Children

When used properly, OTC medications pose little risk to children. However, children metabolize drugs differently than adults. You should how OTC drugs will affect your children before you use them. Talk with your family doctor if you have questions about giving child OTC medicines.

- Acetaminophen is generally considered the treatment of choice for children’s pain relief.

- Children who are allergic to aspirin are likely to have problems using ibuprofen. Ibuprofen can make your child’s asthma worse, for example.

- Avoid using aspirin in children under the age of 18 because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome (a drug reaction that can lead to permanent brain injury).

- It’s very easy to accidentally give too much of a decongestant to a young child. Use these medicines with extreme care, if at all, and talk with your doctor first.

- Don’t use cough suppressants that contain codeine in young children. Talk to your doctor before using other cough medicines.

It can helpful for parents and other caregivers to keep track of the medicine a child is taking. One way to do that is with a medication log. Using a log can help avoid “double dosing” – giving too much medicine or giving it too often. It can also provide important information to your family doctor if there is a problem.