Some parents still confused about cold medicines, poll finds

About a third of parents stopped giving their young children over-the-counter cold medicines after a federal panel warned that they don't help and could be harmful, according to a recent poll. But about as many are uncertain about what they'll do in the future, saying they are confused about whether the remedies are safe and effective.

A survey released today by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health asked parents what they think about using cold medicines after a federal advisory panel's recommendation to ban them for children under 6. The committee, appointed by the US Food and Drug Administration, unanimously voted against giving them to children under 2, after which major manufacturers removed the products for infants from store shelves. But the FDA committee was less united in its advice when it came to medicine for children between 2 and 6 years old.

Parents are also divided when it comes to using the medicines. Although they have not been proven to help children, they can be harmful to children with unrecognized heart problems.

Sixteen percent of parents with children under 2 will stop using cold medicines and 20 percent will continue, according to the NPR/Kaiser/Harvard poll. Among parents of children 2 to 6 years old, 15 percent said they will stop and 30 percent said they will continue to give the products to their children. The remainder said they were undecided about what to do, never used the medicines or had not heard about the recent recommendations.

Most parents -- 64 percent -- said they believe the cold medicines are at least somewhat safe for children under 2. More parents -- 81 percent -- thought they same was true for children 2 to 6. A third thought that their views of these products have become more negative in recent years.

The pollsters also asked parents what they would do if the FDA decided to label the drugs as safe but not proven to be effective. Nearly half said they would continue to use the drugs if their pediatrician recommended it, about a quarter said they would use them even if their doctor didn't favor it, and just under a quarter said they would not use them no matter what their doctor said.