered to hospitals in the US because they have overdosed on Tylenol or Acetaminophen. In approximately 18% of these cases the parents witnessed the overdose. Most kids who end up in hospital due to a Tylenol overdose are between the ages of 1-5 years of age; they manage to get into the medication and then drink it like it is some kind of sweet tasting treat. There have been more extreme cases, not common, were a Tylenol overdose has been fatal. One child took three times the normal dose then went to sleep and never woke up. It could cause liver failure, kidney failure, bleeding disorders, and in extreme circumstances swelling of the brain. These results being a parents worst nightmare but thank goodness these endings are far and few between.

Maybe making medicines that taste too good wasn't such a good idea. Would there be as many children getting rushed to hospital for overdosing if their medicines tasted bad? These young children are taking the medicines because they like the taste of them pure and simple. I believe the numbers of children getting rushed to hospital for overdoses would drop significantly if medicines tasted bad. Parents would have to then find ways to make their children take their awful tasting medicine; instead of trying to stop them from taking it when they shouldn't be. Kids would be turning their heads away from the awful tasting medicine; it would become a battle of the wills! But the easiest and best way for everyone is to make sure the wonderful tasting medications are far out of the reach of little prying hands. Parents that go through this scare must not beat themselves up but instead remember you had the medication to keep your child well. You administer medications to your children out of love and concern; you only want the best for your child or children as a good loving parent would.

Dedicated to All the Loving Parents of the World

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