AAP: Use Millimeters, Not Teaspoons or Tablespoons, When Prescribing Liquid Meds to Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is calling for medications to be measured in millimeters, not tablespoons or teaspoons, in order to cut down on accidental overdoses among children.

The problem with tablespoons and teaspoons arises when people use the same utensils they use for meals to dole out medication. These utensils don't necessarily hold an exact tablespoon or teaspoon, potentially leading to an unintentional overdose. Unintentional overdoses cause more than 70,000 children to visit the emergency room each year, and measuring and delivery errors are among the most common causes of these visits.

The AAP recommends that millimeter-based dosing be used exclusively when prescribing and administering liquid medications. These medications should preferably be administered using syringes with metric markings, allowing for precise measurements.

Additionally, the AAP is asking that dosing devices, such as syringes, only include relevant markings and not feature markings significantly larger than the prescribed dose.

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