India’s health authorities have sounded the alarm on cough syrups for kids, urging doctors and parents to play it safe. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, released an advisory on Friday, stressing the need for careful use of these medications in children.
Experts warn against giving cough syrups to kids under 2 years old—no prescriptions or over-the-counter sales allowed. For children between 2 and 5, these meds generally aren’t recommended. If older kids need them, doctors must do a thorough check-up first, monitor closely, stick to the right dose, keep treatment as short as possible, and skip mixing multiple drugs.
The advisory also calls for educating the public to always follow doctors’ instructions when it comes to paediatric cough and cold remedies. This comes amid growing worries about child safety and cough syrup risks.
The move follows a heartbreaking incident in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, where at least nine children died after battling kidney issues, fevers, coughs, and colds. Health officials launched a probe right away, testing cough syrup samples from a local hospital. The district banned sales of two brands—Coldrif and Nesto DS—until results cleared them of any contaminants.
Good news from the tests: No traces of dangerous chemicals like Diethylene Glycol (DEG) or Ethylene Glycol (EG), which can cause severe kidney damage, turned up in the samples. The Madhya Pradesh State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) checked three samples and confirmed the same. Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) also tested blood and spinal fluid for common infections, finding one case linked to Leptospirosis—a bacterial bug often spread through dirty water.
Investigations continue on water sources, insect vectors, and breathing samples at labs like NEERI and NIV Pune. A team of specialists from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), NIV, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), AIIMS Nagpur, and state officials is digging into every possible cause behind these paediatric deaths.
The Health Ministry also addressed reports of two child deaths in Rajasthan tied to contaminated cough syrup. Officials clarified that the product involved doesn’t include Propylene Glycol, a potential carrier for DEG or EG toxins.
Adding to the scrutiny, drug control teams from Delhi and Chennai raided a pharmaceutical factory in Tamil Nadu’s Sunguvarchatram on the same day. They’re probing links to the Madhya Pradesh tragedy, as concerns over cough syrup safety for children ripple across India.
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