Every parent knows the drill: giving a liquid prescription or over-the-counter medication to a child requires measuring out the exact amount. Doses can range from a fraction of a teaspoon to one or more tablespoons, but whatever the dose, it’s vital that the children receive the prescribed amount. But, do they? Not always, says the result of a study just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Ideally, people dispensing liquid medications should be using measuring spoons meant for that purpose; they are available at most drug stores either in the stock or by asking the pharmacist. In reality, many people end up using kitchen measuring spoons, which may be generally ok for cooking, but not for something as precise as medications. Another practice is some people use bigger spoons so they don’t spill, and they eyeball the amount, figuring they can judge what a teaspoon of liquid looks like in a tablespoon, for example.
Of course, the problem isn’t confined to just children. There are medications for adults that come in liquid form and many seniors can no longer chew medications and they may be using liquid medications more frequently.
For this reason, researchers looked at the accuracy of liquid medication dosing among 195 college students using a liquid cough medicine. The students were asked to pour one teaspoon of the medication in a teaspoon. They were then asked to pour the same amount, 5 milliliters (mL), into larger spoons (15 mL and 45 mL), judging by eye when they had a teaspoon.
When the researchers looked at how much the students poured, they found that they underestimated most often in the 15-mL spoon (average 4.58 mL) and overestimated in the 45-mL spoon (5.58 mL). This was despite their confidence that they had accurately poured the dosage.
This means if the students were taking the medication with the smaller spoon, they were undermedicating and if they were using the larger spoon, they were overmedicating. Both can have significant effects, depending on the medications.
The moral of the story? Always use the correct measuring spoon or medication cup to take or give liquid medication.
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