Health dept issues guidelines on safe cough syrup use for children

Officials said that excessive levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic substance, were found in Coldrif cough syrup manufactured in Tamil Nadu.

In wake of health risks posed by faulty cough syrups, the district’s health department on Wednesday issued an advisory for safe use of the drug in children below the age of five years.

Pharmacists are prohibited from selling cough medicines without a valid prescription.

Officials said that excessive levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic substance, were found in Coldrif cough syrup manufactured in Tamil Nadu.

“We have instructed seizure of the remaining stock of Coldrif from all retail stores, distributors, and health centres,” said Dr Alka Singh, chief medical officer (CMO) of Gurugram.

Earlier, officials from Haryana’s Food and Drug Administration conducted a surprise inspection on Monday, and 31 samples from multiple private-run pharmacies and wholesalers were collected after the death of at least 12 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after they were allegedly administered faulty cough syrups.

Guidelines for doctors and parents

Singh said that doctors had been directed to refrain from prescribing cough syrups to children below the age of five years. “In most paediatric cases, cold cough resolves on its own without the need of any external intervention, particularly cough syrups, which are often used in combination with other medicines.”

Parents have been advised to report any unusual drug reaction or health problem immediately to the local authorities. Additionally, pharmacists are prohibited from selling cough medicines without a valid prescription.

According to Singh, all government and private health facilities must report influenza-like illnesses, severe acute respiratory infections and drug-related unusual events through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme and the Integrated Health Information Platform.

“Several meetings with the Indian Medical Association and the Indian Pharmacists Association are scheduled for the coming days to enforce a stringent ban on spurious cough syrups,” Singh said.