Medicines harmful to your child

Some of the best-selling children's medicines are today under scrutiny because they contain additives which have been shown to trigger hyperactive behaviour.

Research at Southhampton University found that certain food colourings and additives can lead to young children developing hyperactivity and becoming disruptive when they had no history of either of these. The concern has now focused on children's medicine, among them Calpol, because of it's vivid pink colouring created by the red dye carmoisine. Sudafed children's syrup has both the red dye ponceau 4R and sodium benzoate (E211) a preservative commonly used in soft drinks such as Irn Bru and Orangina.

The Daily Mail is campaigning to ban the additives from children's products and on Friday children's sweet giant Haribo announced it would be replacing the chemicals with natural alternatives. Tescos, Sainsbury's, Asda, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op are thought to be removing the dyes from their products.

Here is a round-up of medicines that contain the harmful additives:

E110 - Buttercup infant cough syrup (2 years+)

E122 - Calpol paracetamol (2 montsh +)
Buttercup infant cough syrup (2 years+)

E124 - Anbesol - Teething gel
Sudafed children's syrup (2 years+)

E210 - Medised paid and fever relief (3 months+)

E211 - Benylin children's tickly cough medicine (3 months+)
Children's chesty coughs, children's dry coughs, children's night coughs (all 1-2 years)
Boots dry cough syrup (1 year+)
Cuprofen for children (6 months+)
Sudafed children's syrup (2 years+)
Superdrug junior ibruprofen suspension (6 months+)
Tixylix baby syrup (3 months+), coough and cold, chesty cough syrup, dry cough surup, night cough syrup (all 1 year +)
Unichem junior ibuprofen suspension (6 months+)

The problem for parents is that they often have a limited supply of medicines to choose from as well as the need to help their child get better so they cannot always avoid the medicines with additives in them.

Thanks to the Daily Mail, 10/09/07

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See our earlier news article on Dangerous additives for our kids to see which other foods contain the harmful addititives.