Large Recall of Children's OTC Meds, including Motrin, Tylenol, Benedryl, Zyrtec.

[Anonymous]

i don't get it. what is wrong with offering your child relief when he/she has teething pain and/or a low grade fever? my mom did the same for me (in fact, she is much more ready to give medicine than i am). yet here i am, without ANY sleeping problems (i've never taken so much as a tylenol pm in my life), i don't use drugs (well, ok, there were one or two hits taken in college), and i am not on a single prescription medication (to "relax" or otherwise). in fact, the only medicine i regularly take is claritin a couple bad weeks a year (like this week), and advil on occassion when i have a headache or cramps.

please point me to literature that demonstrates how giving your child infant tylenol for low grade fevers or teething pain resuls in adult drug use.

and please get a life and stop judging other people based on your own crazy (unfounded) fears.

[Anonymous]

I think it is abusive and totally ridiculous NOT to offer your child, who you care for, some type of pain relief for teething. Have you ever had a toothache? They can hurt. Now imagine razor sharp teeth slicing through your raw gums. Why on earth would you NOT offer them some motrin to make them comfy? How cruel of you to chide the moms who try to offer relief to their children.

[Anonymous]

Okay; I'll bite. To the PPs who are patting themselves on the back for being "holistic," what do you mean by that? Do you give your DCs "natural" remedies from Whole Foods or other fancy stores? Because those are no safer than Advil or Motrin. Do you feed your DC foods that have been manufactured by BIG BUSINESS companies? Because those are just as likely to be contaminated. Do you live in a house built before 1978? Because you are exposing your DC to lead, which is much more dangerous than most bottles of OTC pain meds. Do you let your DC handle newspapers or CDs? Because those both have BPA in them. Do you use a cell phone or wireless internet in your house? Because lord only knows what kinds of radiation you are exposing your DC to.

Finally, do you realize that even if you are doing all of the above "perfectly," you are not setting a good example for your DC in terms of compassion toward your fellow members of society? When someone else is concerned and upset, do you feel proud when you rub their noses in the fact that you are better than they are? And is that what you want your DC to model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is abusive and totally ridiculous NOT to offer your child, who you care for, some type of pain relief for teething. Have you ever had a toothache? They can hurt. Now imagine razor sharp teeth slicing through your raw gums. Why on earth would you NOT offer them some motrin to make them comfy? How cruel of you to chide the moms who try to offer relief to their children.

I agree with this.

[Anonymous]

I guess being cheap has it's advantages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay; I'll bite. To the PPs who are patting themselves on the back for being "holistic," what do you mean by that? Do you give your DCs "natural" remedies from Whole Foods or other fancy stores? Because those are no safer than Advil or Motrin. Do you feed your DC foods that have been manufactured by BIG BUSINESS companies? Because those are just as likely to be contaminated. Do you live in a house built before 1978? Because you are exposing your DC to lead, which is much more dangerous than most bottles of OTC pain meds. Do you let your DC handle newspapers or CDs? Because those both have BPA in them. Do you use a cell phone or wireless internet in your house? Because lord only knows what kinds of radiation you are exposing your DC to.

Finally, do you realize that even if you are doing all of the above "perfectly," you are not setting a good example for your DC in terms of compassion toward your fellow members of society? When someone else is concerned and upset, do you feel proud when you rub their noses in the fact that you are better than they are? And is that what you want your DC to model?

Thank you for this. I'm the poster who got super pissed and offered STFU as my response. I was having a bad day and could not have put together as cogent a post as you wrote here. I feel the same as you, as well as the poster who said it is cruel to not offer a child in pain relief. Thanks for posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay; I'll bite. To the PPs who are patting themselves on the back for being "holistic," what do you mean by that? Do you give your DCs "natural" remedies from Whole Foods or other fancy stores? Because those are no safer than Advil or Motrin. Do you feed your DC foods that have been manufactured by BIG BUSINESS companies? Because those are just as likely to be contaminated. Do you live in a house built before 1978? Because you are exposing your DC to lead, which is much more dangerous than most bottles of OTC pain meds. Do you let your DC handle newspapers or CDs? Because those both have BPA in them. Do you use a cell phone or wireless internet in your house? Because lord only knows what kinds of radiation you are exposing your DC to.

Finally, do you realize that even if you are doing all of the above "perfectly," you are not setting a good example for your DC in terms of compassion toward your fellow members of society? When someone else is concerned and upset, do you feel proud when you rub their noses in the fact that you are better than they are? And is that what you want your DC to model?

Thank you for this. I'm the poster who got super pissed and offered STFU as my response. I was having a bad day and could not have put together as cogent a post as you wrote here. I feel the same as you, as well as the poster who said it is cruel to not offer a child in pain relief. Thanks for posting.

