When a child is sick, of course, they need to take medicine. However, many parents are not "professional" enough when it comes to giving medicine to their children and often make mistakes without realizing it.
Mistake 1: Using a regular spoon or teaspoon to measure the dose of liquid medicine for the baby.
A regular spoon is not easy to use to measure the dose of medicine accurately. Giving too much or too little medicine can affect its effectiveness.
The correct method is to use a graduated medicine spoon to give liquid medicine to children. For infants, a dropper should be used. If there is no specialized medicine spoon available, a teaspoon that is used to measure ingredients can be used as an alternative.
Mistake 2: Not shaking the medicine properly before giving it.
It is important to shake the medicine before giving it because it needs to mix all the ingredients together. Otherwise, the first two-thirds of the dose may not be effective enough, while the last one-third may be too strong.
Mistake 3: Saying "It tastes like candy" to persuade the child to take the medicine.
Never lie to children and tell them that the medicine tastes wonderful just to get them to take it. Sometimes, children may be tempted to taste "delicious" medicine, which can lead to unexpected problems. You should educate your child to follow the medication instructions, just like teaching them not to play with fire. Teach them to remember "only take medicine with the permission of a doctor." If you tell your child that a certain medicine tastes "good," it is not necessarily wrong, but remind them that they should only take medicine given by adults. Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.
Mistake 4: Giving medicine to a child when it is not necessary.
Many minor ailments, such as a sore throat, runny nose, or mild cough, can heal quickly without the need for medication. In fact, many over-the-counter drugs only provide temporary relief and have side effects. Parents should not give medicine to their children indiscriminately. To ensure safety, it is also not advisable to store too much medicine at home, to minimize the child's exposure to medication.
Mistake 5: Giving children medicine containing aspirin.
Parents should know that children should not be given aspirin as it can cause Reye's syndrome, which can damage the brain and liver. It is important to be cautious because some medicines may indirectly contain aspirin, even if they are not classified as such. The safest way is to consult a doctor and get a prescription.
Mistake 6: Giving infant fever medicine to a toddler.
The concentration of the active ingredients in infant fever medicine is higher than that in children's formulations. Some medications for infants have doses that are more than three times the amount given to toddlers. This is because infants have a relatively lower absorption rate for medications and are more likely to spit out the medicine. If you pour infant fever medicine into a spoon and give it to a toddler, you may be giving them too much. The correct approach is to carefully read all the labels on the medicine bottle or box and pay special attention to whether it is labeled as "infant formula" or "children's formula."
Mistake 7: Keeping expired medicine.
Each medication has an expiration date, and expired medicine can be harmful. It is important to check if the medicine has expired before giving it to your child. The safest approach is to clean out the medicine box or cabinet every three months and dispose of any expired medicine.
Mistake 8: Transferring medicine to a different container.
Some medicines may come in large original containers that take up too much space. However, do not transfer the medicine to a different container because if you forget to write down the name of the medicine and dosage instructions and stick it on the new container, or if it is not written clearly, it can easily lead to giving the wrong medicine or the wrong dose. Do not take risks just to save space.
Mistake 9: Continuing to give a child medicine that has not shown improvement after several days.
If a child has been taking a certain medicine for two or three days without any improvement, it should be stopped, and the child should be taken to see a doctor as soon as possible. Do not expect that the medicine will start working after a while. It is possible that the child's condition is not as simple as it appears, and specific treatment from a doctor is necessary.
Mistake 10: Sharing prescription medicine.
If your child had some eye drops left over 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 may have been contaminated during the previous use. Additionally, even if the symptoms appear to be the same, they may be due to different causes. So, even if the same child has the exact same illness as before, it is important to have the doctor examine them before using the same prescription medicine. Inform the doctor about the medicines you currently have and let them determine whether they can be used or if new ones need to be prescribed.
