The big chains should be encourage to pass out the measuring spoons for
free and have them on the OTC shelves. If they have a store logo and
phone number what better free publicity to remind them of their favorite
pharmacy. There needs to be a coordinated effort by the industry (dr's
and pharmacies) to promote the use of these devices. 
-- 

"Go for a Metric America"
Howard Ressel
Project Design Engineer, Region 4
(585) 272-3372


>>> On 1/14/2010 at 4:57 PM, in message
<[email protected]>,
"James R. Frysinger" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Here in the US, too. Most pharmacies ("chemists") sell inexpensive 
> measuring spoons and cups for measuring medicine doses. Many over the

> counter (OTC) medicines provide those for free, often as the cap on
the 
> bottle.
> 
> Jim
> 
> Martin Vlietstra wrote:
>> The provision of a 5 ml spoon or a cup with 10 ml, 15 ml and 20 ml
>> graduations with medicines is standard in the UK
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf
>> Of James R. Frysinger
>> Sent: 14 January 2010 15:35
>> To: U.S. Metric Association
>> Subject: [USMA:46405] A spoonful of medicine
>> 
>> 
>> This LA Times article appeared in today's Tennessean (Nashville).
It's 
>> good to see this advice being published.
>> 
>> Jim
>> 
>> January 14, 2010
>> 
>> A spoonful of medicine may be too much, or not enough
>> 
>> By Amina Khan
>> LOS ANGELES TIMES
>> 
>> "Heaping" teaspoon or "level"? That's the nail-biting dilemma that 
>> usually confronts amateur boulangeries as they mix baking soda or
salt 
>> into their cake batter.
>> 
>> In medicine, though, the unreliability of your average spoon - and
by 
>> average spoon, we mean a tool more commonly used to stir sugar into

>> coffee - can create far more serious problems.
>> 
>> In a study in the Jan. 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, 
>> researchers asked student patients at the Cornell University health

>> clinic to pour out 5 milliliters of cold medicine into
different-size 
>> kitchen spoons. The researchers found that participants expressed 
>> confidence in their measuring abilities, and yet "underdosed by 8.4

>> percent when using the medium-size spoon and overdosed by 11.6
percent 
>> when using the larger spoon."
>> 
>> That may sound minimal, but consider someone who's making that same

>> mistake three to five times a day for a seven-day regimen. That can
add 
>> up. Overdosing can mean nasty and troublesome side effects.
Underdosing 
>> - on an antibiotic, for example - can lead to drug-resistant
bacteria, 
>> ultimately rendering the medication ineffective.
>> 
>> The lesson? Use a proper device - a measuring cap, a syringe or a
dosing 
>> spoon - to make that medicine go down.
>> 
>> 
>> And parents, before you pour any liquid into your kid's spoon
(accurate 
>> or not), make sure you have the proper dose for your child's age and
weight.
>> 
>> Source:
>>
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100114/FEATURES04/1140313/A+spoonful+of+

>> medicine+may+be+too+much++or+not+enough
>> 
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