Spoons give wrong medicine doses

From NHS Choices News • Thursday 15 July 2010
Category: Medication

"Parents should not give their children medicine from an ordinary teaspoon,"� said the Daily Express. The newspaper said that spoon size can vary greatly, leading to doses that are far too large or small.

The research behind this story measured the sizes of a sample of teaspoons collected from 25 households in Greece. These varied in size, with the smallest holding 2.5ml of liquid and the largest holding 7.3ml. A standard dosing teaspoon holds 5ml. The research also found variation in the amount of medicine participants used to fill a standard 5ml spoon.

In the UK, the NHS-prescribed medications for children come with a standard-sized spoon or measuring cup and sometimes an oral syringe. People are advised to never use a household teaspoon to administer liquid medication as they vary in size. If you are concerned about how to measure out and give medicine to your child, ask your pharmacist, who can advise you.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from The Alfa Institute of Biomedical medicine Sciences in Greece, and received no external funding. The study was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Clinical Practice.