OTC medications for sick babies

I've been reading about a lot of children getting sick from mummy bloggers and would like to share this with everyone, especially parents with newborns, or to refresh the memories of parents of newborns for the second, third, fourth..... time.

The Royal Children's Hospital of Melbourne has a site where we can seek information and here are the factsheets.

Normally, we do not give any medication for newborns under one month of age. As a general guideline, paracetamol, or Panadol, can be only given to babies from one month of age in liquid form. It is the preferred analgesic for fever and pain relief. If babies over 6 months of age are vomitting, suffering from nausea and cannot take paracetamol orally, or perhaps you need to bring down a fever in a quicker way, suppositories may be used.

Nurofen, or ibuprofen, has been revised and now can be given to babies from 3 months onwards, instead of 6 months. Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, great for fever, teething, or ear infections, and longer lasting. The downside is, as with any other anti-inflammatories, do make sure it is to be given with or immediately after food, as it may cause stomach upset. Also, if the baby has, or if you know or think that your baby has asthma, do not give anti-inflammatories. Not until your doctor says okay, if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen can be given alternately, but make it a point to give only paracetamol in the middle of the night, as those little tummies are empty.

If you need to give anti-histamines to stop runny nose, it may be given together with the above two. That is, one after another.

Babies and children suffering from chickenpox, in older times we use Calamine Lotion. Now the preferred first lines are either SoloSite or the Ego Pinetarsol range, together with paracetamol and anti-histamines.

Working in a pharmacy, I have seen parents swear by Avene's Trixera emollient bath and cream for babies with eczema. Or try their Avene Thermal Spring Water spray, even for nappy rash. There's something in the water that works wonders. And personally, there was a phase where my legs were flaky due to prolonged exposure to the fan heater last winter. No amount of lotion did good. I used Trixera cream for a week, although it is kind of greasy, and the skin on my legs were back to normal. This is personal and first hand info!

That's all for now, gotta go pick Aidan up! :)

Disclaimer: This information is not to be used as medical advice or substituted for treatment by your health care provider.