The last time I bought Robitussin at Costco, it came with a dosing cup. That cup had only one marking on it and it was 10 mL. For a prescription, the pharmacist should have included a dosing device, also marked in mL.
Carleton On 2018-03-04, 17:00, "USMA on behalf of James" <[email protected] on behalf of [email protected]> wrote: Better advice would have suggested the purchase of a dosing device (cup or tube) marked in milliliters if the pharmacy doesn't provide one for free. Most Americans do not realize that teaspoons are not all created equal. No sense in converting from milliliters to an vague unit of measure such as teaspoons. I doubt that people ever use the teaspoon measure from their cooking utensil set to measure out cough syrup; they always pull a spoon from the 'silverware' drawer. Hopefully when that letter writer follows the advice given to speak to a pharmacist, that pharmacist will provide or sell a proper dosing device. Jim On 2018-03-04 14:58, Peter Goodyear wrote: > Hello, everyone, > > Here is a letter to an American newspaper questioning why cough syrup is > prescribed in doses of millilitres, which the customer is not familiar > with, instead of teaspoons, which the customer knows. (I have included > the whole letter and its reply, as I had some difficulties accessing the > page.) > > From the Bismarck /Tribune/, Bismarck, North Dakota, Sunday, 04 March, > 2018: > > *Dear Annie:* I recently filled a prescription for cough syrup that > called for a 10-milliliter dosage. We do not use liters in this > country. I had to go online to convert the amount to teaspoons. > Could you give a shout to physicians, nurse practitioners and > pharmacists to let them know how dangerous this practice is to the > patient? -- Irked > > *Dear Irked:* I did some research to figure out why the > pharmaceutical industry would use the metric system in the United > States, where it might as well be Greek to many people. According to > the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, a nonprofit > standards development organization, the International System of > Units, known as SI, is better for designating dosages than the U.S. > customary system. The reason is consistency. > > While the U.S. system has 300 different units, the SI has just seven > base units. From the NCPDP: “The use of multiple volumetric units > (e.g., teaspoons, tablespoons, droppersful) and multiple > abbreviations ... (increases) the likelihood of dosing errors.” > > That said, the most important thing is that the patient understands > how to take the medication he or she is prescribed, and it’s health > care providers’ job to see to that. The next time you pick up a > prescription, ask your pharmacist for help with converting the dosage. > > http://bismarcktribune.com/lifestyles/dear-annie/article_c441cc1f-f0c6-51ff-bfb0-a8de2dc3d573.html > > The response from the newspaper’s advice columnist doesn’t mention the > variability of doses when given by teaspoons rather than dosing cups or > spoons etc, or that the pharmacist should have given the patient one, so > this would be a perfect opportunity for the USMA to reach out to the > public, especially as your organisation’s President is a pharmacist. > > > Best wishes, > > Peter, > > Melbourne, Australia > e-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > USMA mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma > -- James R. Frysinger 632 Stoney Point Mountain Road Doyle TN 38559-3030 (C) 931.212.0267 (H) 931.657.3107 (F) 931.657.3108 _______________________________________________ USMA mailing list [email protected] https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma _______________________________________________ USMA mailing list [email protected] https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
