Nationwide Advisory: Cough Syrup Risks for Young Children

The Centre advises against prescribing cough and cold medications to children under two, amid concerns of child deaths in Madhya Pradesh linked to cough syrups. The advisory, from the Directorate General of Health Services, emphasizes caution in prescribing syrups and promotes non-pharmacological treatments for young children.

The Centre has issued a crucial advisory to states and Union Territories, urging healthcare professionals not to prescribe cough and cold medications for children under the age of two.

This directive comes in the wake of child deaths in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly connected to contaminated cough syrups. However, tests confirmed the absence of harmful Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG) in the syrups.

The Directorate General of Health Services underlined the need for careful clinical evaluation in prescribing cough syrups to older children and highlighted alternative, non-pharmacological treatments as the first line for acute cough illnesses in children.