Use a dosing spoon, measuring cap, or medicine dropper when pouring medicines to ensure that you're getting the correct dose.

It not only tastes terrible, it's not even the correct amount.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—People relying on common kitchen spoons to measure out cough syrup or other medication (Let's face it, who doesn't do this?) could be taking too little or too much, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. This is particularly problematic for small children, who are more easily poisoned from common medicine-cabinet syrups, including cold medicine.

THE DETAILS: During cold and flu season, Cornell University researchers asked 195 college students who recently visited the school health clinic to pour a teaspoon dose of cold medicine onto a teaspoon, a medium-sized tablespoon, and a larger spoon, in varying order. After asking the students to pour a teaspoon dose into the different-size spoons, researchers asked them to describe how confident they were that the dose they poured was correct. Next, the researchers measured the students' pours and found that the amount of medicine the students had poured varied with the size of the spoon. The students poured less than the dosage (8.4 percent less than prescribed) when pouring into the medium-size tablespoon, and over-poured (11.6 percent more than prescribed) when using a larger spoon. Twenty percent of the participants had above-average confidence that their pours were on target.

WHAT IT MEANS: While those relatively small overdoses might not seem like much, the researchers hypothesize that the dosing errors become more pronounced when sick, groggy patients continue to medicate themselves throughout a several-day sickness. On top of that, the participants poured the medicine in a well-lit room in the middle of the day, not half-asleep in the middle of the night.

Here's how to avoid an accidental medicine mistake during this cold and flu season.

• Measure it right. The study authors say most people still measure medicine at home with kitchen spoons, despite warnings to the contrary from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To reduce the risk of getting too little—or too much—when you're sick, keep a dosing spoon, dosing capper, or medicine dropper on hand, and measure using one of those reliable measuring devices.

• Follow the labels to a T. Getting even just a little too much of a medicine can cause serious health problems. Last year, the FDA held an advisory committee meeting on mitigating the risks of acetaminophen-caused liver toxicity, and suggested lowering the recommended maximum dosage (4 grams) because taking a dose just slightly higher can cause liver damage. Acetaminophen is an active ingredient in Tylenol and many other over-the-counter cold, flu, and sinus meds, along with some prescription medicines.

To learn more, check out our story, How to Keep Your Medicine from Hurting—or Killing—You.