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Taiwan Quick Take: Parents warned about Codeine

Parents are being advised to prevent infants under the age of two from taking medicine containing codeine to relieve coughs,according to the Bureau of National Health Insurance. The bureau recently issued a survey using report data from medical institutions across the nation over the last year and found a large amount of medication containing codeine was prescribed to infants under two years old. Codeine is an opiate commonly used to cure coughs, diarrhea and pains. Patients taking medication containing codeine may suffer from side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness and nausea. The medication, therefore, is not suitable for infants younger than two years old, the bureau said, quoting a study issued by the WHO in 2001. However, about 118,000 babies in the country were using medicines containing codeine, most of which came from clinics, to relieve flu last year, the survey said. The statistics also showed that most of the infants were prescribed the medicine when they visited pediatricians.
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