If your house is like mine, taking liquid medicine means heading into the kitchen for a spoon from the silverware drawer.
For over-the-counter cough and cold medicine, that's probably OK, because everyone at my house takes the adult dose.
But for prescription medicines, I'll be rethinking my practice. And for younger children, kitchen spoons are a definite no-no.
That's because at my house and probably at yours a teaspoon isn't always a teaspoon.
Which may help explain why a friend's 60-day supply of antibiotics for his daughter is nearly gone after a month.
I measured a teaspoon in a cylindrical dosing spoon and in a dropper, both from a local pharmacy. The same amount of liquid hit the same mark in each.
But every kitchen spoon I used held more than a teaspoon. Most held 1 1/4 teaspoons. Even my plastic measuring spoon, clearly marked "1 teaspoon," held 1 1/4 teaspoons. (I'm glad I found out now, rather than when I was cooking for company!)
If my friend had been using one of my kitchen spoons, his daughter would have gotten an extra week's worth of antibiotics over the course of a month. That's a big difference.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says 75 percent of Americans use a dinner teaspoon to measure liquid medicine, meaning we're using too much or sometimes too little medicine. Flatware isn't made to a standard, so there's no way of knowing whether yours is a true teaspoon unless you test it.
The best advice is to use the measuring device that comes with the medicine.
A number of measuring devices are available for use with over-the-counter drugs. Here's a look at choices for children:
Syringes. They're most convenient for infants. The medicine can be squirted to the back of the baby's mouth, where it's less likely to spill out.
Droppers. They're also safe and easy to use with infants and children too young for a cup.
Cylindrical dosing spoons. They look like test tubes with a spoon at one end. They're easy to hold, and the small spoon fits in small mouths.
Dose cups. They're convenient for children and anyone else who can drink from a cup without spilling.
In all cases, measure at eye level and make sure you carefully check the numbers on the side. A "tsp." isn't the same as a "Tbsp." And a teaspoon isn't always a teaspoon.
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