Children’s medicines: what you need to know

Children need medicines that have been specifically designed for their bodies and their needs. Many adult medicines aren’t suitable for children.

If you’re not sure whether a medicine is suitable for your child, ask your pharmacist or GP, especially if your child is under 6 months old.

Whenever you give your child medicine, you need to follow the instructions on the package and check the dosage carefully. An overdose of medicine can be very dangerous.

It’s very important to store medicines safely and take other safety precautions to prevent poisoning. For example, keep medicines out of your child’s reach and in the original packaging.

Call the Poisons Information Centre on 131 126 if you think your child has accidentally taken medicine or has taken the wrong dose. If your child stops breathing, loses consciousness or is having seizures, call an ambulance on 000 immediately.

Pain and fever medicine: paracetamol and ibuprofen

Paracetamol and ibuprofen can help your child feel better when they’re sick and uncomfortable – for example, if a fever is causing discomfort. But if your child is sick and feels OK, they don’t need paracetamol or ibuprofen. That’s because these medicines don’t fix infections or other causes of sickness or injury.

Paracetamol
You can give paracetamol to children from birth. But if you’re planning to give paracetamol to a child less than one month old, it’s important to talk with a doctor about this first.

You can use paracetamol to treat:

• pain – for example, headache, stomach ache, earache, sore throat or pain from fractures
• fever that’s making your child feel uncomfortable or unwell.

Paracetamol comes in different strengths and varieties, so choose the right type for your child’s age and size. Follow the dosage instructions carefully.

Panadol, Dymadon and Tylenol are examples of paracetamol.

Ibuprofen
You can give ibuprofen to children aged 3 months and older.

You can use ibuprofen to treat:

• pain – for example, headache, stomach ache, earache, sore throat or pain from fractures
• fever that’s making your child feel uncomfortable or unwell.

Ibuprofen comes in different strengths and varieties, so choose the right type for your child’s age and size. Follow the dosage instructions carefully.

Avoid giving your child ibuprofen if they have severe asthma.

Nurofen, Advil and Herron Blue are examples of ibuprofen.

Using paracetamol and ibuprofen together
If your child is in a lot of pain, it’s OK to give both paracetamol and ibuprofen. You can give them together or at different times, as long as you follow the instructions for each individual medicine. Make sure to record when you give each medicine, so you don’t give your child too much.

Don’t give aspirin to children under 12 years unless it’s prescribed by a doctor. Aspirin can make your child susceptible to Reye’s syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal illness. If you’re giving your child any over-the-counter medicines, check with your pharmacist or doctor to make sure they don’t have aspirin.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics work only for infections caused by bacteria – for example, bacterial pneumonia, urinary tract infections, middle ear infections and sinusitis.

Your doctor has many different antibiotics to choose from. They’ll try to choose the right antibiotic to fight the bacteria infecting your child. Your doctor might also suggest other ways of treating your child’s symptoms before prescribing antibiotics.

If your child needs to take antibiotics, they must take the entire course of antibiotics, even if they seem better after a few days. Infection might come back 1-2 weeks later if the bacteria aren’t completely gone from your child’s system.

Never use old, leftover antibiotics for new illnesses. And never give antibiotics to someone they haven’t been prescribed for – for example, another child in the family.

Overuse or incorrect use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance.

Cough and cold medicines

Children under 6 years should not take cough and cold medicines, including decongestant nasal sprays.

There’s no evidence that cough or cold medicines help with cough or cold symptoms. If you want to try these medicines, ask the pharmacist whether they’re appropriate for your child.

Saline nasal sprays and drops are safe options for clearing blocked noses for children of all ages. Ask the pharmacist how to use these medicines appropriately.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are medicines that relieve symptoms of allergies or hayfever, including itchiness, sneezing, swelling or rashes.

Antihistamines can sometimes cause a dry mouth, upset stomach and drowsiness.

