There are several things to consider when giving a child a drug.
Children are not little adults. Since their bodies and, above all, their organs are not yet fully developed, the child's metabolism often reacts to certain drugs very differently than in adults.
Many drugs that are used daily by adults are also not approved for use in children. Therefore, the use of medication should always be carefully considered.
It is not enough just to adjust the dose of the drug to the child's weight. On the contrary, it is actually dangerous and can have serious consequences.
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In the following text you will find detailed information about the most common health problems of children and young children and various therapy options with the above and other means. If in doubt, the pediatrician should always be consulted before administering medication.
If children suffer from severe, recurring diarrhea, there is a great risk of excessive loss of fluids and salts.
This can quickly lead to an imbalance in the body's own fluid balance, which can quickly become life-threatening, especially for small children or babies. If you do not manage to adequately balance the child's fluid requirements with sufficient amounts of water or an adequate infusion therapy, and if the diarrhea does not stop, then various medicinal measures can be considered.
After long-term diarrhea and irritation of the intestinal walls and the mucous membrane, probiotics such as lactobacillus are often used, which clean the intestinal wall and have a regenerating effect.
$config[ads_text2] not foundIn order to compensate for the large loss of fluid caused by diarrhea, special electrolyte - glucose mixtures prepared in the pharmacy can be used in small children.
There are also herbal medicines, such as Uzara® juice, that do not immediately block diarrhea, but merely lengthen the intervals between bowel movements and thereby provide relief.
Perenterol® Junior is used particularly frequently. This is a special medicinal yeast that binds the pathogens in the intestine and supports the regeneration of the damaged intestinal flora. In contrast to many other anti-diarrheal substances used in adult medication, intestinal motility is not impaired.
For older children from 12 years you can also use Imodium® (active ingredient Loperamide) prescribe. It also effectively relieves diarrhea and thereby reduces the loss of fluid, but it also has an inhibiting effect on the mobility of the intestinal loops and the general digestive process. With this remedy it should also be noted that it is not approved for the acute treatment of diarrhea in young children.
Read more on the topic: Diarrhea in the baby
Flatulence often occurs in small infants, especially when changing food.
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Many babies, but also older children, struggle with flatulence, which makes life difficult for them. For children, there are not quite as many drugs that are approved for the treatment of flatulence or that are also effective in relieving the symptoms. One drug that people like to administer is Lefax®. Depending on the age, attention must be paid to the correct dosage.
Lefax® is used when there is excessive gas accumulation in the gastrointestinal area. It relieves flatulence and relieves any additional feeling of tension or bloating. It is also often used for the symptomatic treatment of so-called 3-month colic in babies. It is also helpful in preparing for ultrasound examinations, which can be made significantly more difficult in the case of flatulence due to the massive accumulation of gas in the abdomen.
$config[ads_text2] not foundAnother remedy for gas and bloating is Sab Simplex®. It can be given in the form of droplets with or after meals. The application is very elegant, especially with small infants, by putting it directly into the bottle.It facilitates the digestion of milk food and reduces foam and gas formation in the stomach and intestinal tract.
Read more on the subject at: Flatulence in the baby
Abdominal pain is particularly common in children.
In small children particularly often in the form of cramps and flatulence or as part of an infection.
In older children, however, abdominal pain can also indicate a more serious illness.
If abdominal pain occurs in children under the age of six and it lasts for more than one to two days, a doctor should definitely be consulted and, if necessary, further diagnostics should be carried out.
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In acute cases, the children can be treated well with a pain reliever such as paracetamol.
Buscopan® coated tablets can be used in children over 6 years of age to effectively relieve severe, newly onset cramps. Buscopan relaxes the cramped intestinal walls. It causes the intestinal muscles to decrease and thus leads to a state of relaxation.
Another remedy that can be used well in connection with abdominal pain is a herbal remedy called Iberogast®. Iberogast calms the stomach and intestinal nerves, relaxes the muscles and to a certain extent regulates the mobility of the intestinal loops.
In the case of particularly strong cramps and a failure to respond to mild painkillers, Novalgin® can also be administered via the vein during a hospital stay. It not only leads to effective pain relief, but also has a soothing effect on the cramps. Nevertheless, Novalgin should not be used long-term and only administered in special cases.
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Drugs for sleep disorders are rejected by most pediatricians and only prescribed in exceptional cases. Sleep disorders are often a problem in sleep education. The children lack fixed times and rituals that make it easier to go to bed in the evening and enable a restful sleep.
The most effective remedy for sleep disorders is therefore to acquire a healthy day and night rhythm. However, there are also some drugs on the drug market that can be used for childhood sleep disorders. So-called antihistamines are used. They can be given in the form of juices before going to sleep and have a calming and sedating effect and cause the children a state of inner calm that is associated with fatigue. These drugs include substances such as Sedaplus®, Wick MediNait® or Emesan®.
The soporific effect of these antihistamines is also used in preparations against coughs or colds. They are available from pharmacies without a prescription and Sedaplus® juice is even approved for small children from six months of age. Sleeping pills are, however, always in great discussion, because on the one hand they can exert an inhibitory affect on breathing in too high doses and on the other hand their effect can also be misused to calm down or immobilize the children.
