Children's Health

Kitchen Spoons Dole Out Dangerous Overdoses

Getting the Right Dose continued...

"Low-cost medicine syringes are widely available from pharmacists, very easy to use, and will give parents greater confidence that they have dispensed the correct dose,” the authors say, adding that adults also should avoid using domestic spoons when taking liquid medications themselves.

"Although adults do not face the same risk levels as children, we would still advise them to use properly calibrated spoons or cups if they take any liquid medicine,” the authors say.

Teaspoons and tablespoons have long been widely used for measuring and administering liquid medication to children, and continue to be popular with parents and caregivers, the researchers say.

"This might be explained by the fact that they are convenient to use,” the authors write. “In addition, teaspoons and tablespoons are cheap and available to almost every household.”

But they are not reliable in terms of dosage, the authors say, and shouldn’t be used. Previous research has shown, the authors write, that the “consequences of misdosing, either overdosing or underdosing medication” with teaspoons or tablespoons, is worrisome.

They also say that misdosing of antibiotics can result “in emergence of antimicrobial resistance.”

The study is published in the August issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.