Some antihistamines are less likely to cause drowsiness. They include cetirizine (Zyrtec) and loratadine (Claratyne). These might be more suitable for your child, especially if they take them during the day. You can give non-drowsy antihistamines to children over 6 months.

Antihistamines that are more likely to cause drowsiness include promethazine (Phenergan) and trimeprazine (Vallergan). You shouldn’t give these to children under 2 years of age.

Antihistamines generally aren’t recommended for long-term use, so check with your doctor if your child seems to need them a lot.

Antihistamines and sleep
Antihistamines like promethazine (Phenergan) or trimeprazine (Vallergan) aren’t recommended for helping children sleep. These medicines cause daytime drowsiness, which might affect your child’s ability to learn.

Antihistamines can also have the opposite effect, causing some children to become hyperactive. This might make any sleep problems worse.

If you’re thinking about giving your child medicine for sleep or challenging behaviour, always talk to your doctor first about what’s safe and what will work. You can find more information in our article on sleep medicines and children.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are used to treat inflammation, swelling or itchiness from problems and conditions like allergies, asthma, insect bites, eczema and croup.

You can buy mild corticosteroid creams, ointments and nasal sprays over the counter at your pharmacy.

Only doctors can prescribe oral corticosteroids or stronger corticosteroid creams and ointments.

Prednisolone, prednisone and hydrocortisone are types of corticosteroids.

Medicines to avoid

Think very carefully before giving your child medicines that haven’t been prescribed by a doctor.

A mix of prescription and over-the-counter medicines
Mixing prescription medicine and over-the-counter medicine from a pharmacist can be very dangerous. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist first.

Medicines not meant for your child
Adult medicines or medicines prescribed for someone else might seriously harm your child. It’s never safe to give these to your child.

Expired or leftover medicines
Expired medicine doesn’t work and can be harmful. Never use leftover medicines for new illnesses.

There’s no evidence that vitamin and mineral supplements help children’s health in any way unless the child has a deficiency of some kind. Very few children suffer from deficiencies, especially if they eat a balanced diet. Check with your doctor if you’re concerned about your child’s vitamin or mineral intake.

What to ask your doctor or pharmacist about medicines

When your doctor prescribes medicine for your child, you might like to ask some of these questions:

• What’s the medicine prescribed for?
• How much should I give my child, and when should I give it?
• How should I give it? Can it be mixed with anything to help my child take it – for example, water, juice, milk or in a puree or food?
• How soon will it start to work?
• Will it have side effects or interact or interfere with anything else my child is taking?
• Should I be giving or avoiding certain foods or drinks with the medicine?
• How long should the prescription last?
• How should I store the medicine?
• Is the medicine safe?
• How long should I wait to come back if the problems don’t go away?

If you’re getting over-the-counter medicine from the pharmacy, you should ask the pharmacist all the questions above.

And remember to tell the pharmacist if your child has allergies.

Having out-of-date or unwanted medicines in your home can be risky, especially if you have young children. And pouring unwanted medicines down the sink or putting them in the bin can harm the environment. You can return unwanted medicines to your local pharmacy for safe disposal.

Giving your child medicines: tips

It’s common for children to have difficulties with taking medicines. Here are ideas to help:

• If your child is younger, let them choose how to take the medicine – for example, in a cup or spoon instead of a syringe.
• If your child is older, crush and dissolve tablets in water or sprinkle crushed tablets over food. But check with your doctor or pharmacist first because some medicines shouldn’t be crushed.
• Explain why your child needs to take the medicine. Use simple language that your child can understand. For example, ‘This medicine will get rid of the germs that are making your ear sore’.
• Use a reward chart. For example, your child could earn ticks or stickers each time they take their medicine.
• If your child can swallow tablets, give your child tablets instead of syrup medicine. It’s easier to get the dose right with tablets. You might like to try offering tablets in a spoonful of yoghurt.

We’ve included common brands to help you understand more about the medicines you're likely to see. raisingchildren.net.au does not recommend any particular brand and does not receive financial support from pharmaceutical companies.