Check Your Childs Medicine Dosages
There is a huge industry and market surrounding child care and medicine made specifically for children. While these medicines can be extremely beneficial and helpful to fight off infections, sickness, and discomfort, it is so important for parents to follow the correct dosages of these medications. Even the most common medications can be harmful when not administered correctly. If you are ever unsure if a certain medication is right for your child, you can always reach out to a doctor or pharmacist. The best pediatrician will take the time to sit down with you and explain the benefits and side effects of certain medications and how they should be administered. Here are a few tips for ensuring that your child is given the right amount of medicine according to their age and weight.
First, always make sure you are using proper tools and utensils to measure out medicine. Do not use a spoon from your kitchen or some other object that can not be measured accurately. Instead, use a dropper, a measuring cup, or syringe to get the precise amount of medication. Even household measuring cups are a bad idea to use for obvious reasons – you do not want to be preparing food with objects that could potentially be contaminated with medicine.
Secondly, make sure the medication you are giving your child is appropriate for their age and weight. Certain medications, such as cold medicine, are of little use to children under the age of four. Not only does it not help, it could cause some serious side effects. Instead, if your young child is feeling congested – try using a humidifier or saline nose drops. This also goes for older children. A Pediatrician Mill Valley CA can tell you, some medicine is simply not meant for children. Certain medications made for adults can not be given to children. On the same note, never give your child medicine prescribed to a different child. Even if the two children are experiencing the same symptoms, they may need a different drug with different dosages and directions.
Storing medication properly is just as important as administering it properly. Kids are naturally curious individuals. The packaging and flavors on children’s medication can be very bright and exciting – making it look like candy or a treat. While that grape flavored cough medicine does help it go down easier, should your child find the bottle while unsupervised and drink it, this could become serious very fast. Make sure your medication is all stored in safe locations far out of reach from curious children. A high kitchen or bathroom cabinet with a child-proof lock would be a great idea.
If you are giving your child multiple medications, make sure to check the bottles for the active ingredient. You do not want to give your child two different medications with the same active ingredient. For example, Tylenol and acetaminophen are the same, even if some people are not aware of this. Also, certain cough and cold medications also will contain acetaminophen, so if you were trying to give these medications to your child all at once, it could cause complications.
Overall, the best advice that you can get when it comes to administering medication is to follow the counsel of your child’s care provider and to follow the instructions as they are written on the medicine’s label. When a child is sick, every parent wants to be there for their child and help them get better. However, it is vital that should they use medication, they do it the right way, as directed. The effects could be counterintuitive and cause your child to become even sicker. If you are curious about which medications are right for your child, give your child’s care provider or see if they have any medicine dosage directions on their website. Many good pediatricians will have recommended dosages for common over-the-counter medications on their site, easy to find and free of charge.
