Giving your toddler benadry or dramaine for airplane???/

[Kae]

Myself & my kids take Sudafed before flights it does help with our ears, yes I know off topic. But since it is the red eye could you the week before start going to bed a little later every night so that when you get on the plane it is closer it bed time? I'm very lucky that my kids are plane & car sleepers.

Good luck & have a safe & great trip.

Kae

 

[DisneyPhD]

Two choices that have worked for us and the whole vomit issue. One was Delsym, which just kept the tickle down and worked for the night...usually! The other had codeine in it, and was called Promethazine...or something like that! Your sweetie should be able to decode my guess!

I agree with your statements about drs medicating without a need. Just the number of antibiotics given for viruses is a crime. I would never give my child one, or take one myself unless it was certain that it was a bacterial infection.

Propping a child up is not a homeopathic medication. It is common sense, though.

Delsum is what my Doc recomends too. DH and I take it also if we can't sleep because of coughs. (honestly we can't sleep when they have coughs either. We lay awake listening to them.) I had never heard of it until my RN suggested it.

 

[justhat]

Two choices that have worked for us and the whole vomit issue. One was Delsym, which just kept the tickle down and worked for the night...usually! The other had codeine in it, and was called Promethazine...or something like that! Your sweetie should be able to decode my guess!

I agree with your statements about drs medicating without a need. Just the number of antibiotics given for viruses is a crime. I would never give my child one, or take one myself unless it was certain that it was a bacterial infection.

Propping a child up is not a homeopathic medication. It is common sense, though.

Yes, it's promethazine. We have that but my husband won't give it to our daughter. Of course, he takes it when he has a cough (so does my mom, they both love it and think it's a miracle drug) but he doesn't want Madison to take anything that strong. I've tried Delsym with not much luck. I used to take it for coughs as a kid and it worked for me, but she seems immune. Honestly I think she might have asthma (something my husband and I have mentioned to the ped before but they want to wait it out more) cause nighttime coughing is a big flag for it, but we'll see. I will admit that she has a cold now and has not coughed and vomited overnight yet so maybe the ped is right and she is outgrowing it. Thanks for the tips though-and I'll mention to my husband that someone else's ped actually prescribed the promethazine for their kid and maybe that will make him rethink it.

 

[noodleknitter]

Mine outgrew it around 3 or 4, I'd say. I hope that she starts feeling better!

 

[Mono~rail]

Promethazine (brand name Phenergan) does not contain codeine (it can be given with codeine to help suppress cough). It should not be given to children under age 2 and should be used with caution in children age 2 and over. It should not be given to children with lung disease, asthma, or sleep apnea. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682284.html

 

[jeepgirl30]

Without going into right or wrong I would say no on benadryl because it had the opposite effect on both my children. They would get all wound up and almost nervous.

Things that "knocked out" other kids didn't have the same effect on mine. I told my ped this once and she asked if I had tried increasing the dosage. I love my ped but I did not try this one. I opted for plain tylenol because for DD it worked on the pain and also helped relax her.

OP: talk with your ped and do what is best for your child. What works for some children does not for others. What works for some parents does not work for others. Some people live to stand on soapboxes, others like to give advice that may be helpful. I hope I've done the later.

 

[noodleknitter]

Promethazine (brand name Phenergan) does not contain codeine (it can be given with codeine to help suppress cough). It should not be given to children under age 2 and should be used with caution in children age 2 and over. It should not be given to children with lung disease, asthma, or sleep apnea. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682284.html

WOW! I never knew promethazine was phenergan! Just goes to show what I know!!! It is the only cough med that doesn't work like speed for me. Huh. Even the DM's wire me, unfortunately.

justhat...doesn't sound like you will convince your honey on this one!

Thanks Mono~rail for an interesting tidbit of info!

 

[Mono~rail]

It is within a parent's legal rights to give their child an appropriate (in other words, safe) dose of a medication that they feel is needed.

Always consult with your child's primary care pediatrician before administering any medication as he/she is more aware of any underlying conditions the child may have that would cause the medication in question harm to the child.

 

[Mono~rail]

WOW! I never knew promethazine was phenergan! Just goes to show what I know!!! It is the only cough med that doesn't work like speed for me. Huh. Even the DM's wire me, unfortunately.

justhat...doesn't sound like you will convince your honey on this one!

Thanks Mono~rail for an interesting tidbit of info!

I'm glad to help! The DM's probably wire you because they contain pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is something I can't take because it wires me also. When I'm sick I want to rest and not be up pacing the floor all night.

Our twins have chronic lung disease (resulting from spending weeks on ventilator support following premature birth). It rules out many medications. Our pediatrician prescribes them PediaTex which doesn't contain pseudoephedrine. They get wired enough from the nebulizer treatments they require.

 

[noodleknitter]

OT...Can I ask what is in the PediaTex? My niece was a 1 pound 4 oz baby, and has minimal lung damage. But my sister's ped. wouldn't prescribe anything for her.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Just an FYI thought, when we talked to our Dr. about it when we had to give it to DS, she told me that some kids get hyper on it rather than sleepy. It has reverse effects in some kids.

