MEDICINES for BABIES
ACETAMINOPHEN: Acetaminophen is sold under the brand names of Tylenol, Tempra, Panadol and Actinol. Acetaminophen is a very strong but safe medicine for lowering temperature and easing pain. Acetaminophen used to come in many strengths and this caused confusion and either under dosing or much more dangerous overdosing. Acetaminophen can kill the liver with as little as a 4 fold overdose, so double check everything your doing when dosing. Acetaminophen now comes in a standard liquid of the strength 160mg / 5ml. Acetaminophen is also available in 80 mg and 160 mg chewables, in 325 mg pills and 500 mg caplets. You can give acetaminophen every 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain or temperature, but the effect may only last for 3 1/2 hours. Remember, if your child is less than 2 months old and has a fever >100.5, then please call me.
IBUPROFEN: Also known as Pediaprofen, Children’s Motrin and Advil. This is a powerful medicine for reducing fever, easing pain and fighting inflammation. The medicine has been prescription for years and finally came out over the counter for kids in late 1995. Although Ibuprofen is powerful, it is not a narcotic, not addictive and some consider it even safer than Acetaminophen. The medicine comes in several forms just like acetaminophen. Ibuprofen may be given every 6 to 8 hours and even with acetaminophen. ( 5 cc = 5 ml = 1 tsp. ).
BENEDRYL: Benedryl is a antihistamine used to treat allergic reactions, itching and occasionally motion sickness. In an emergency the following doses are safe for a single use, but you should call if you notice swelling, difficulty breathing or you need to give more than one dose. Please use a syringe to measure and double check your measurement. There is only one strength over the counter and all generics have the same strength ( 12.5 mg / tsp. ) ( 5 cc = 5 ml = 1 tsp. ).
COLD MEDICINES: A cold or upper respiratory tract infection is always viral. The symptoms we feel are simply our bodies response to the virus either to try to rid the body of a contagion or just to irritate us. We cannot treat the actual infection itself. Antibiotics do not work for viruses and we don’t have any antiviral drugs that work for colds. What we do have are medicines that try to relieve the discomfort of the symptoms of a cold. Decongestants dry up congestion, cough suppressants relieve coughs, cough expectorants moisten secretions to make coughing them out easier, and acetaminophen and ibuprofen relieve pain and fever. The safe doses of these medicines below 6 months of age ARE NOT KNOWN. Many doctors prescribe cold medicines knowing they rarely do any good and often give side effects, because we feel parents want them. That is our mistake. Parents want their child to feel better, not have a side effect from a medicine that probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. Please refer to the nasal congestion section for how you can help your child through nasal congestion and colds. I have been asking grandmothers for 30 years: “Have you ever used a cold medicine that did any good”, I am still waiting for my first “Yes”. As a general rule, I never recommend cold medications unless the potential benefits outweigh any risks. Please remember that colds medicines do not cure, treat, prevent or improve anything, at best they relieve symptoms, at that they do a lousy job and at worst they may result in a trip to the emergency room because of a side effect ( approximately 100,000 emergency room visits per year are due to cold medicine side effects with several hundred deaths per year from the medicine). Environmental allergies often resemble colds. They do not usually start until after 6 months of age, do not have a fever, the cough is often when they first awaken in the morning and when they lay down at night and they linger for weeks. If you feel your child has allergies instead of a cold, Benadryl is worth a try. If it helps, its allergies, because antihistamines do not help cold symptoms.
ALWAYS USE A SYRINGE OR DROPPER TO MEASURE, NOT A SPOON!
TIP: acetaminophen comes with a syringe, but it only has marks for 1.25, 2.5, and 3.75ml (also known as 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp and 3/4 tsp respectively). Using the supplied syringe to get 1.8ml, this is simply half way between the 1.25 and 2.5ml mark. Its easiest to buy a syringe with more lines.