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Since the child's immune system is still in the maturation phase, it is more prone to the occurrence of mild infections caused by viruses or bacteria.
Especially in the cold season, the small children in the crawling group or in the kindergarten quickly catch a cold. So that you can get this under control well and easily at home and that no more serious infection develops, there are some medications that can also be stored at home in the medicine cabinet and that can quickly relieve the symptoms.
If you have a cold, nasal sprays with saline solution help, which lead to a decongestion of the mucous membranes and thus improve the difficult nasal breathing. It should only be used for a short time as there is an increased potential for addiction. Especially in babies with a cold, they cause the mucous membranes to swell to improve breathing and make drinking easier. In the pharmacy, for example, you can get sprays specially made by Ratiopharm for small children.
In children with recurrent bronchial infections, it can sometimes be helpful to inhale with an anti-obstructive spray such as salbutamol for a period specified by the doctor. Salbutamol dilates the bronchi and makes breathing easier for children.
In many cases, Soledum® is a popular choice for particularly heavy mucus production. On the one hand, it loosens the mucus, thereby promoting expectoration and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. To combat dry, insatiable irritable cough, parents can give their children juices or effervescent tablets.
ACC® akut junior cough remover or Ambroxol cough syrup is often used. These substances reduce the urge to cough and, above all, improve nighttime sleep and restlessness.
Read more on the topic: Cold in the baby and Medicines for a cold
When small children begin to teething, the days and especially the nights can become very stressful for the little ones and their parents. The eruption of the small teeth through the gums causes severe pain in most cases and also leads to restlessness and discomfort.
The babies appear very irritable, cannot be comforted, do not want to sleep properly, and cry a lot. In order to alleviate the symptoms, tried and tested home remedies should first be used. However, if that does not help and if you also have a fever, you sometimes have to resort to medication that makes teething easier and, above all, alleviates the symptoms.
Paracetamol or ibuprofen can be used to calm the pain and reduce any fever. They should be dosed based on size and age and can be administered every 8 hours.
Special gels can be used to achieve local pain relief on the irritated gums. These products include, for example, the Dentinox® Gel, which, in addition to a natural, caring and soothing chamomile tincture, also contains lidocaine, which has an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and numbing effect on irritated gums. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on wound healing, which makes it easier for the child to teething.
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Another gel that also contains an analgesic drug is the Kamistad® gel. This can also be applied locally to the reddened and irritated gums and gently massaged in. It not only relieves pain, but also promotes the regeneration of the damaged gums and the chewing bar.
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Fever is the body's own mechanism to kill and fight harmful pathogens that have entered. However, the fever should not rise too high as it weakens the child's organism. If the fever rises too quickly, there is also the risk of a febrile seizure in the baby.
In order to lower the fever in children, various medications can be used that inhibit the body's own temperature-increasing substances. These antipyretic agents include ibuprofen and paracetamol in particular. These active ingredients are available in the form of juice, suppositories or, for older children, in the form of tablets. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are most commonly used in children and show promising effects.
Read more on the topic: Fever suppositories and What to do if my baby has a fever
The dose a child can take; depends on his age and above all his body weight. In addition, there should be an interval of 6 - 8 hours between the doses. Paracetamol and ibuprofen have similar side effects. They can lead to tiredness, diarrhea, and vomiting. Since paracetamol can also lead to liver and kidney damage in high doses, it is important not only to use the correct dosage but also to pay attention to the time between doses.
For small babies under 6 months of age, you should also seek medical advice and make sure you know exactly what you can give. One is particularly careful when administering ASA to children and adolescents and it is only used on special request from a doctor: ASA can cause an extremely rare but life-threatening side effect, the so-called Reye's syndrome.
If the fever lasts for three days and cannot be reduced with ibuprofen and paracetamol, or if the child's condition becomes increasingly worse, an immediate presentation to the pediatrician should take place!
Read more on the subject at: Lower fever in children
As with adults, it is also very useful to keep a first-aid kit for children and always have them with you when you are on vacation or on a short trip.
In the case of minor injuries, adequate bandages or small plasters with funny motifs are always helpful. In addition, a wound and healing ointment, such as Bepanthen®, should not be missing.
In the case of small infections occurring during a trip, it is always helpful to have antipyretic agents with you. Paracetamol or ibuprofen in the form of juice, suppositories or tablets can be used here. In addition to the fever-lowering effect, they also have an analgesic effect and can also be used well in the context of headaches or painful injuries.
Especially on vacation you can quickly catch a stomach upset. Therefore, medicines for diarrhea and vomiting should always be at the top of the list of travel medicines. A drug made from glucose and minerals can be used against diarrhea in children. This ready-made mixture can be used for severe diarrhea as well as vomiting and prevents the child's body from drying out and thus also the dangerous loss of fluids and salts. So-called probiotics also help, such as Lactobacillito strengthen and rebuild the damaged intestinal flora.
In very special cases it can also be helpful to have some medical charcoal with you in the first-aid kit. Charcoal binds ingested toxins and can be used as a first measure when swallowing tablets or poisonous plants.
A nasal spray with isotonic saline solution, which moisturizes the mucous membranes and causes the nose and sinuses to swell, should not be missing, especially in the cold season. Cough syrup or lozenges can also be very helpful for minor infections and bring rapid relief.
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