Choosing Medicine for Your Children
Medicine > Choosing Medicine for Your Children
Not all medicines out there are made for children, and in fact, there are many medicines that are available over the counter that can be dangerous for younger children, even when they are given following the instructions on the medicine packaging. In the United States, the USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) requires all pharmaceutical medicine manufacturers to provide information regarding age restrictions on all medicine (even the kind available over the counter). The next time you are shopping for cough syrup you should pay attention to the children’s dosage guidelines that are printed on the side of the box and be sure to follow the instructions and guidelines for that particular medicine.
It is also good to know that many companies make children’s versions of many of their poplar medicine brands available. These “children’s medicines” have been designed and dosed properly for younger people and are usually made to be much less harsh on the system than their adult counterparts. For example, one common children’s medicine is the chewable children’s aspirin. This type of aspirin is flavored to make taking medicine a more painless and a bit more fun for children, which can make it a lot easier to get your child to take his or her medicine without putting up too much of a fuss. Another popular item is children’s cough medicine. This type of cough syrup usually comes in a smaller bottle and contains a modified proportion of the proper medicine that allows a proper dose to be administered in a volume as small as an eyedropper. This can be a lot easier to get your child to take than several spoonfuls of the “yucky” tasting adult medicine, and when it comes to children, sometimes just getting them to take their
When giving children adult medicine, be sure to read the labels thoroughly (even when they say that they are safe for a certain age group) and be sure to be aware when medicine has ingredients that can be potentially harmful to children like alcohol or certain pain relievers.