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Tag: overdose risks

  • Children's Advil Recalled Due To Potential Overdose Risk

    Children's Advil Recalled Due To Potential Overdose Risk

    The company was alerted to a labeling mishap through customer complaints.

    Pfizer is recalling a batch of children’s Advil, due to a labeling mishap that may increase the risk of accidental overdose of ibuprofen.

    Pfizer Consumer Healthcare is recalling one lot of Children’s Advil Suspension, which was distributed in May and June. The bubble gum-flavored, four fluid-ounce bottles have a November 2020 expiration date and are marked R51129. The UPC number is 3-0573-0207-30-0.

    According to CBS News, the company was alerted to a labeling mishap through customer complaints. While the label’s instructions measure doses in milliliters, the plastic cup that comes with the packaging is measured in teaspoons.

    One teaspoon is the equivalent of approximately five milliliters. According to Pfizer, of the 28,000 bottles targeted in the recall, one-third of the lot never made it to retail stores. The company has alerted wholesalers, distributors and retailers about the recall, according to the Madison Patch.

    Children’s Advil is commonly used to treat fevers and for minor pain relief from colds, flu, sore throat, headaches, and toothaches.

    It is possible to overdose on ibuprofen in both children and adults. In rare cases, an ibuprofen overdose can be fatal.

    The recommended dosage of ibuprofen for children depends on the child’s weight and the formulation of the medication, which comes in chewable tablets, drops and liquids, according to Healthline.

    Common symptoms of an ibuprofen overdose include nausea, vomiting, headache, drowsiness, blurred vision and dizziness.

    In case of an ibuprofen overdose, contact your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

    For information on how to return an affected product, call Stericycle at 1-800-805-3093. And for information about the recall, call Pfizer Consumer Healthcare at 1-800-882-3845.

    A similar medication that is used to relieve fever and pain in children is acetaminophen (most commonly known by the brand Tylenol). Like ibuprofen, it is possible for children and adults to overdose on acetaminophen. Too much acetaminophen can lead to life-threatening liver problems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

    To avoid acetaminophen overdose in children, giving a child acetaminophen while they are taking other medications containing acetaminophen is not recommended. Children should only take children’s formulations of acetaminophen.

    Child-resistant caps can also help prevent overdoses of these medicines.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Overdose Risks During Pregnancy Examined In New Study

    Overdose Risks During Pregnancy Examined In New Study

    The study revealed the need for better addiction recovery support for pregnant women with substance use disorder. 

    A new study has found that the risk of overdose drops in pregnant women but increases after giving birth.

    The study, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, looked at women giving birth in Massachusetts. In doing so, researchers found a greater number of women with opioid use disorder than had been found in other states. 

    Researchers also discovered that during pregnancy, opioid overdose events went down, the third trimester resulting in the lowest amount. However, after birth, that number rose and became especially high from 6 to 12 months after delivery.

    “Our findings suggest we need to develop extended and long-term services to support women and families impacted by substance use disorder,” said Davida Schiff, a pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the lead author of the paper, according to Science Daily. “We need additional research to determine the best ways to improve retention in treatment and adherence to medication therapy after delivery, and we need to enhance our medical and public health infrastructure to provide support to women in achieving long-term recovery.”

    In many states, opioid overdoses have been “major contributors to pregnancy-associated deaths.” In pregnant women, estimates of opioid use disorder range from .4 to .8%, and up to 2% in all women that fall into the reproductive age category. 

    Pregnancy can drive a woman to seek treatment, Science Daily notes. Often, such treatment includes therapy and potentially medications like methadone or buprenorphine.

    Researchers chose to study a Department of Public Health dataset, which included nearly 178,000 deliveries of an infant 20 or more gestational weeks to Massachusetts women between Jan. 1, 2012 and Sept. 30, 2014. Of those, 4,154 women were found to have likelihood of opioid use disorder within a year before giving birth.

    Additionally, of the women in the dataset, 184 experienced what researchers refer to as an opioid overdose event in the year preceding or following delivery. Such an event means the woman faced admission to a heath care facility for an overdose or death as a result of an overdose.

    Those who experienced an overdose event were “more likely to be younger, single, unemployed, less educated and less likely to have received adequate prenatal care,” Science Daily reported. They were more likely “to have evidence of homelessness or a diagnosis of anxiety or depression.”

    Co-author and Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health Monica Bhare says that this research is vital in gaining a bigger picture of who is most at risk.

    “These findings help expand the lens from which we view the epidemic and allow us to tailor our policies and programs in ways that will increase opportunities for treatment and recovery for these women and their children,” she said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com