你知道非处方感冒药的年龄忌讳吗?

Despite safety warnings not to give sick toddlers cough and cold medications, almost half of parents in a recent survey are using the over-the-counter products anyway.
尽管专家警告称给幼儿服用止咳和感冒药不安全，但近期一项调查显示，仍有近半数的美国家长在使用这些非处方产品。

A poll released last month by researchers at the University of Michigan found that 42% of parents with children under the age of 4 gave them cough medicine, and 44% said they used multi-symptom cough and cold medications. A quarter of the parents said they used decongestants. The survey, which echoed some earlier studies' findings, arrives five years after the drugs' packages started including directions warning against their use in very young children.
密歇根大学(University of Michigan)的研究人员上月发布的一项调查结果显示，42%的家长给四岁以下的孩子服用止咳药，44%的家长称，他们使用止咳和抗感冒的多疗效药，四分之一的家长称他们使用解充血药。此项调查（与早些时候一些研究的结果一致）是在这类药品的包装上开始标注低龄儿童慎用说明的五年之后展开的。

Matthew Davis, a University of Michigan pediatrician who directed the survey, said he was surprised and concerned by the findings, which may show that parents aren't aware of the labeling and the history of worries about the drugs' use in young children. 'If you're a parent who doesn't know the story, you're going to think this [medicine] is for your kids,' he says.
主持此项调查的密歇根大学儿科医生戴维斯(Matthew Davis)说，他对调查结果感到惊讶和忧虑。这一结果可能显示出，家长并不了解药品标签信息以及以往幼儿用药中出现的问题。他说：“作为家长，如果你不了解情况，你就会认为这种（药物）适合给你的孩子用。”

The medications came under close scrutiny in 2008, when the Food and Drug Administration advised that they shouldn't be given to children under 2. That came after an agency advisory committee the previous year said children younger than 6 shouldn't take the medications. The panel concluded there wasn't evidence that the drugs helped young children, while FDA safety officials had suggested some of the drugs were associated with side effects and some deaths, mostly in very young patients and often involving overdoses.
这些药品2008年开始受到严格审视，当时美国食品和药物管理局(Food and Drug Administration, 简称FDA)建议，两岁以下儿童不应该服用这些药物。在此之前一年，该机构一个顾问委员会称，六岁以下儿童不应该服用这些药物。该委员会认为，没有证据显示这些药对幼儿有效，而FDA药品安全官员曾表示，其中一些药物可能有副作用，并与部分死亡事故存在关联，这些情况主要发生在年纪很小的患者身上，而且通常是过量服用。

Manufacturers agreed to put warnings on the products' boxes that they shouldn't be given to children under 4 years old. These appear today on medications that include dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, the expectorant guaifenesin and the decongestants phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine. Medications with antihistamines warn against use in kids younger than 6. The children's cough and cold products are sold under brand names including Novartis AG's Triaminic and Pfizer Inc.'s Dimetapp and Robitussin.
制药公司同意在药品包装盒上标注四岁以下儿童禁用的警告。如今，镇咳药右美沙芬、祛痰药愈创甘油醚以及解充血药苯福林和伪麻黄碱的包装盒上就标注了警告。含有抗组织胺的药物对六岁以下儿童禁用。针对儿童的止咳和感冒药包括诺华制药公司(Novartis AG)的Triaminic以及辉瑞制药有限公司(Pfizer Inc.)的Dimetapp和Robitussi。

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents makers of the over-the-counter medications, says research it sponsors shows the rate of safety issues with the drugs has been dropping. Most cases involve children taking them without parental supervision, it says. The 'drug facts' summary panel, often found on the back of a medication box, which includes dosing and other information, is the best place for the age warnings, rather than breaking them out on the front of the package, said David Spangler, a senior vice president with the association.
代表非处方药生产商的美国消费者保健用品协会(Consumer Healthcare Products Association)称，该协会赞助的研究显示，这些药品安全问题的发生率已经有所下降。该行业协会称，多数问题都与儿童在无父母监督时服药有关。该协会高级副总裁斯潘格勒(David Spangler)表示，年龄警告最好写在“药品说明”总结栏内（通常在药盒背面，其中有剂量和其他信息），而不要单独写在包装盒正面。

The association has sponsored a campaign to alert parents on how best to use the medications, including public-service announcements, social-media efforts and brochures for family physicians to distribute to parents. Representatives of the industry group also said it can be challenging to design, and enroll participants for, studies testing medicines for children's colds.
该协会赞助了一项通过公益广告、社交媒体和发放宣传册（让家庭医生将宣传册发放给家长）等方式提醒家长如何更好地用药的活动。该协会代表还表示，检验儿童感冒药安全性的研究设计起来有难度，招募实验对象也有难度。

Pfizer said it 'encourages all parents to read and follow the label of any children's medication to determine appropriate use and dose.' A spokeswoman for Novartis said it declined to comment.
辉瑞公司称，该公司“鼓励所有家长阅读每一种儿童药品的标签，并遵照标签说明确定合适的用法和剂量”。诺华公司一名发言人称，该公司就此不予置评。

An FDA spokeswoman said the agency 'supports efforts. . .to better inform consumers about the safe and effective use of these products' and has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the issue.
FDA一名发言人称，该机构“支持相关方面为此做出的努力……以使消费者更好地了解如何安全有效地使用这些产品”，并与美国疾病控制与预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)就此进行了合作。