How wrong is it to give adults’ medicine to children?Image Credit source: Getty Images
Not only in the villages of India but also in the cities, the health of the child is harmed knowingly or unknowingly. Most parents also participate in this. Talking about mistakes, it also includes giving half or one fourth tablets/medicines of adults to children. On the advice of younger doctors or those with medical experience, children are given half the dose of adults for cold and fever. Children are given only half the medicine taken from the chemist.
Do you know how bad it can affect their body? This is negligence and it is being followed for years considering it a safe method. By the way, such a question definitely comes in the minds of people whether it is safe to do this.
It has also been seen that doctors prescribe less dose but parents halve the double dose medicine kept at home and give it to the child. Let us tell you through experts, how dangerous can doing this be for the child’s health?
What do experts say
Dr. Sunny Lohia (Senior Consultant – Pediatric Apollo Spectra Hospital Jaipur) It is said that often parents give half the tablets to their children thinking that this will give them the correct dose, but this method is not always safe. The correct dosage of any medicine depends not only on age but also on the weight of the child, severity of the disease, type of medicine and its ability to work in the body. There are many tablets which when broken in the middle do not distribute the amount of medicine equally, while some medicines have a special coating, breaking which can change their effect. Due to this, the medicine can either become less effective or it can cause harm by showing more effect than necessary.
increased risk
This risk increases further in antibiotics, hormones, heart disease and many other medicines. Therefore, it is not advisable to give half or quarter of the adult pills to children without doctor’s advice. Today most of the medicines are available for children in the form of syrup, drops, dispersible tablets or in prescribed dosage according to their age and weight. Parents should always follow the correct medicine and correct dosage prescribed by the doctor. Even small negligence can affect the treatment of the child and cause serious side effects.
change in drug function
There are some tablets in which salt is completely dispersed and these should be given only on the advice of an expert or doctor. But some medicines are prepared with special technology and they are released slowly in the body. This includes Controlled Release (CR) Tablets, Modified Release (MR) Tablets, Sustained Release (SR) Tablets and tablets with different types of coatings. If they are broken into half or quarter, their function may change. In such a situation, the medicine is not able to affect the body in its own way.
Side effects are also included
If a child is given half the dose of an adult, it may cause side effects. Actually, the child’s medicine is decided keeping in mind his weight. Therefore, giving medicines given by elders to the child may prove wrong. Experts say that this also increases the fear of toxicity in the body. Or even if the dose of medicine is reduced, the problem cannot be cured.
Always decide the dosage of medicine only after consulting the doctor. If you have an infant, give him medicine in the form of syrup or drops. In the case of children, becoming a doctor yourself or providing medical treatment can sometimes prove to be very difficult.
