Conn. issues public health warning against giving infants antihistamines

The state of Connecticut issued a warning this month, telling parents that they should never use antihistamines in order to put infants to sleep.

This warning comes after a Brooklyn woman prepared sippy cups for her children laced with allergy medicine in an effort to get her children to fall asleep faster. Her infant daughter died due to "acute diphenhydramine intoxication," the active drug in the medicine, reports the Norwich Bulletin. The mother was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The Child Fatality Review Panel issued the warning; the state agency investigates deaths of children that were in state care and works to advocate for children at risk.

The panel discovered there were at least four infant and child deaths in Connecticut in recent months from Benadryl and other antihistamines, reports the Norwich Bulletin. 

In online polls, the panel found that one in five mothers said they had given their children medicine to get through events like a long car ride or riding an airplane.

The FDA says that children under 2 years old shouldn't be given any medicine that has decongestant or antihistamine because there are life threatening side effects.

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Cox Media Group