Drug dosage in children problematic

Do not simply halve the dosage of medicines for children

01/08/2011

Not all over-the-counter medicines are suitable for children and dosing generally requires caution, warns the President of the Landesapothekerkammer Hessen. Simply calculating the amount in half or calculating according to the body weight of the children is not a suitable procedure, explained the expert.

In addition, parents should watch out for the over-the-counter medicines especially on the leaflet, explained the President of the Landesapothekerkammer Hessen, Erika Fink. If no dose for children is noted on the leaflet, the drug is unsuitable for children, the expert warned. According to Erika Fink, children also need other drug doses for over-the-counter drugs, because, for example, their skins are much thinner than in adults and creams or ointments are therefore easier to penetrate in large quantities. In addition, the blood-brain barrier is not fully developed in children, with the result that contained in the bloodstream drugs, possibly enter the blood with the brain and there may cause unwanted side effects.

Over-the-counter medicines are not generally harmless
The Vice President of the German Medical Association, Dr. med. Cornelia Goesmann, had already at the end of last year - in the light of a comprehensive study of the „Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach“ on over-the-counter medicines - warned against the risks of self-medication with over-the-counter medicines. „Without prescription“ be by no means with „harmless“ equate, said the expert. „Even common and popular medications such as acetaminophen can cause serious liver damage if overdosed“, stressed Goessmann. About one in five users suffered from the painkiller with serious side effects, according to the then statement by the Chairman of the Drug Commission of the German Pharmacists, Dr. med. Martin Schulz, to the results of the study of the „Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach“. Dr. Schulz emphasized that the regular high consumption of painkillers themselves can trigger headaches and patients should therefore take painkillers a maximum of ten days of the month and never more than three days in a row. „Although prescription-free medicines are easy to get, they are not unproblematic“, said the Vice President of the German Medical Association last October. Also as „purely vegetable“ declared active ingredients are by no means fundamentally harmless. For example, you can „St. John's wort products (...) greatly alter the chemical action of other medicines and should never be taken without consulting a doctor or pharmacist,“ emphasized the expert. (Fp)

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Picture: Dr. Stephan Barth