By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Increasing numbers of young children are showing up in emergency rooms after accidentally ingesting the cough suppressant benzonatate, U.S. health officials reported Tuesday.
Benzonatate is a non-narcotic cough suppressant first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1958 for children ages 10 and up. It works by reducing the cough reflex in the lungs and airways.
“Benzonatate is an appealing cough and cold medication due to its non-narcotic properties,” said Dr. Elise Perlman, an emergency department physician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, N.Y.
“For this reason, there has been…
