Medication for your children

(Health bulletin)

For many parents giving the medication to their children sometimes become a nightmare. Child can not drink like grown up people. Many times they close their mouth, screaming, spitting and throwing all medication that come to their mouth. Though most of the medicines for children are in flavour syrup with interesting colour.
Researcher said that more than a half of children do not receive a proper amount of the medication while their parent giving them medication.
To prevent the difficulties, and to smoothen giving the medicine in child/baby, you may try the following tips:

Giving medication to your infant & toddler

1. When you are giving your infant a medicine, you can carry him with his head position higher than the body because it will prevent him from choking
2. If your infant gets fussy, ask someone else to help you (i.e. your husband or your older child).
But if you were alone, you may wrap your child hand and body with a blanket so it doesn’t bother you.
3. If your infant always spits out the medicine, ask someone to help you to open infant mouth gently then you squirt a medicine to his mouth.
4. Children medications usually are in liquid form. When giving your infant a liquid medication, usually using a spoon or oral droppers.
> Using a spoon, after you fill up the spoon with the medication put the spoon just above the lower lips. Lift up gently the spoon so the medication will flow to the mouth slowly.
> Using oral dropper, simply you squirt the medicine between your child tongue and the side of her mouth.
5. For eye, nose or ear drop medication, before you give the medication you should:
> Put the bottle in vertical position inside the warm water for a few minutes. This will relieve the surprising moment to your baby when the medicine comes into the nose or ear.
> Not touch the droppers to the nose, ear or eye to prevent contamination of the germ with the medication inside the bottle.
7. If your child hates the taste, try adding a little sugar or honey to the spoon to make the taste better.
8. Do not combine medicines with milk or try to mix them into a bowl of cereal. These may effect the medications active ingredient and limit its absorption. Your child also may only eat part, or it settles to the bottom and never gets into her mouth.
9. Mixed the medication, especially in powder form, with syrup or honey to reduce the bitter.
10. Do not dissolve the medicine in the glass because your child may only eat part, or it settles to the bottom and never gets into the mouth.
11. Ask you child to pinch the nose while taking medication, so they don’t smell the flavour of the medicine.
12. Ask your child to brush the teeth after taking sweet medicines.
Medicines are “foreign” to our body so we have to take it carefully. It can cure diseases but it is also dangerous if not taken correctly. The medicines will work properly if we follow some tips below:
1) Stick with the schedule. Prescription medications need to be given consistently and at the right times, to help your child get better.
2) Give the right amount. Measure carefully, do not be tempted to increase the amount of medicine you give to your child in an attempt to speed up recovery. Giving your child more medicine than is directed may harm him.
3) Do not stop too soon, Your child should continue to take the prescription medication for its full course especially for antibiotic, even if he begins to feel better. The infection can come back if you stop too soon.
4) Take the medicine safely (see below).



Taking medications safely

One more thing in giving the medicines to your child is to prevent from poisoning or overdose. Here below are some tips for the parent to avoid your children from overdose and poisoning:
1. Read the prescription label before open the medicine’s package and upon giving the medicines. Read carefully the name of the medication, patient name, expiration date and instruction.
2. Supervise your children when they take any medications
3. Before using any medications, always check the package. Do not use any medication from a package that shows cuts, tears or other imperfections.
4. Be sure your paediatrician knows your child is taking more than one medication at a time
5. Give the correct dose. Never guess how much to give your child based on his size.
6. Do not keep the used medicines for long period of time.
7. Store your medications in a locked cabinet away from your child