medical safety
Pain relief for kids
– 5 pointers for parents
There is no room for error when giving pain relief medication to your children at home. Too small a dose may not ease the pain effectively, while too much of the medicine can cause liver or kidney damage, leading to organ failure and may even be fatal. A pharmacist from South Africa’s largest national courier pharmacy provides advice for parents on getting the dose just right for your baby or child.
“I
ncorrect dosing is a potential problem when it comes to medication that is available to the public without a doctor’s prescription. This can be especially dangerous for children as even a relatively small overdose can be extremely harmful for their little bodies,” says pharmacist Siphamandla Mbuli of Medipost Pharmacy. “On the other hand, parents may sometimes under-dose their children by not giving them enough pain medication to ease their discomfort. Parents and caregivers therefore need to be sure they fully understand the dosage of selfcare medication, such as paracetamol, for treatment of pain and fever before giving it to babies and children in their care,” he says. Paracetamol is the most common over-the-counter analgesic or pain relief medication and is present either alone or in combination with other compounds in many medicines under various trade names in either syrup, drops, sachets, oral tablets or suppositories. Fortunately, awareness of a few simple principles can help to prevent mistakes when treating your child for mild to moderate pain at home. Here Mbuli provides some points to remember.
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