Dangers of kitchen spoons

By David Liu
  
One article published in the Jan 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine reminds us of the dangers of using kitchen spoons to measure liquid medicine.

Researchers asked former cold and flu sufferers to pour one teaspoon of nighttime flu medicine into kitchen spoons of differing sizes and they found the amount of measured medicine was anywhere between eight percent too little and 12 percent too much medicine.

Dr. Brian Wansink, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, who led the study, said the problem is with the size of the spoons.  When a medium-sized tablespoon is used, you tend to pour less, and when a large spoon is used, you tend to pour more.

Winsink said although 12 percent may not sound a lot, but it "goes on every four to eight hours for up to four days".  He said "it really adds up - to the point of ineffectiveness or even danger."

The point the researchers were apparently trying to make seems to be that visual illusions can affect our ability to estimate amounts.

"In some cases it may not be important, but when it comes to the health of you or your child, it is vital to make an accurate measurement," Dr. Koert van Ittersum, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Georgia Tech was quoted as saying in a statement.

A health observer suggests that there should be little danger associated with using spoons as measurement instruments if there is.
 
For one thing, the body weight is a determinant for a medicine’s efficacy and toxicity, which can be more important than the measuring error.  Equal amounts of colds or flu medicine do not deliver the same efficacy and toxicity likewise in a 100-pound child and a 50-pound child.

However, the overdosing leading to serious consequences does happen to young children.  That is why consumer advocates urge the FDA to disallow drug makers to sell the over-the-counter colds and flu medicine for use in children under the age 6.