Kathmandu, April 20 -- A new mother in Kathmandu took her two-month-old baby to hospital to treat an infection. The doctor diagnosed upper respiratory infection (URI) and prescribed half a dozen medications, including the cough syrup Dextromethorphan.

Dextromethorphan is not recommended for children under four by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2008 after studies showed it to be ineffective for colds and causes damage to the central nervous system.

In Saptari, a 14-month-old boy with chronic cough was taken to a private clinic multiple times. In each visit, the doctor there prescribed Dextromethorphan and Beclomethasone, a corticosteroid.

The child's skin became swollen and sore, and he was brought to Om Hospital in Kat...