Resolved question:
Hi,
I'm concerned about overdosing a baby (11 months) on paracetamol. My wife regularly gives her one or two doses per day (at the recommended dosage for her weight, i.e. 3ml @ 48mg/1ml for 10.5 kg). This is less than the recommended maximum dosage in 24 hours, but I'm concerned about the frequency - she probably gets 7 doses per week, sometimes none, sometimes more than 1 per day.
The baby suffers from teething pain and ear ache - she has had a couple of ear infections and we are taking her to a specialist early next year to see if she needs grommets.
Are the regular small doses of paracetamol OK, or is she being overdosed?
Thanks,
Morne
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Pediatrician
Hello,
Thank you for choosing DoctorSpring.
Your concerns are valid and can be related to.
The ceiling dose for paracetamol is 60 mg/kg/day. Less than theta dose is unlikely to cause any harm. Regarding the long term side effects of paracetamol on prolonged use, there is no definitive data regarding documented serious adverse events in children. But, there have been occasional reports of long term cardiovascular, renal side effects. Hence caution is advised.
It is better to avoid drugs as far as possible. Over-the-counter use of drugs needs to be avoided. Fever causes great distress to parents and is often aggressively countered with medications. Fever is a protective response of the body in response to infection. Fever has to be treated only if it causes distress to the child. Hence, my general advice would be to avoid self-medication.
In case you have any more queries, feel free to revert back.
Cheers
Saptharishi L G