Did Kimber Michelle Brown Overdose On Cough Medicine By Mistake?

[TheMorningStar]

Kimber Michelle Brown, daughter of Mike Brown and Raelyn Anderson-Brown of Durango, had almost 2½ times the upper limit of dextromethorphan – an over-the-counter drug found in cough and cold suppressants, according to a toxicology report.
The girl also had above therapeutic levels of Cetirizine, another over-the-counter drug used to treat colds or allergy symptoms, said Dr. Carol Huser, La Plata County coroner.
Combining the two depressants produced a greater toxicity than each drug would have caused alone, Huser said.
“In my opinion, the combination of these drugs – which were the ingredients of the over-the-counter medications with which Kimber was being treated – caused her death,” Huser wrote in an autopsy report released this week.

Kimber died early Feb. 12 while staying at her grandmother’s house in the 31000 block of U.S. Highway 550, about 10 miles north of Durango.
Her father is an investigator with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
The grandmother, identified Friday by the sheriff’s office as Linda Sheets, 59, the mother of Anderson-Brown, had been treating the girl for flu-like symptoms, Huser said.
It is possible the grandmother inaccurately measured the doses of medicine or that Kimber self-medicated beyond the dosage she was given, Huser said.
The medications were kept on a counter within reach of the girl, she said.
The 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

http://durangoherald.com/article/201...704149969/-1/s

[AngelFire]

This is scary. I stopped doing over the counter meds with my kids. Now I try anything but meds to help with their colds, especially my 7 year old...

[HeatherHabilatory]

I take Cetirizine every day. It says ONE a day clearly on the bottle.

[spinst]

I wonder if the tripping that's associated with DXM went on before she died - that would've been a tale-tell symptom of too much syrup.

[VAS1326]

I'm not familiar enough with medications and children's versions of medications to have a real good opinion on how this could have happened. I don't know how easy it would be to give a child over 2x's the suggested amount and such. I guess I'm going to have to wait to see what the experts say about this before I decide wether grandma did this on purpose or not. This is an area I have no clue.

I've been real lucky my kids are rarely sick (my oldest is the only child to ever have an ear infection and she had it at age 1 and is now 15 and my youngest had RSV last year. My 2nd born has never been on prescribed medicine for anything and he is 8. My 2 year old son hasn't either) I do give my kids over the counter medications when need which isn't very often. Though my kids rarely have fevers and are rarely ever sick. I'm going to find some wood to knock on now I don't want to jinx myself by saying that.

[HeatherHabilatory]

Cetirizine is Zyrtec. I have a generic version. It says 6 and up, one a day. Do not give more than one in a 24 hour period.
as for the cough medicine, we don't use it a whole lot, even for ourselves. We buy a bottle every few years. So, I'm not too familiar with it.
By the time I will USE cough medicine, it's to the point I need an RX. That bottle is WAY UP HIGH in the kitchen cabinet. It will probably expire before I use it.

[TheMorningStar]

I don't expect charges to be filed. Grandma must feel like shit.
I find it hard to believe that this was on purpose. The only charge I can think of is reckless endangerment because the medicine was left within reach of the child. What purpose would that serve? Its not like she is a danger to society.
I see three lessons here:
1) Keep all medicine out of the reach of children.
2) Always measure with the plastic cup that comes with that specific medicine (unless tsp. or some such thing is the unit of measure).
3) Only mix meds (even over the counter ones) after consulting a doctor or pharmacist.

[VAS1326]

Cetirizine is Zyrtec. I have a generic version. It says 6 and up, one a day. Do not give more than one in a 24 hour period.
as for the cough medicine, we don't use it a whole lot, even for ourselves. We buy a bottle every few years. So, I'm not too familiar with it.
By the time I will USE cough medicine, it's to the point I need an RX. That bottle is WAY UP HIGH in the kitchen cabinet. It will probably expire before I use it.

Thanks for clearing that up. She must have had allergy issues on top of the cold she was taking cold medicine for. It seems odd she would have above the recommended dose if the instructions are clear. Though they didn't say how much she had only she had above the recommended does in her system. I'm having a hard time with the above the recommended dose since it's only one a day. It's not like say every 4 hours and maybe grandma gave it to her too early. Not with a one a day pill.

The cold syrup I guess it could be easier to over dose with since even with the measuring cup sometimes it can be confusing. I once had some Pedi-care that had markings on both sides of the cup (since it was very specific how much for each age range) and if you filled the wrong side thinking the 2nd mark was 2tsp then you would have given too much. Maybe grandma didn't pay close enough attention.

Or maybe the girl did try to treat herself. Maybe she felt bad and the medicines were there and she thought taking more would make her feel better faster.

Either way it seems like an avoidable tragedy.

[HeatherHabilatory]

It was an avoidable tragedy either way. Teach our kids responsible medication-ing (can't think of another word) and keep medications locked up, no matter how old they are.

My daughter is so funny. If she doesn't feel well, she'll say "I'm going to go lay down and read a book til I fall asleep. When I wake up I bet I'll feel better." The only time she asks for help is scrapes/cuts/etc. She has me clean it out properly, put neosporin on it, and bandage it. Later on, we repeat the process all over again, at her request.

[Silvahalo]

Cold/cough/allergy meds are still well marketed for young children but about 5 years ago or so the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), put a strong warning to parents to not give such meds to children under the age of 5 yo, some pedi's like my kids' go so far to say under the age of 6yo.

Its real easy to fuck up a dose if a sleepy parent is administering to a child in half sleep in a dim room. An over dose of 2 1/2X dextromethorphan AND zyrtec would do a number on the child's respiratory abilities (I'm not a dr. but a well informed mom)....putting little Kimber in distress never to wake again. Grandmother may have had no real clue how dangerously she was medicating her granddaughter, lots of people really are just ignorant thinking kiddo's drugs eh, no big harm.

but...sounds suspicious. Could have been an accident but easily not.

Rest in peace Kimber Michelle Brown.

[ibutterflyaway]

This is really, really sad. I'm so sorry for her family and especially her grandmother. I hope she doesn't blame herself for the rest of her life. On a less serious note - a few years ago my son severely broke his arm. When we got to the ER the nurse told him she was going to give him a shot to help with the pain. He asked what it was and she said "just some drugs to help you relax so we can do our jobs". He said, very seriously: "No thank you. I don't use drugs. I can take the pain so just go ahead". It was really cute. He was about 7.