Parents were told yesterday not to be alarmed by the decision to remove six cough and cold remedies for young children from chemists’ shelves.

The medicines, specifically marketed for use by children under 2, were not unsafe but were being removed from open sale because of fears of an accidental overdose.

Labelling on dozens of other cough and cold remedies was being changed after new advice was issued by drug safety watchdogs.

But the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, which represents the makers of the medicines, emphasised that they were not being banned for use by older children and were still safe when used as directed.

Sheila Kelly, a spokeswoman for the association, said: “Companies are taking this action voluntarily because the wellbeing of babies and young children is paramount. Parents should not be concerned that they have harmed their children if they have given them cold remedies in the past. Many of the products have been on the market for over 40 years – they are safe when used as recommended.”

Labelling on products containing antihistamines, decongestants, cough suppressants and expectorants will be changed over the next six months so that they are recommended only for children aged over two.

Parents are now being advised to give children under 24 months para-cetamol or ibuprofen to lower their temperature if they have a cold.

Simple cough syrups containing glycerol, and honey and lemon could also be given, as well as vapour rubs and inhalant decongestants.

The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that anyone who asked to buy the affected products would be questioned about the age of the patient. If the child was older than 2, the product could be sold and an advice leaflet would be provided.

A spokeswoman for the MHRA said that letters were sent to healthcare professionals yesterday explaining the move. “It’s a precautionary measure,” she said. “If they had been dangerous, we’d have had them off the market in seconds. Nobody should panic. There’s nothing wrong with these medicines; it was the way that they had been given.”

She said that the remedies could be dangerous if people gave their child more than the recommended dose or more than one product at a time. She admitted there had been an increase in “adverse reactions” to the products but said that that had been more widely seen in the US.

Counter measures

The six products, previously marketed for use by children under two, that have been removed:

— Asda Children’s Chesty Cough Syrup

— Boots Chesty Cough Syrup One Year Plus

— Boots Sore Throat and Cough Linctus One Year Plus

— Buttercup Infant Cough Syrup

— CalCough Chesty

— Bell’s Children’s Chesty Cough

Source: MHRA

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