This is exactly what happens to my children with Benadryl. My ds5 is allergic to latex and has to take Benadryl quite often to counteract contact with latex based items -- it's like jet fuel in his system. My dd2 also gets more hyper and will not sleep at all when it's in her system.

 

[Mono~rail]

OT...Can I ask what is in the PediaTex? My niece was a 1 pound 4 oz baby, and has minimal lung damage. But my sister's ped. wouldn't prescribe anything for her.

Carbinoxamine is the generic name. The brand name is PediaTex. It loosens the nasal secretions instead of drying them like many other antihistamines. It is a prescription med. We use it under our pediatrician's recommendation even though the twins aren't 2 yet. My best friend's son also takes it. For our girls the benefits outweigh the risks so that is why our pedi prescribes it for them. Thick, clogged secretions can be a breeding ground for bacteria. PediaTex loosens and drains the secretions which reduces their chances of developing pneumonia or ear infections.
http://www.rxlist.com/drugs/drug-17978-Pediatex+Oral.aspx?drugid=17978&drugname=Pediatex+Oral

 

[noodleknitter]

Thanks. I will send her the link, and she can contact her doc.

 

[Mono~rail]

Thanks. I will send her the link, and she can contact her doc.

How old is your niece now and how premature was she?

 

[noodleknitter]

She is now eight. She was born at 24 1/2 weeks. She is really doing well. She suffered a bit of lung damage, and has some small eye damage. She is catching up with her peers size wise, but has a little tiny voice, due to those wretched but life saving tubes.

I will say that she is the only (young) princess among all of our many boys . She rules with an iron thumb.

 

[Lulu's Mom]

Just want to comment here since I unfortuantly started this whole deabte, which I never meant for it to be, sorry Mods.

I have flown with my DD numerous times and yes one was a redeye from Hawaii to Salt Lake to DC. My DD did fall asleep like usually with her tylenol and Lollypop. For the record, I gave her tylenol because she gets sick on planes and once I gave that to her she did not have diarreha, cry or be so anxious anymore (maybe a coinsedence(SP?)) but I have done it like that from that point on.

Sadly my DD was woken up by adult passengers that felt the need to keep on opening and closing the shade to see the sun. (I know OT) But she was so misserable the rest of the way home and the whole next day that we were home, she would not fall asleep, eat and she barley drank anything. (I know jet lag)

The reason I posted here about the benedryl and dramamine, gasp, was because my SIN said something about it as well as some of my friends that have kids.

My old pediatrician told me about the possible different reactions of benedryl so I never tried it before.

I did think about trying it this time though so that it might help her with her sickness and help her to sleep the whole time, even if there are some other inconsiderate people on the plane.

Now to my point... I always have tons of thing for my DD to do on the plane and I am perfectly fine keeping her entertained.( I am not a novice at flying with my DD) I just know that if she does not sleep then the whole time she will be overly hyper, cranky and extremley loud and be sick the whole next day. And before you say I can't believe that you would consider giving drugs to your DD to help her sleep so that you would not ahve to deal with her being cranky and even sick, that is not my point. I would take care of her as I always have when she has been this way before, but it is her that I am worried about. I do not want her to feel bad, true it would be easier for me if she was happy and felt good, but I know what it feels like to be jetlagged and feel absolutley horrible and i do not want her to feel that way. Is that so horrible????

NEVER did I say that I was going to give it to her, I asked for peoples experience using it with their DC, not for people's opinions on whether it is right or wrong and to hear people preach about it. I know that I posted it on an open forum so people are going to speak their opinions but geesh does everything have to be an agrument????

Thank you once again to everyone who unjudingly gave shared their experiences and shared more information about the drugs effects. We leave on Saturday and this week will will start preparing, I'm a bit of a pracastinator.

And just in case anyone was wondering, off topic again, my DD is so excited everyday she says, "Go see Mickey, Goofy, HoHo, boats, trains, yeah, come on lets go." It just goes to show you that little kids, she has been going since she was 4 months old, do remeber things that they saw and experiences.

 

[noodleknitter]

Hi OP! I hope that you all have a great time going to see Mickey!

Sorry I took your thread OT re. meds!

 

[Lulu's Mom]

Hi OP! I hope that you all have a great time going to see Mickey!

Sorry I took your thread OT re. meds!

Thank you and don't worry about it

 

[NotUrsula]

As a general observation germane to the topic, antihistamines *are* used to treat motion sickness. Dramamine is an antihistamine:dimenhydrinate.
It differs chemically from Benadryl, which is diphenhydramine, but they are both antihistamines. (And I might note that in the case of my son, dimenhydrinate does NOT make him hyper while diphenhydramine does. It differs on an individual basis. I did often give him Dramamine when flying when he was younger, as he was prone to severe airsickness, and yes, it made him sleepy.)

Incidentally, just FYI, diazepam in low doses is also used to treat motion sickness caused by vestibular disorders; I've taken 2 mg. of it every day for years for just that reason, as I have Meniere's Disease. It can be given to children for this purpose, but the dose is very low, less than 1 mg.