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Summary of Re: Q/gf childrens pain/fever medication

One respondent stated:
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I have recently spoken with McNiel in US and they said they cannot
guarantee children's Tylenol is gluten-free.  I have since been in
touch with several Celiac support groups in my area who have informed
me that Children's Panedol is gluten-free,  I purchased some and
called the company.  They assured me that it is gluten-free and gave
me a short list of their other products that are gluten-free.
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(*Children's Panedol is not available in Canada; only the extra-strength
500 mg acetominophen is sold here.)

I forwarded the above e-mail to a pharmacist in the US.  This is a
summary of her response:
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(snip) The sad fact is that many ingredients used in the manufacturing
process come to the pharmaceutical company premixed and the syrups for
many liquids or suspending agents are patented and considered proprietary
therefore it is a secret.  This really sucks I know.  When I talked to
McNeil, they guarenteed their tablets gf but not their liquids.  That may
be what the gentleman was referring to, was he looking at liquids or
tablets.  It seems to me that until we have a home test for the
offending prolamines this will remain a problem.  Manufactures don't
test for certain populations.  They have to make sure their product is
safe for the majority of the population, but that doesn't mean that some
folks won't have a problem with the drug, or dosage form (snip)
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Situations or conditions arise where it is necessary to take medication.
We rely on the information given to us by various drug companies that
their product is gluten-free.  If, however, a gluten-reaction is
experienced when taking a certain medication, what is preventing us
from  phoning the manufacturer of the drug in question, providing the
lot and batch number, and asking if an analysis has been done to
identify the presence of gliadin, secalin, hordein, or avenin.

There are many drug companies that strive to ensure that their drugs are
gluten-free. I would like to see this continue -  at least it's a guideline
to go by.

A blanket-statement made by a company that it can not always assure
100% gluten-free status may be  an indication that this particular
company has taken the time and effort to investigate and understand the
issues and concerns of a gluten intolerance.

Not intended as medical advice.
Regards, Marilyn