January 31, 2013: 2.3 Million Triaminic and Theraflu Products Recalled

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with the pharmaceutical company Novartis, Inc., today announced a recall of 2.3 million units of Theraflu Warming Relief® Syrups and Triaminic® syrups. The child-resistant caps on these products can fail to function properly and enable the cap to be removed by a child with the tamper-evident seal in place, posing a risk of unintentional ingestion and poisoning. Four children opened the child-resistant caps and accidentally ingested the medication themselves. These products contain acetaminophen and diphenhydramine which are required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act to be sealed with child-resistant packaging.

What's the Deal?

This recall involves six kinds of Triaminic® Syrups and 18 kinds of Theraflu Warming Relief® Syrups for coughs, colds and fevers. A complete list of products, lot numbers and National Drug Codes (NDC) can be found at www.novartisOTC.com. Lot numbers are located on the bottom panel of the box and on the left side of the label on the bottle. The NDC number is located on the upper right corner of the front panel of the Triaminic Syrups box and the upper left corner of the Theraflu Warming Relief Syrups bottle.

Do You Own It?

The medicine was sold at food, drug, mass merchandise and club stores nationwide between May 2010 and December 2011 for about $5.

What Should You Do?

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and contact Novartis for instructions on how to return the product for a full refund.

You can contact Novartis Consumer Healthcare toll-free at (866) 553-6742 from 8 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday through Saturday, or online at www.novartisOTC.com for more information.

Click here to see the official recall.