Much of the issue stems from simple user error because our current measuring system is confusing. Parents who need to give liquid medication to their kids are more prone to making measurement errors when they’re given a prescription that’s written in teaspoons or tablespoons; some of them even end up using kitchen spoons because they’re more easily accessible.
Metric measurements, meanwhile, are simpler because they rely on a decimal system. Since the liter system is expressed in factors of ten, converting between measurements simply involves moving a decimal point, rather than trying to remember how many teaspoons equal a tablespoon. That’s why researchers think a milliliter-only system doled out by syringes could help prevent parents from making common measuring errors.
In fact, according to a recent study in the journal Pediatrics, dosage mistakes are cut in half when the prescriptions are written in metric units instead.
“Medications and doctor visits with sick children can be confusing, and we ought to do what we can to make sure that instructions are clear, using consistent units that are the same on the label and the device used to measure,” Dr. Roy Benaroch, an assistant adjunct professor of pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta, told HealthDay News.