Medicating a Small child

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Forum -> Children's Health

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amother

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 3:42 pm

Would you give your child benadryl or a cough medicine so they can fall
a sleep on a long flight ? if so ............ how young and how much?

shlumzmum

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 3:57 pm

I heard of alot of people doing it but personally I feel like it's drugging the child. my parents live overseas and we travel at least once a year or sometimes more, depends on the simchas b"h and I never gave my son any medication. I know it's hard to travel but you can keep a child busy in so many ways.
one of the reasons I don't give benadryl is cuz apparently if u give a child to much medication the body gets used to it and it doesnt work so well anymore when he does need it c"v (maybe its a myth, dunno)

smiley:)

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 4:00 pm

I agree with the previous mother. I would NEVER.

amother

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 4:05 pm

my dr told us to because the baby had an ear infection while flying, it worked, but for no reason at all I wouldn't. I know some adults who are frequent flyers also take meds to sleep on the flight so not to be jetlagged, its the same thing.

chocolate moose

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 4:51 pm

this is in the friendship section!

greenfire

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 8:29 pm

well she may lose a friend or 2 ... after we yell (jk I hope not)

NO ABSOLUTELY NOT - you do not give kids "drugs" for your satisfaction ... not ever ... there are enough sicknesses in the world - not to mention the fact that it can be very dangerous if overdose ... can create excessive heart rate ...

find enough things for the kid to do ... bring books crayons ... and a lot of people sleep while travelling ... why not the kid too ...

Mama Bear

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 8:40 pm

give 'em dramamine. it wont knock thm out but will make them drowsy enough so that they arent hyper.... and its perfectly safe & appropriate since it's for motion sickness.

happymom

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 8:52 pm

No I would NEVER give my kid medication if they werent SICK

greenfire

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 9:06 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

give 'em dramamine. it wont knock thm out but will make them drowsy enough so that they arent hyper.... and its perfectly safe & appropriate since it's for motion sickness.

dramamine if for motion sickness ... not to stop them from motion (hyperness) - unless there is indication that he has such ... it is still inappropriate to medicate ...

Mimisinger

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 9:11 pm

Don't medicate, it's really not right.

My sil went with 4 babies to Israel. She spent $20 at Amazing Savings (which buys you A LOT!) and brought out a different thing every so often. It keeps them occupied. Also, have LOTS of snacks. After you land, buy yourself a drink!

ny21

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 9:13 pm

I would never do it. I have flown with a screaming baby in the past. Crying

Ruchel

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 4:13 am

Mama Bear wrote:

give 'em dramamine. it wont knock thm out but will make them drowsy enough so that they arent hyper.... and its perfectly safe & appropriate since it's for motion sickness.

I take it

it knocks me out LOL

We flew with dd, she behaved very well bh. But dh had to deal with her AND half asleep me Twisted Evil

suomynona

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 5:00 am

We brought benadryl with us on the plane, but b"h didn't have to use it.
As for bringing toys to keep the kids occupied, maybe that works for some. The short times that my son was awake on the plane, he kept on dropping every toy and demanding us to pick it up. Nonstop. and the toys on the floor were hard to reach since we had to have our seatbelt on. At the last minute, the stewardesses made us put our bag in the overhead compartment - we didn't have time to take anything out, and the flight was supposedly about to take off, and then there was a long delay 'til the flight took off. So we couldn't access food, pacifier etc. My son wouldn't sit still and kept on trying to run into the business class section. So I couldn't even walk around the plane with him. And this is all in the short time that he was awake - he slept most of the flight.
So no, I don't think it's so terrible to give benadryl if it's a one-time or infrequent thing. Also, it can help them get onto the new time if there's jetlag issue.

hila

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 5:57 am

Be warned - on some people anti histamines have an opposite effect - I.e. they turn you really hiper.
So you may want o avoid Benedryl for a kid on an airoplane if he/she never had it before.

Shabba shalom

greenfire

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 9:54 am

why don't you just bring some rope and tie them up !!! Twisted Evil

chen

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 11:11 am

Never. I'd consider that abuse of both the drug and the child, and terrible chinuch to boot. OTC drugs are still drugs, something to be given only when necessary for the health of the child. Would you give your child enogh liquor to get him drunk and fall aslleep? Using benadryl in this way is no different. Think about what kind of message you're giving your child: "When things don't go the way you want, take a drug (or give someone a drug)." Think about the long-range consequences of instilling that kind of reasoning. You don't really want to go there, do you?

The message I try to give my children is "medicine is something to be used only under supervision of a doctor, and then only when absolutely necessary to fight an illness." Hopefully they will grow up into adults who know how to use all meds, Rx and OTC, responsibly and safely.

greenfire

Fri, Aug 24 2007, 11:33 am

right on chen ...

hasn't anybody heard of teens and drug addictions ... if you teach them to medicate young the will surely think its okay later ... after all they will be modeling what you are doing ...

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