Both PP's, well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter was hospitalized a few weeks ago for 4 days and 4 nights and they ran tons of tests and found nothing wrong. I just looked at the Zyrtec bottle that is just about all gone and the number on the bottle is one that was recalled. She has had three seizures and we couldn't figure out what they were from. This was and is still very frightening. I am now sure that this was from the Zyrtec. So, now what do I do? Thank God, we didn't give her any of the last of the Zyrtec. What is really frightening is that we purchased two bottles a few months ago and she just about finished the second bottle. She was taking it a few times a day for a few months. So, I am sure this was the cause. Check all of the bottles in your home and let your friends know about this. I would hate for anyone to go through all that we have gone through.

I'm sorry you and your daughter had to go through this. I don't mean to scare you further, but this sounds very similar to what happend to a friend's child. He had a few seizures and the drs couldn't find cause for them. The seizures stopped and they assumed he was fine. A few weeks later, the seizures started again and got worse. It took several weeks of intensive testing before he was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. I'm certainly not saying your daughter has this, but I think it's too much of a leap to blame the seizures on the Zyrtec. However, since you're concerned, you should bring it up to your dr to get his/her thoughts.

FWIW, my son has taken Zyterc daily for months. The most recent bottle was part of the recall. We have no way of knowing if his previous bottles were recalled since I threw them away once they were finished. It makes me sick to think we gave this, but he doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the drug companies make money from these recalls. If they do not have to refund then everyone throws out what they have and then they buy new bottles. DC has a history of febrile seizures so our ped has us alternate Tylenol and Motrin at the first sign of fever. We always have a few bottles around in case this comes up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the drug companies make money from these recalls. If they do not have to refund then everyone throws out what they have and then they buy new bottles. DC has a history of febrile seizures so our ped has us alternate Tylenol and Motrin at the first sign of fever. We always have a few bottles around in case this comes up.

Well, aren't they offering to refund money for the recalled bottles?

But, you might be right. You have to figure that not everyone is going to go through the trouble of getting a refund. We'll probably just go out and buy an extra bottle once the recall is cleared up.

Although, it probably costs them something to set up a Recall Website and staff the phone lines?

Does the FDA issue a fine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the drug companies make money from these recalls. If they do not have to refund then everyone throws out what they have and then they buy new bottles. DC has a history of febrile seizures so our ped has us alternate Tylenol and Motrin at the first sign of fever. We always have a few bottles around in case this comes up.

Interesting. I'm one of those lazy consumers who likely won't get a refund on my bottle of motrin. But I will "vote with my wallet" by buying generics for awhile. Don't know how much good that will do, since I'm not a big user of these products. We have one infant tylenol, one infant motrin and only one was affected (though I'm tossing the other anyway, obviously). I didn't even know baby benedryl or baby zyrtec existed.

I just think that the company is getting really bad press, so not sure if it is worth it. They are likely spending a lot of money on doing damage control. I'm sure a lot of overtime is being paid on customer call centers, etc. But it looks like their stock didn't go down, so who knows.

[laytondc]

Hey there,
I'm a fellow DCUMer and a reporter at The Washington Post. I'm working on a story about the recall for tomorrow's paper and would like to include the thoughts of parents concerned about this. If you're willing to chat briefly, please email me at [e-mail] or give a call at 202.334.7493. Thanks much!

[Anonymous]

nowhere have I seen a list of 'potential side effects' from the use of these recalled drugs. That really pisses me off. I am sure it is a 'cover your *ss tactic".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the drug companies make money from these recalls. If they do not have to refund then everyone throws out what they have and then they buy new bottles. DC has a history of febrile seizures so our ped has us alternate Tylenol and Motrin at the first sign of fever. We always have a few bottles around in case this comes up.

Interesting. I'm one of those lazy consumers who likely won't get a refund on my bottle of motrin. But I will "vote with my wallet" by buying generics for awhile. Don't know how much good that will do, since I'm not a big user of these products. We have one infant tylenol, one infant motrin and only one was affected (though I'm tossing the other anyway, obviously). I didn't even know baby benedryl or baby zyrtec existed.

I just think that the company is getting really bad press, so not sure if it is worth it. They are likely spending a lot of money on doing damage control. I'm sure a lot of overtime is being paid on customer call centers, etc. But it looks like their stock didn't go down, so who knows.

I'd be willing to buy generics also, but who actually makes the generics?

I remember reading a while back that with contact lens solutions, sometimes the generics are made by B&L (the same company that makes the brand name Renu) just packaged differently.

So, does anyone know how to find out who produces the generics? If I'm buying generics to avoid J&J from making a profit, I'd like to be sure they're not the ones producing the generics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nowhere have I seen a list of 'potential side effects' from the use of these recalled drugs. That really pisses me off. I am sure it is a 'cover your *ss tactic".

And if you think you are experiencing a side effect, no one can prove it's from any of those drugs.