Benadryl?

[mass02703]

I am flying this week with an 18 month old. It is an evening flight 7:30-10:45. I am afraid that the baby won't sleep on the plane and will be overtired and cranky. I have read on here, and many people have suggested to me, giving the baby Benadryl to make her sleep. I went to CVS today and read the bottle. It said for children 4+ only. I did not see any infant Benadryl. I only planned on giving the baby Benadryl if absolutely necessary. What are people talking about when they say that they have given their baby Benadryl on a plane?

 

[jenlynn0808]

When DS was 11 months we flew to WDW and my ped. told me to give him 1/2 tsp of Benedryl a half hour before we took off. We got settled in our seats (he had his carseat) and I gave him the Bendryl. Twenty minutes later we started being pushed back and DS was out like a light.

My suggestion is to give your ped. a call and ask how much they recommend. We had a 2.5 hour flight and DS was a little groggy for the rest of the day.

 

[Tricia's mom]

It didnt work for DD Check the side of the box : It says it can have a reverse effect on some children. That was my DD.

 

[dizzymomx4]

My DS had the opposite effect. He had an allergic reaction and was hospitalized when he was 2 1/2. The pediatricians at the childrens hospital gave him benadryl...he was so wired, he was jumping on the bed and running around like crazy....doesn't alwys make them tired!

 

[saremca]

Benadryl worked for two of my children. The other one gets completely wired from it. You might want to do a test dose before hand to see how she reacts. But I agree, ask your ped or a pharmacist about the dosing.

 

[ilovejack02]

Test it before you go.. made me go bonkers as a child.

 

[RMulieri]

I am an RN and My husband is a Ped Pharmacist. It can be given to infants BUT you need to check with your Ped for dosing. Dosing at that age is by weight.Be aware that as others said the very young and the elderly frequently have the opposite reaction, they get very anxious and agitated instead of sedated.They can also have an allergic reaction.

 

[mlynn]

My DD4 and myself both have adverse reaction to it. So I would talk to your peds. 1st. I never knew Bendryl was supposed to make you drousy until one time I gave it to my cook at work right before lunch.My boss wanted to kill me.He was so tired he had to go home.

 

[Ariel8676]

I always had to give my older girls a bit before flying..they have very bad ears, so between the benedryl and ear planes they were good...Now my youngest can't have it she gets weird and she throws fits and cries and then gets wired.

 

[crisi]

I am an RN and My husband is a Ped Pharmacist. It can be given to infants BUT you need to check with your Ped for dosing. Dosing at that age is by weight.Be aware that as others said the very young and the elderly frequently have the opposite reaction, they get very anxious and agitated instead of sedated.They can also have an allergic reaction.

Even some grown ups have the opposite reaction, though its very rare.

 

[SLK1]

Call me old school, but please do not drug your children. I think giving Benadryl is just a horrible idea. Not only can it have the opposite of the desired affect, but to induce sleep with a drug is a very scary idea in my opinion. Even if my pediatrician recommended it, I would not ever do it. I have four kids and we have flown for 15 years with our kids and not once gave them any sort of drug.

 

[jamie&Greg]

I am not against giving it if really needed - but on our first flight with a 1 yo it didn't work and infact had the opposite effect. My ped. gave me dosing but warned me it might not work???

Good luck

 

[RMulieri]

Even some grown ups have the opposite reaction, though its very rare.

I know. It is very common in elderly and young children though which is why I only mentioned them.

 

[mass02703]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I really didn't think much about it having an opposite effect on her. I think that I'm just going to go without and see how it goes. It is only a 3 hour flight and maybe being so late she will fall asleep on her own. If not we will have to deal with it (unfortunatly so will the rest of the fully booked plane). If we have a really bad flight then maybe I would consider it for the flight home. We flew when she was 6 months and she was great, but she was alot easier back then.

 

[RMulieri]

I am not against giving it if really needed - but on our first flight with a 1 yo it didn't work and infact had the opposite effect. My ped. gave me dosing but warned me it might not work???

Good luck

They have to warn you of that. There is no way to know if your child, or you, or your grandma is going to have the drowsy side effect, or the revved up, really agitated , rambunctious effect. Which is why it is not a good idea to give it for the first time before a flight. I work mostly with the older adults and elderly and can tell you that some of them get downright combative, agitated and confused if given benadryl.Kids generally get very agitated and rambunctious.

 

[Avonlady1001]

I've given it to my kids, too. Definitely ask your ped for correct dosing. The age on the box is so people don't just make up their own. Regular children's benadryl is fine...but you have to know how much you should give. Definitely do a test run first! Helped my kids sleep, but my niece was NUTS with it.

Basically, I'm agreeing with everyone here. LOL

 

[mybabesuz]

As everyone is saying check with your Pediatrician first...

I am one of those people who always said... NO don't drug your children... I would never do that... BUT...

Then DD came along... She is my 5th child... well she screamed the whole flight down and half of the way back on her first trip when she was 18 months old...
She was in my lap and didn't have a seat.

The next trip a year later..she had a dose of Benadryl and her own seat with a carseat... She slept most of the way.
And everyone was happy.

So never say never...

 

[bookgirl]

I'm not for the random drugging of children, but really it's benedryl not a qualude or crack. Some kids do get agitated on the flight, ears popping, the confinement, the strange feelings and noises. If it makes the child's flight peaceful and the fellow passengers, then I think a small does of benedryl is fine. I'd rather they had a small dose of benedryl than a valium or a trumatic three hours housed with 150 other cranky passengers.

In the end do what you feel best, but check with your ped. first.

 

[RMulieri]

I don't have a problem with it either. I would 1) get the correct dosing from a pedaitrician and 2) test it out at home before flight day. It does no one any good to try it out on flight day only to find out your child reacts poorly and gets agitated and more hyper.

 

[QueenNatalie]

Just my opinion-no judgement on anyone else's opinions-I would not medicate my child unless instructed by a doctor...