A new published report provides evidence that household spoons are not the best way to measure doses of liquid medications due to their wide variation in size, as well as differences among peoples methods of measurement and human error.
The volume a teaspoon can hold varies a lot, from 2 ml to 10 ml depending on the size of the spoon.
There is also great variation in how people measure using the same spoon.
Researchers interviewed a sample of 105 women and 25 men in the waiting areas of 3 clinics in the St. Paul, Minnesota, region.
73% of those studied used teaspoons to measure out liquid doses.
The most common error was mistakenly measuring 1 teaspoon instead of 1 tablespoon.
The researchers also found that of all the available options, including an oral dosing syringe, a cylindrical spoon, an oral dropper, and a baby dispenser, the syringe was the most effective, with 92% of those studied achieving accurate measurements when using the device.
Women were significantly better at administering medicines than men.
Researchers found that dosing instructions are more likely to be properly followed if they are expressed in terms of the number of doses per day, rather than an hourly interval (e.g., "3-4 times daily" is better than "every 6 hours").
When dosing was expressed in terms of hourly intervals, only 4 out of 10 correctly interpreted the dosage.
When dosage was expressed in terms of the number of doses per day, the accuracy increased to 9 out of 10.
The researchers conclude that oral syringes should be the administration method of choice and, whenever possible, dosage instructions should indicate the number of required dosages per day rather than the hour intervals between dosages, especially for children.
The Journal of Family Practice August 2000;49:741-744
In life it is generally the little things that make a big difference. As most all of you know I am no fan of most medications, but if they are used they really do need to be used in the correct dosages. My suspicion is that most people are not aware of the inaccuracy of most teaspoons. If you are going to use a teaspoon to measure a medicine, please be sure it is one used for cooking so you can be certain that the dose you are dispensing is accurate. The syringes also make even more accurate dispensing devices and are actually much preferred. Another option might be to use the dispensers that often come with children's medications.
Also, if unsure, always err on the cautious side and give the lower dose. Lastly, always make sure that there is good communication between parents about who is administering the doses. One of my staff had an experience where he gave his daughter a scheduled dose and then 5 minutes later, not knowing this, the mother gave the dose again. They called a poison-control center immediately and luckily it was serious and everything was fine. But don't take that chance.