Children's "Paracetamol": instructions, release forms, dosage

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

An increase in body temperature during illness indicates the body's resistance to infections, but sometimes a safe threshold is exceeded and the temperature needs to be urgently brought down with medicines.

For children, many parents and experts most often recommend the use of "Paracetamol", as it is considered the safest. The substance has a bright analgesic and antipyretic effect and is a non-narcotic non-steroidal analgesic. Children's "Paracetamol" today can be purchased from almost every pharmaceutical company, only under different names. At the same time, its action, indications and dosage are always unchanged.

Pharmacology

The main active ingredient of any drug containing paracetamol is para-acetaminophenol.

Absorption into the blood is very fast, and the maximum concentration in the body is reached within thirty minutes after ingestion, at which time you can already notice a decrease in temperature. Children's "Paracetamol" has the maximum effect after 60-90 minutes, when the body temperature reaches a minimum.possible in this situation marks. The drug is broken down in the liver, forming metabolites, and excreted from the body with urine.

Issue Forms

This medication is one of the most popular around the world, so it is produced in several forms. At the same time, even in countries with strict control over the sale of drugs, children's Paracetamol can be purchased without problems. So, the drug can be bought in the form:

• tablets of various doses (200mg, 325mg and 0.5g);
• adult capsules;
• effervescent tablets for adults;
• injection solution;
• baby syrup and suspension;
• rectal suppositories with a concentration of a substance from 50 mg to 0.5 g.

Suppositories, suspensions, syrups and rarely tablets are used to treat children. In severe cases, and only under the supervision of specialists, injections can be used.

Syrup dosage

Children's suspension "Paracetamol" always has a pleasant taste and does not cause discomfort in babies, therefore it is recommended for the treatment of the smallest patients. Depending on the manufacturer and the diagnosis, this form is allowed to be used from the first to third month of life. The dosage in such cases is individually determined only by the pediatrician, and it is measured with a special measuring syringe or spoon, which is in each package of the remedy.

For babies 6-12 months old, it is allowed to give 2.5-5 ml of syrup at a time, which, respectively, equals 60-120 mg of the substance, depending on weight.

Forfor children 1-3 years old, a single dose is determined already in 5-7.5 ml of suspension, and for preschoolers aged 3-6 years - 7.5-10 ml.

The dosage of the children's suspension "Paracetamol" should always take into account the weight of the child, so as not to exceed the allowable daily intake of the substance. For children under 12 years of age, the maximum dose is 15 ml, which corresponds to 360 mg. In some cases, a child at this age may already be prescribed an adult dose and taking pills, especially if he is overweight.

It is very important to observe the interval between doses of at least 4 hours, otherwise there is a risk of overdose. If during this period of time it is required to additionally bring down the temperature, then you should use an antipyretic agent based on another active substance, for example, Nurofen. You need to drink the medicine one hour after eating. It is forbidden even for the smallest children to dilute the syrup with liquid before use, but it is not only possible to drink it with water, but it is also necessary, and in large quantities. Suspension works faster than other oral formulations.

Using suppositories

Children's candles "Paracetamol" are also produced by many drug manufacturers under their own names. They are used in the treatment of babies as often as syrup. Their advantage is that the time of administration does not depend in any way on meals, and the absorption of the active substance into the body through the intestinal walls completely eliminates any stomach reactions to the drug. It is necessary to introduce candles into the anus, putting the baby on its side and slightly bending its legs. The frequency of administration should also not exceed 4 times a day at intervals of 4 hours. If the treatment is carried out simultaneously with syrup and suppositories, then they should be alternated after 4 hours, not earlier, because, regardless of the form of release, a high concentration of the same active substance penetrates the body.

The dosage of suppositories for babies up to 3 months is determined only by a specialist and is used exclusively under the supervision of pediatricians.

For small patients under 1 year old, children's "Paracetamol" is administered 1 suppository with a dosage of 0.08 g. For children under 3 years old, a single dose is doubled. Babies at 3-6 years old can use the concentration of the substance up to 330 mg in one injection, and older ones, depending on weight and age (up to 12 years old), increase the dosage already to an adult of 0.5 g per injection.

It is important to remember that taking "Paracetamol" in any form is allowed only for 3 days. Under the supervision of a physician, therapy can be extended up to 5 days.

Tablet form

For the treatment of children, this form of the drug is used quite rarely. Children's "Paracetamol" in tablets is available with a dosage of 200 mg and is allowed in the treatment of patients not younger than 2 years old.

The point here is most likely not the dosage of the drug itself, but the fact that younger patients are reluctant to drink the powder of a crushed tablet, which tastes unpleasant, and simply cannot swallow it whole.

Pills of white color with a risk and a chamfer are packed in cardboardpacks with annotation and blisters inside. Children 6-12 years old can take a whole tablet, but kids 2-6 years old will have to divide each pill in half. Patients over 12 years of age are prescribed 2 tablets per dose.

To ensure that the dosage of children's "Paracetamol" in any form is not exceeded, it should be taken at intervals of only 4 hours or more.

Indications for admission

When using this substance, it should be understood that the drug does not cure any disease, but only relieves certain pain sensations and lowers body temperature, that is, it stops only the symptoms. It is necessary to give the child Paracetamol syrup if the temperature rises above 38.5 degrees to avoid seizures and alleviate his condition. If the temperature rises only to 38 degrees, then it is recommended to use rectal suppositories.

