As a parent and consumer, I often give companies the benefit of the doubt that products being sold for children are in fact safe for children. Unfortunately, this is often not true. Zarbee’s is one of the few brands that offer a safe and effective way to treat a child’s cough. Pediatrician, Zak Zarbock, created Zarbee’s all natural honey-based cough remedies due to his concern regarding the dangers of OTC cough and cold medications. The Zarbee’s brand consists of All Natural Cough Syrups as well as an All Natural Nighttime Cough & Sleep Drink which I reviewed early in the year. Zarbee’s All Natural Cough Syrup has no risk of overdose since it contains no Dextromethorphan or other drugs and no alcohol or dyes. I have used Zarbee’s cough syrup for my 3-year-old several times and he actually likes to take this cough syrup. Zarbee’s provides noticeable relief to his cough. I have noticed how much better my son feels after giving him Zarbee’s cough syrup and other adults in his life have noticed as well. I even take Zarbee’s All Natural cough syrup myself! Since I am a nursing mom, I like knowing I am not putting anything harmful into my own body. This all natural cough syrup calms my cough as well as my son’s. Zarbee’s is always in stock in our medicine cabinet. To help you keep your children safe and healthy this winter I wanted to share with you the latest press release from Zarbee’s:
Salt Lake City, Utah (December 22, 2011)—A story this week in The New York Times about the suspected link between acetaminophen use in children and asthma has shined the light once again on the risks associated with giving over-the-counter cold medications to children. The most common ingredient in children’s cold medications, acetaminophen can be found in such popular OTC brands as Children’s Tylenol, Pediacare and Triaminic.
The growing concern about acetaminophen comes on the heels of US Food & Drug Administration warnings about Dextromethorphan, another popular ingredient in OTC cough and cold medications that is no longer supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
According to a recent study by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country, “Research has linked OTC cough and cold products to cases of poisoning or death in hundreds of children 2 years of age and younger.” In addition, complications from cough medication use send thousands of children under the age of 11 to emergency rooms every year.
To protect children, the FDA issued a Public Health Advisory in 2008 formally recommending that OTC cough and cold products not be used in infants and children under the age of 2 “because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur.”
Dr. Zak Zarbock, a Utah-based pediatrician who spoke at an FDA advisory hearing about the dangers of OTC cough and cold medications, was so concerned about the dangers of Dextromethorphan that he developed Zarbee’s, a line of all-natural cough and cold remedies that contain no Dextromethorphan or other drugs, no alcohol or dyes and carry no risk of overdose or side effects.
Filling a much-needed gap in the pediatric market, and now recommended by more than 40,000 pediatricians nationwide, Zarbee’s makes a cough syrup with a special blend of honeys fortified with immune-boosting vitamins that is safe for children as well as pregnant and nursing women and a nighttime drink that soothes coughs and promotes healthy sleep.
Despite the warnings and safe alternatives, the Mott Children’s Hospital study found that more than 60% of parents with children 2 and under have given their children an OTC cough and cold medicine within the last 12 months.
Why aren’t parents listening? According to the report, “There are challenges to informing parents about this topic. The FDA warning is specific to children 2 and under—but parents of those kids may not have heard the warnings issued more than 2 years ago. Each year, a new generation of parents must be educated about a wide variety of health care issues for the children.”
With cold and flu season officially upon us, now is the perfect time to review how to safely treat a child’s cough and cold symptoms. As the research shows, the potential dangers are nothing to sneeze at.
There are surprisingly few safe options like Zarbee’s on the market so read product labels carefully and avoid any OTC product with Dextromethorphan or another drug.
According to the FDA’s recommendations parents should use these guidelines:
- Call a physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional if you have any questions about using cough or cold medicines in children 2 years of age and older.
- Only use the measuring spoons or cups that come with the medicine or those made especially for measuring drugs. Do not use common household spoons to measure medicines for children since household spoons come in different sizes and are not meant for measuring medicines.
- Carefully follow the directions on the label. These directions tell you how much medicine to give and how often you can give it.
- Understand that using OTC cough and cold medicines are intended only to treat your child’s symptom(s). OTC cough and cold medicines do not treat the cause of the symptoms or shorten the length of time your child is sick. They only relieve symptoms and make your child feel more comfortable.
- Check the “active ingredients” section of the label. This will help you understand what “active ingredients” are in the medicine and what symptoms each active ingredient is intended to treat. Cough and cold medicines often have more than one “active ingredient” (such as an antihistamine, a decongestant, a cough suppressant, an expectorant, or a pain reliever/fever reducer).
- Be very careful if you are giving more than one OTC cough and cold medicine to a child. Many OTC cough and cold medicines have more than one “active ingredient.” If you use two medicines that have the same or similar “active ingredients” a child could get too much of an ingredient which may hurt your child. For example, do not give a child more than one medicine that has an antihistamine.
- Do not use these products to sedate your child or make your children sleepy.
- Choose OTC cough and cold medicines with childproof safety caps, when available, and store the medicines out of the reach of children.
Buy It!
You can purchase Zarbee’s All Natural Cough Syrup as well as other Zarbee’s products at many retailers such as, Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Winn Dixie, Albertson’s, Meijer, and Rite Aid. Visit http://www.zarbees.com/ to get the full list of retailers.
Win It!
One lucky reader at The Children’s Nook is going to win Zarbee’s All Natural Cough Syrup. Mandatory Entry: Visit Zarbee’s and come back here to leave me a comment sharing which flavor of medicine your kids would like the most.
Extra Entries (Leave a separate comment for each extra entry)
- Subscribe to The Children’s Nook via email (3 entries) The subscription must be confirmed!
- Follow The Children’s Nook on Twitter (1 entry)
- Follow Zarbee’s on Twitter (1 entry)
- Tweet the following: “Enter to #win Zarbee’s All Natural Cough Syrup! @childrensnook Safe & Effective for ages 12 months & up! http://wp.me/pX9wg-1lI” (You may tweet once a day for 1 entry per day)
- “Like” The Children’s Nook on Facebook (1 entry)
- “Like” Zarbee’s on Facebook (1 entry)
- Comment on any other non-giveaway post on this blog (1 entry)
- Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page or Blog about this giveaway and post a link to your blog post in the comments below (2 entries)
- Enter any of my other current giveaways (1 entry per giveaway)
- Place my button from this website on your blog (2 entries)
Congrats to Pam L. on Random.org choosing her winning tweet!
Giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. (central time) on January 23, 2011. This giveaway is open to residents in both the U.S. and Canada! The winner will be selected by random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Zarbee’s provided me with product information as well as a package of Zarbee’s All Natural Cough Syrup for review purposes. All opinions are mine alone and based off of my experience with the product I reviewed.
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