Proper Dosing For Kids

When a child is suffering from an illness that's does not warrant a trip to the hospital but could be a cause for concern, many parents administer medicine to their child.

However, a recent survey found that many parents do not know how to give over-the-counter remedies to their children. Failure to do so can result in serious injury and even death.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains the problem is that many parents don't follow the directions of medicine. Labels not only tell you how much of a drug to take and when to take it but they also list side-effects. Dr. Senay says parents should not assume a particular drug used in the past would have the same dosing directions. Drugs companies are constantly "updating" their products and may have changed the active ingredients, which changes the way you dispense them. So even though it sounds obvious, read the directions.

Here are some tips from Dr. Senay on proper dosing:

Use a Measuring Device

Many parents give medicine to their children using a common kitchen spoon. This is wrong. A real teaspoon, the kind used for cooking measures about 5 cubic centimeters (cc's). The measurements for kitchen spoons vary widely. Some hold as little as two and a half cc's, others as much as seven and a half. So get yourself a calibrated measuring device such as a dropper, medicine cup or syringe.

Don't Over-Treat

This is especially important because we are in cold and flu season and your child may be on more than one medication. You are going to want to avoid giving your child combination cold and flu formulas. The problem with many of these products is that they contain more medicine than may be needed. Also, only give medicines for the symptoms your child has. If your child isn't coughing, don't give him a formula that contains a cough suppressant.

Know Your Child's Weight

Dosing based on your child's weight is a lot more accurate than dosing according to your child's age. This is especially true when you are talking about very young children because there can be very wide weight ranges.

Avoid Adult-Strength Medications

Many people take medications meant for adults and cut them in half and give it to their children. You are asking for trouble by doing this. Even half of an adult dose may be too strong for a child.

Use Age-Appropriate Medications

When buying a product, be very careful to check the label to see if it is for an infant or a child. Infant formulas tend to be more concentrated than children formulas. The reason for this is babies can't take as much medicine and have a tendency to spit it out.

Don't Share Medications

This is a problem with many families. Let's say your older child has a case of pink-eye and then two weeks later your younger child has what looks to be pink-eye. Some parents will give the younger child the pink-eye medicine. There are two problems with this. The first is that your child didn't get a proper diagnosis for pink-eye so they could actually have something else wrong. The second problem is that the eye-dropper that comes with the medicine may be contaminated from the first child.