by Kazeem Olalekan MRPharmS
The results of a recent YouGov survey conducted on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society gave me a great cause for concern. The first survey was completed from 10-15 February 2012 by 7,755 UK adults and the second survey from 17-22 February by 7,505 UK adults. (1). 1 in 6 (17%) surveyed parents of children aged 12 or under did not know that Calpol, one of the most popular products used in children’s treatment contained paracetamol (2). We also know that there is increasing number of different products over the counter that has Paracetamol as the main ingredient. Can you guess which products in the picture above has paracetamol in them (answer below)? Paracetamol is a useful drug but given in excessive quantities, can damage the liver in children: That is what the experts say. Steve Tomlin, Consultant Paediatric Pharmacist was quoted as saying:
Paracetamol is safe as long as it’s administered at the recommended dose. There are 95 products containing paracetamol currently available from pharmacists in the UK. With this widespread availability of paracetamol containing products, it is feasible that a parent could inadvertently administer more than the recommended dose of paracetamol.
– Steve Tomlin , Consultant Paediatric Pharmacist
The question I am posing here is the question I expect parents of children to pose: ‘How does one know?’ It is possible to know in the following ways:
More than two-thirds of respondents with children under 13 were unaware that paracetamol is found in Disprol (68 per cent), Medised (79 per cent) and Medinol (76 per cent). Please, always make the right choices for yourself and your child. I guess as a Pharmacist, I will always be looking for opportunities to increase my customer’s awareness of this issue.
The new paracetamol dosing guideline is as follows:
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