LISBON: Many parents give their children too large or frequent doses of non-prescription medicines for fever, coughs and colds, putting their health at risk, according to an Australian study released Monday.

"Many children are being put at risk by parents’ over-use of widely-available over the counter medicines for fever, coughs and colds," concluded the study by University of Sydney researchers presented at a conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

"We were surprised and concerned to find that some people thought that medicines must be safe because you can buy them without prescription", said Rebekah Moles, who headed up the study of 97 parents and day care centre employees.

"Taking all the scenarios together, 44 percent of participants would have given an incorrect dose, and only 64 percent were able to measure accurately the dose they intended to give", said Moles.

Only 14 percent managed the fever scenario correctly.

The noted that 48 percent of calls in 2008 to the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre, which receives all out of hours calls from around Australia, concerned accidental overdose in children, with 15 percent needing hospitalisation.

Australia is unlikely to be a special case, the researchers said, and they believe that the inappropriate use of children`s medicines is widespread throughout the world.

"It is vital that parents worldwide should understand the proper usage of medicines so that they do not continue to put their children`s health at risk," said Moles.

BDST: 0954 HRS, August 30, 2010