When a child is sick, it is important to give them medicine. However, many parents are not "professional" enough when it comes to administering medication to their children and often make mistakes without realizing it.
Mistake 1: Using a regular spoon or teaspoon to measure liquid medicine for the baby.
A regular spoon is not easy to use for measuring medicine accurately, and giving too much or too little medicine can affect its effectiveness.
The correct method is to use a graduated medicine spoon for giving liquid medicine to young children, and a dropper for infants. If there is no specialized medicine spoon available, a teaspoon can be used as an alternative for measuring the dose.
Mistake 2: Not shaking the medicine before giving it to the child.
Shaking the medicine before giving it is important because it ensures that all the components are mixed together. Otherwise, the first two-thirds of the medicine might be less effective, while the last one-third might be too strong.
Mistake 3: Saying, "Sweetie, it tastes like candy," when giving medicine.
Absolutely do not deceive children by telling them that the medicine tastes wonderful just to get them to take it. Sometimes, children may develop unexpected problems by tasting "delicious" medicine. Instead, educate children to follow the medication instructions, just as you would teach them not to play with fire. Teach them to remember that they should only take medicine with the permission of a doctor. If you tell the child that a certain medicine tastes "good," it is not entirely wrong, but remind the child that they should only take medication given by adults. Keep all medications out of reach of children.
Mistake 4: Giving medicine to a child when it is not necessary.
Many times, minor ailments such as a sore throat, runny nose, or mild cough can quickly resolve on their own without medication. In fact, many over-the-counter drugs only provide temporary relief, and all medications have side effects. Parents should not randomly give medication to their children. For safety reasons, it is also not advisable to store too many medications at home, in order to minimize the child's exposure to drugs.
Mistake 5: Giving children medication containing aspirin.
Parents should be aware that children should not be given aspirin, as it can cause Reye's syndrome, which can damage the child's brain and liver. It is important to be cautious because some medications may indirectly contain aspirin, even if they are not explicitly labeled as such. The safest approach is to consult a doctor and obtain a prescription.
Mistake 6: Giving a toddler fever medicine meant for infants.
The concentration of active ingredients in fever medicine for infants is higher than that in formulas meant for older children. Some medications for infants are given in doses that are three times higher than those for older children. If you pour the infant fever medicine into a spoon and give it to a toddler, you may be giving too much. The correct approach is to carefully read all the labels and instructions on the medicine bottle or box, paying special attention to whether it is labeled as "infant formula" or "children's formula."
Mistake 7: Keeping expired medication.
Each medication has an expiration date, and expired medication is harmful and ineffective. It is important to develop a habit of checking whether the medication has expired before giving it to a child. The safest approach is to clean out the medicine box or cabinet every three months and discard any expired medication.
Mistake 8: Transferring medication to a different container.
Some medication may come in large original containers that may take up too much space. However, it is important not to transfer medication to a different container because if you forget to write down the name of the medication and dosage instructions on the new container or if it is not written clearly, it can easily lead to giving the wrong medicine or incorrect dosage. Do not take risks for the sake of saving space.
Mistake 9: Continuing to give a child medication when there is no improvement after several days.
If a child has been taking certain medication for two or three days without improvement, it is important to stop giving it and take the child to see a doctor as soon as possible. Do not expect the medication to work after continuing to take it for a while longer. The child's condition may be more complicated than it appears, and a doctor's treatment is necessary.
Mistake 10: Sharing prescription medication.
If your child has leftover eye drops from last month and now their little cousin has the same eye condition, why can't they use the leftover eye drops? First of all, the dropper of the eye drops may have been contaminated during the previous use. Furthermore, even if the symptoms appear to be the same, the underlying causes of apparently similar conditions may be different. So, even if the same child has the exact same condition as before, it is important to have the doctor examine them before using the same prescription medication. Inform the doctor about the medication you have on hand and let them make the judgment as to whether it can be used or if a new prescription is needed.