It is allowed to use the medication to relieve pain and babies during teething, as well as in children with headaches, neuralgia and other ailments.

Overdose

Even the most attentive parents can make a mistake when treating their baby and provoke poisoning. The most common cause of an overdose is haste, when parents begin to panic because of an increase in body temperature in the baby and want to bring it down as quickly as possible. In addition, the use of children's "Paracetamol" in the treatment of many diseases is always carried out in parallel with other drugs, which may also containto contain this active ingredient. Thus, the dosage must be adjusted to take into account additional consumption of paracetamol from other medicines.

Parents' panic about unstoppable temperature can cause the permissible amount of mg of children's "Paracetamol" instruction to be received with non-observance of the interval between doses. Thus, the concentration of the substance in the blood will be exceeded. As mentioned earlier, in such situations, it is necessary to alternate the active components of the drugs. An overdose can also be triggered by incorrect division of the pill.

There is also a chance that the baby will get to the medicine himself and drink it. That is why all medicines must be kept out of the reach of children.

Consequences

As a rule, the negative consequences of an overdose are observed only in cases where the norm has been exceeded to a toxic level. For babies weighing less than 10 kg, this is 1.5 g per day, and for patients weighing more than 20 kg, 3 g. In such cases, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain may occur.

At least one symptom should immediately call for medical help. Timely introduction of an antidote (within 8-10 hours after an overdose) and enterosorbents will help to avoid serious consequences, including even deaths.

Use during pregnancy

Very often, children's forms of drugs are recommended for use in treatment during gestation or breastfeeding.feeding. "Paracetamol" in these cases can be more harmful, since research has proven that when taken in the second trimester of pregnancy, newborns develop respiratory disorders, asthma or allergies. That is why it is prescribed very rarely and only in the absence of other treatment options. In the third trimester, the drug is strictly prohibited.

Through breast milk, the substance can also have a toxic effect on the baby, so if necessary, it is better to find a replacement for the drug.

Prohibited use

Suspension of children's "Paracetamol", as well as any of its other forms, is prohibited for use in patients with personal intolerance to the active substance. When prescribing to children, the sensitivity of the next of kin to this drug is first studied.

The prohibition for suspension and suppositories is the age of up to one month and for tablets - up to 2 years.

In addition, strict contraindications are diseases of the kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract and intolerance to NSAIDs.

With caution, the drug is used in patients with diabetes mellitus, viral hepatitis, chronic alcoholism, alcoholic liver damage and simultaneous treatment with anticoagulants or glucocorticosteroids. With prolonged use, the drug causes the development of nephropathy and a serious form of renal failure, and can also cause gastric or intestinal bleeding. Adults should remember thatdrinking alcohol along with paracetamol provokes severe toxic liver damage.

Possible negative consequences

Side effects from the use of children's suspension "Paracetamol" are observed only in case of exceeding the dose or increasing the duration of therapy for a period of more than 5 days. If necessary, the patient must be constantly under the supervision of specialists who are required to regularly monitor the condition of his blood and liver.

If treatment is carried out at home, then it is necessary to pay attention to the appearance of the following reactions, indicating the toxic effects of paracetamol on the body:

• immune system - skin rash, hives, any allergic manifestations;
• digestive system - nausea, stomach pain, symptoms of dyspepsia, liver dysfunction;
• hematopoiesis - anemia, changes in blood counts;
• cardiovascular system - lowering blood pressure, impaired cardiac conduction;
• urinary system - symptoms of nephritis, impaired kidney function.

With a correctly calculated dosage and duration of the course of treatment, the drug does not provoke any negative consequences in any of its forms.

Drug Interactions

In addition to the fact that when taking drugs with an additional content in the composition of paracetamol, it is necessary to adjust the dosage, the medication in question can have a serious toxic effect on the body when used simultaneously with Analgin. Their interactioncan lead to hypothermia, anaphylactic shock and collapse. If there is an urgent need to lower body temperature in a short time, Paracetamol should be replaced with another medication.

Analogues of the drug

It is wrong to call medicines from different companies with absolutely identical composition analogues. All of them are the same Paracetamol, they are only produced under their own brand names and differ in different flavors in the composition. Of course, the more popular the brand, the more expensive its product will cost. Among the most popular syrups are Panadol, Efferalgan, Kalpol and others. Domestic suspension "Paracetamol" with a similar composition will cost an order of magnitude cheaper than those listed.

In tablet form, the choice of paracetamol-based medicines is much greater, since the concentration of the substance is already calculated for the treatment of adult patients.

According to the properties exerted on the body, the drug has analogues based on ibuprofen. In most cases, the choice of parents also depends on how much children's "Paracetamol" works. The fact is that paracetamol lowers body temperature by 1-2 degrees, but at the same time retains its effect for only 4 hours, and sometimes less. Medications based on ibuprofen (Nurofen, Nise and others) can act up to 8 hours and additionally have an anti-inflammatory effect, but at the same time they have a wider list of contraindications and possible side effects. It is strictly forbidden to use Aspirin or Analgin for babies.