With school back in session and flu season is quickly approaching, parents will soon start dealing with their share of germs. Children are most likely to get colds or the flu between the months of October and May. During this time, there are a few important things parents should remember about safely using medication to care for a child who is ill.

Never use expired medication.

Even if the medication has only been expired for a few weeks, it is best to throw it away. According to some pharmacists, the active ingredients in medicines that have expired can weaken or intensify so it’s best not to use it all.

Never guess on the dosage.

When giving your child any medication, always carefully read and follow the instructions on the packaging. Pay close attention to any guidelines, such as weight or age. This is important, especially with many over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen, diphenhydramine or ibuprofen. If you are not sure about the proper dose of a medication, call your doctor for help before giving the medication to your child. Also increasing the dosage of a medication can be dangerous and in some cases fatal. Don’t give the child extra medication in hopes that it will work better or faster. Drugs such as Tylenol, which contains acetaminophen, can cause serious – and sometimes fatal – liver damage.

Never use medicine that was prescribed for someone else.

When a physician prescribes medication for someone, they evaluate the patient’s individual needs and other personal factors. That means that medication is safe for use by that specific person only. Using medication that was meant for someone else may not affect you the same way as it would the person that it was prescribed to. It is always best to avoid any adverse effects by not using someone else’s prescription medication.

Personal Injury Attorneys Discuss Over-the-Counter Medications, Dangers of Tylenol

Over-the-counter medication may be helpful to older children and adults. However, the FDA advises against the use of over-the-counter cold medications in children six years of age or younger. Experts say the adverse reactions in children under six may be more severe than the cold symptoms. Instead, remedies that do not include medication such as use of a humidifier, chicken soup, and lotion-filled tissues are recommended. If symptoms persist or worsen, experts suggest you take your child to see his or her pediatrician.

The popular over-the-counter drug Tylenol contains the active ingredient acetaminophen which has the potential to cause liver damage and may lead to death when taken in large doses. Acetaminophen causes three times as many cases of liver failure as all other drugs combined, and is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

Messa & Associates has filed two lawsuits in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in cases involving children who ingested Tylenol and later died. In both cases, the children had no history of liver problems and both vomited blood after their mothers gave them appropriate doses of Tylenol. Each child developed liver failure and then died as a result of that liver failure.

Personal Injury Attorneys in Philadelphia and New Jersey

The Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at Messa & Associates are experienced at handling cases involving pharmaceutical and drug product injuries. Our extremely skilled team of personal injury attorneys and medical experts is dedicated to ensuring you receive proper compensation for your personal injuries. If your child has been injured by the use of Tylenol or any other pharmaceutical drug or has endured any other type of personal injury, contact the personal injury attorneys of Messa & Associates for a free consultation. Call toll free at 1-877-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry.