Dr. Ileana Efrim, a family doctor, explained in an interview Ziare.com what are the risks to parents when children are given drugs that are inappropriate for their age, given that a recent study indicated that treatment for colds and Flu It makes it difficult for half of the parents with children aged between 7 and 12, because there are no pills for their age.
The specialist also told us about ways in which we can convince the little ones to swallow the pills, but also why we should not grind the medicines.
To establish from the beginning, what does an inappropriate medicine mean for a child?
For children we always use medicines specially approved for them, specially dosed, related to either the child’s weight or age.
An inappropriate medicine for the child means:
- a medicine that is not approved by the National Medicines Agency for Children or for certain age groups in children;
- not to be the correct therapeutic indication for the current condition of the child;
- not to respect the possible allergies known to the child to a drug;
- to be administered in inadequate doses (lower or higher) than the standard therapeutic indication;
- to be a drug that has been kept inadequately – most often it happens with syrups and solutions;
What are the short and long term risks when we give them drugs that are inappropriate for their age?
If we refer to risks, then:
– when the doses are lower than the recommended ones – the expected therapeutic effect does not appear;
– when the doses are higher – the expected therapeutic effect appears, but with the high doses the risks of real effects and / or toxicity of the drug increase;
In both cases, the drug can be rated as “not good”, “not useful”, “harmful”, “it is What rain “,” it’s toxic “etc.
Medicines not suitable for treatment in children increase the risk of side effects or toxicity, similar to “poisoning”.
The study that National Society of Family Medicine Recently, it revealed a real problem: the fact that the treatment for colds and flu makes it difficult for half of the parents with children aged between 7 and 12, on the grounds that there are no options available in terms of analgesics and antipyretics specially designed for this age group.
Administering medications that are not indicated for children, but have the expected effects of “healing” or “effective reduction of symptoms”, especially those not recommended by a doctor or pharmacist, develops in some parents a feeling of “let, as I know what it is better for my baby “, which can sometimes end unhappily! Thus, a kind of attitude of “avoiding” or “postponing” the consultation with the family doctor or another doctor in an episode of acute illness develops.
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Therefore, it is necessary for parents to be periodically educated by the family doctor how to properly monitor sick children and what are the warning signs.
Otherwise, in the long run, a “lack of need for medical care” and a belief that “you don’t need a doctor for when you’re sick” can develop. Children can learn this from their parents, and in adulthood they only access medical services late. There is a lack of education to look at the doctor as a trained professional to solve problems health of his patient.
Can the problem be aggravated by the disease?
Depending on the cause of this pain and the particularities of the patient, any condition undiagnosed correctly and not treated correctly, in time, can worsen. Children, like the elderly, are the most vulnerable age groups.
How important is the child’s weight in determining treatment?
It is very important, because the child’s weight is one of the parameters that reflects the degree of somatic development for his age. Drugs are powerful substances that have a certain profile of action in the human body, and a feature of this action would be its spread in the body. For this reason, drugs are also dosed in terms of body weight.
What should you do if you miss the dose of the medicine?
The first gesture would be to try to reconstitute the dose administered and the amount already administered on that day. Then reread the package leaflet. You can adjust the doses. If the total dose for weight or the age on that day, the administration of the medicine is stopped and, as the case may be, the doctor who made the respective indication is contacted.
What advice do you have for parents who are experiencing difficulties when trying to give their children medication? How can I convince them?
Children like stories, so we can tell them a story about the current episode of the disease, about the help needed in these situations, about drugs like “good soldiers” … Of course, some children will not be convinced. I suggest that parents give thanks and praise to their children, including small innocent rewards, to increase their interest in taking their medication.
The pharmaceutical industry is working hard to find the most ingenious and innovative solutions to provide young patients with the most attractive drugs. It’s not about advertising, it’s about increasing children’s cooperation in taking their medications in the right and effective doses.
When the child fails to swallow a pill, the parent crushes it or opens the capsule to dissolve the powder. Are such practices okay?
Medicines are made up of the active substance, ie the one that has a therapeutic effect, and many other substances with a role to protect, to make the pill resistant to the passage through the oral cavity to the stomach, to resist certain temperatures and humidity, etc. Some active substances in drugs lose their qualities and, implicitly, the effect on contact with water or juices in which they are dissolved or in stomach acid, etc.
I recommend avoiding these practices. There are extremely safe and practical solutions on the market: small pills, with different, colorful tastes, some even chewable, such as jellies.
Some parents also use babesti remedies to treat various conditions conditions of children. How dangerous are they?
We all received at least one cold water compress or a poultice as a child!
CAREFUL! Check with your family doctor or pediatrician for any such “cure”! Some are innocent, they just feel like “I acted.” Others can be downright harmful, painful, or can embarrass or scare a child.
I advise parents to ask their family doctor or pediatrician about any therapeutic gesture they want to adopt for their child and to follow the doctor’s instructions.
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