by Christi Qazi / December
2007 There have indeed
been some children hurt and
even killed by overdosing of
so called "infant" over the
counter cold products.
However, in general these
products are safe and
effective when given
appropriately, and the
children are monitored.
There are several things
parents need to know before
giving their children these
medicines, which in 99% of
kids are perfectly safe.
While these products will
NOT cure the cold or flu
your infant has, they can
create some relief so that
the baby and you can both
get a good night's sleep.
PSEUDOEPHEDRINE
When purchasing products
containing pseudoephedrine,
most pharmacies are lazy and
will sell only one box at a
time. This is NOT in the
spirit of the law, it does
not conform to the law and
it is "policy" because many
of the workers in large
chain pharmacies do
not want to do the simple
math that it takes to find
out how much ACTIVE
pseudoephedrine is in the
medicine. The restriction is
on the amount of actual
pseudoephedrine, not the
amount of boxes you buy at
once. Find a smart
pharmacist like I have, who
actually calculates out how
much active pseudoephedrine
the product contains and not
just enact a blanket policy
of 1 box of any
pseudoephedrine product per
day. You will be better off
doing this because if both
you and your child are ill,
you will not have to choose
1 box of medicine and decide
who gets to have sleep and
relief that night. Also,
this is my opinion as a
mother and a chemist,
phenylpherine IS NOT
equivalent, and does not
work as well as
pseudoephedrine, these are
sold over the counter and
they are a waste of money.
When purchasing a cold
and cough medicine for a
child 2 and under there
are things you need
to consider:
1)
DO NOT OVER MEDICATE;
if your child does not have
a cough, do not give him a
medicine that has cough
suppressant, only treat the
symptoms he/she has.
2) NEVER, NEVER dose
based on age, instead dose
based on weight. If you do
not know the weight of your
child,
do not
guess. Get out
your scale and weigh
yourself, then get on the
scale and pick up your
child. This will give you
his/her weight within an
acceptable margin of error.
It is especially important
to get an accurate weight
before giving sedating
medicines such as Benadryl.
If your child is in between
weight classes, go with the
lower dose, and if your
child has any adverse
reactions to the
medications, or has not
improved at all after 2
days, take your child to a
pediatrician for an
examination.
THE REAL PROBLEM
WITH INFANT MEDICATIONS
The real problem with
infant medications is the
fact that the packaging only
discusses how much medicine
to give your child based on
kids over the ages 2 or 6
years or based on a weight
that corresponds with most
kids in that age group.
Medication needs to be
administered by the weight
of the child, not age per
say. If I have a 4 year old
that weighs 36lbs and he is
to get 1 tsp of medication
this is clear, but the
instructions on the box say
for children under 2 to call
a doctor. Let me tell you at
3A.M. your 1.5 year old
comes in with a fever of
103, you either deal with it
or go to a local ER, not
many parents think to ask
the question BEFORE they are
in the situation. My 1.5
year old weighs 28lbs, which
is well within the cutoff of
24lbs for a tsp of Motrin
and Tylenol. In essence my 4
year old and my 1.5 year old
take the same dosage because
their weights dictate that
this is an appropriate
amount to give them both.
HOW TO DOSE
CORRECTLY
Again, know how much your
child weighs. Do NOT
overdress a child that has a
fever, strip him or her to a
light cotton tee-shirt and a
diaper and begin treatment.
Place room temperature
cloths at the base of his
neck, throat, forehead and
on top of his head. He/She
might be unhappy but you are
protecting their brain.
Anything above 103F that
does not respond to Motrin
and Tylenol, you are not
qualified to treat at home,
so go ahead and dose them
with Tylenol AND (YES I SAID
AND) Motrin, unless they
have any allergies with
either of these medications,
then head to the ER if it
has been more than 30
minutes. Some will tell you
ear thermometers are not
accurate, but if you buy the
mid priced ones, ($50USD)
and learn how to use it
correctly, it will give you
great results. I have found
my Braun ear thermometer is
dead on with my rectal
thermometer. If you choose
to use a rectal thermometer,
remember to subtract 1
degree from the reading and
clean it right away with
Isopropyl, AKA Rubbing
Alcohol.
A little side note about
IPA or Rubbing Alcohol: My
mother and many generations
before used it to bring down
fevers FAST. Most
pediatricians do not
recommend using this method
as they are concerned with
alcohol poisoning. I am
sorry to say I
disagree....While I would
not dunk their whole bodies
in a bath of the stuff, I do
find that when my children
have very high fevers and
the Acetaminophen/Motrin
combo has not kicked in yet,
I use rubbing alcohol
squares on the back of their
necks and on the trunks of
their bodies to help bring
their fevers down fast and
give the meds a chance to
work. This has saved me
numerous trips to the ER.
Some cautions:
Never get the alcohol into
their eyes, and be careful
that you keep it away from
their noses as the fumes are
quite strong. After 2-3
applications (about 30
minutes), if there is no
change in fever, I would go
to the ER.
COUGH MEDICINE
There are many different
cough medicines, but the
most infamous one right now
is Dextromethaphan. Before
it was an evil additive that
a few teenagers figured out
they could drink to give
them a small high with high
risks, it was commonly added
to children's and adults
meds to calm coughs.
Personally, the prescription
cough medications that
contain a tiny bit of
codeine work much better,
but if you have to use a
over the counter medicine,
again dose by weight. These
dosage charts are easily
found on the internet or you
can call your doctor. The
only problem I read about
Dextromethaphan was related
to a child who was given the
correct amount, but unknown
to his family, he had a rare
metabolic disorder which
prohibited the child from
metabolizing the
Dextromethaphan and after a
week he sadly passed away as
lethal doses built up in his
body. This is a one in a
million defect that his
parents could not know
about, which is why I say
MONITOR your child for any
strange behavior or for
signs that they are not
getting any better. In these
cases, Doctors should be
consulted and other
prescriptions can be tried.
These medicines are a
great tool in our medicine
cabinets when used properly,
but you must as the parent
become educated and take
responsibility for learning
how and when to dose your
child with these medicines.
Do not let a very few cases
of mishaps detour you from
giving your child some
needed relief. If you have
any questions a pediatrician
should be able to take care
of all of your questions,
because when used as
directed these are safe,
effective and useful
medications.
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