Paracetamol is one of the most commonly used ‘over-the-counter’ medicines, especially for the minor illnesses suffered by many children. But often it is not used in the correct dosage, which may make it less effective or dangerous. The main uses of paracetamol are for relief of pain and for reducing a fever. While having a raised temperature isn't always a bad thing, as it can help the body's immunity, it can make the affected person feel very uncomfortable. This is often the case with children and can lead to very disturbed nights for parents, brothers and sisters.
The correct dose of paracetamol for a child does not depend on its age, but its weight. The usual dose is 15 mg per kilogram of weight. In other words if a baby weighs 10 kg it should have 150 mg. This dose can be taken once every 4 hours, up to 4 times per day if needed. You should not exceed the recommended dose except on the advice of your doctor. No child should take a total of more than 90 mg per kilogram in a day.
Most children are given paracetamol in syrup form and it is vital to check the strength of the brand used, because they vary. Problems can also arise because of confusion between the way things are measured. Remember that ‘mg’ is a measure of weight and ‘mL’ is a measure of fluid volume. So if the strength of a bottle of paracetamol syrup is 100 mg/mL then a 10 kg baby needs 1.5 mL. Used properly, paracetamol is a useful medicine for making children more comfortable when they have minor illnesses and pain. Understanding and checking the correct doses is vitally important if parents are to use it safely and effectively.
It is sensible to give paracetamol to reduce the unpleasant symptoms caused by mild acute infections. However, paracetamol does not have a dramatic effect: a recent controlled trial5found that paracetamol caused only a modest improvement in activity and alertness in children with acute infection, and that there was no significant improvement in mood, comfort, appetite or fluid intake. Because many patients with infection have fever and discomfort, it is often assumed that fever causes discomfort but strenuous exercise causes temperatures up to 40oC without causing discomfort.
Reach Pharmacy stores products like Calpol Infant Suspension, Calpol Infant Suspension Strawberry flavour, Medinol Over 6, Numark paracetamol etc. Calpol Infant Suspension is a pleasantly flavoured oral suspension and will relieve pain (including teething pain) and feverishness. Calpol infant suspension is strawberry flavour oral suspension and will relieve pain (including teething pain) and feverishness. It is suitable for babies and children from 3 months to 6 years. Medinol Over 6 has been formulated for children aged 6 and over. It offers relief from mild to moderate pain including, headache, migraine, neuralgia, toothache and sore throat. Medinol also provides effective symptomatic relief from aches and pains, influenza, feverishness and colds. Medinol has a palatable strawberry flavour making it pleasant for your child to take, it is sugar free, colour free contains no alcohol or animal fats. Oral Suspension for babies and children. For relief of mild to moderate pain and feverishness associated with teething, toothache, headache, colds, flu and post-immunisation fever.
No comments:
Post a Comment