Combination of Motrin and Robitussin drugs is safe for adults and children

Feb 6 2010

A viral e-mail currently making the rounds between private accounts and public message boards warning of a danger posed by mixing over-the-counter medications Motrin and Robitussin is unfounded.

While no child younger than age four should be given cough and cold medicines, the Food and Drug Administration has approved combination drugs that mix ibuprofen (the active ingredient in Motrin) and dextromethorphan and/or pseudoephedrine (the active ingredients in Robitussin medications) for older children and adults. There is no evidence to suggest that ibuprofen, dextromethorphan or pseudoephedrine can cause heart attacks in otherwise healthy children or adults when combined.

Of course, all medications can have side effects, and parents of children with underlying medical conditions must always be vigilant about the medications their child is taking. When in doubt, parents should consult their child’s healthcare provider or a pharmacist before mixing over-the-counter medications.

About the e-mail

The e-mail falsely suggests a female patient (usually named Madison or Madeline) died from cardiac arrest after her parents gave her a combination of Motrin and Robitussin. Different versions of the e-mail have been circulating the Internet for more than a year.

In 2009, a Children’s employee received the e-mail from a friend and inadvertently forwarded it from a work account. Because the employee’s professional signature was included at the bottom of the e-mail, the information appeared to come from a reliable source at Children’s Medical Center. This is not the case.

Parents should always check sources of information they receive on the Internet when making decisions about their children’s health, even if it means consulting a doctor. The best place for information from the pediatric specialists at Children’s Medical Center is our official Web site, childrens.com.