The ABCs of Safe Medicine Use

TUESDAY, Sept. 2, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- For some children, taking medication during the school day is crucial, whether it's for a nasty cold or a chronic condition such as asthma.

Now, parents, doctors and teachers have more up-to-date guidance on how to be sure medicines are taken safely: Today, the American Academy of Pediatricians released new guidelines for the administration of medication in schools.

The guidelines replace the previous guidelines, issued in 1993, says Dr. Howard Taras, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, and a coauthor of the recommendations.

The guidelines include advice about the use of over-the-counter products, herbal medications, experimental drugs given as part of a clinical trial, emergency medicines and whether students are mature enough to take the drugs themselves.

For busy parents already bleary-eyed from filling out those first-week-of-school emergency forms and homework contracts, here are the highlights:

• If your child takes over-the-counter medicines or herbal medications on a regular basis, it's best to have a note from a doctor explaining why. School administrators are urged to realize that many herbal medicines are becoming more popular, and they can have side effects.
• Schools are urged to develop protocols to prevent errors in medication. Don't be surprised if the student who takes his own medicine has to account to the school for what he takes and when.
• Students should be allowed to take nonprescription drugs and some prescription drugs -- notably insulin and asthma medicines -- if they are judged to be responsible enough.
• A school staff member or members should be designated as someone who can administer emergency medicine, such as epinephrine for severe allergic reactions.
• If students are on experimental medications, the school district is not obliged to administer doses above those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Doctors prescribing these drugs should inform the school in writing.

What else can parents do to make medicine at school safer?

Find out who is giving the medicine at school, Taras suggests. "Very often parents think there is a school nurse," he says. But with budget cuts, there may not be, or the nurse may be a traveling one, covering more than one school.

When you get a prescription for your child that he needs to take during school hours, "ask the pharmacist to divide it into two," Taras suggests. "Keep one for home and one for school."

"Get two inhalers," he suggests, if your child needs medication for asthma.

It's best that the school has original packaging for a medicine, to reduce the likelihood of errors, he adds.

A spokesperson for the National PTA declined to comment on the new policy.

Jane Guiltinan, a naturopathic physician at Bastyr University in Seattle, agrees with the new caution about herbal medicines, and has an amendment to the academy's suggestion to get a doctor's note for herbal medicine.

"Herbal medications can be very beneficial," says Guiltinan, who directs Bastyr's Natural Medicine Institute for Women's Health. "Anyone using them on a regular basis for a particular health condition should do so under the care of a knowledgeable health-care provider, such as a naturopathic physician."

More information

To read the new guidelines, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics' Web site. To find out how to get more involved at your child's school, check with the National Education Association.