It is very common for babies to experience negative reactions to medications.
In fact, they are much more likely to have a bad reaction to medicine than adults.
Because of this, parents need to be very careful about the types of medications they give to their babies.
Even seemingly harmless over the counter or herbal drugs can harm your young child, so the best course of action is to always use caution before choosing medicines.
Keeping your Baby Safe Until your baby is six months old, you should always consult with your pediatrician before giving your child any medicines.
During the first few months of a child's life, it is incredibly important to only give him carefully measured doses of medication as recommended by your pediatrician.
Administering extra doses or giving your baby medicine that has not been approved by your pediatrician is a dangerous practice that should be avoided.
When it comes to giving your baby medication, you should remember to never give him aspirin, as this can lead to the development of Reye's syndrome, a very serious illness that can be fatal.
You should also avoid giving your child any medicines that contain aspirin, so you will need to start reading labels carefully.
Keep in mind that aspirin is sometimes referred to as acetylsalicylic acid or salicylate.
As a general rule, you should avoid giving anti-nausea medicines to your baby.
Even if his vomiting seems like it is going to go on for a while, the fact is that most babies only have vomiting episodes that are very brief.
A variety of complications can result from giving babies this type of medicine, so only do it after discussing the matter with your doctor.
You should also avoid giving your baby modified doses of adult medications.
You might think that by giving your infant a much smaller dose that it will not do any harm, but it can still be quite dangerous.
If a medicine is not intended for babies, then simply avoid giving it to them in any form.
Taking Precautionary Measures Many parents think that chewable medications are ideal for children of any age, but you should exercise caution if you are thinking about giving one of these drugs to your baby.
Babies can choke on chewable pills, so even if your child has graduated to eating solid foods, you will still need to be careful when using chewable tablets.
A good rule of thumb is to crush the tablets and then mix the medicine with some food.
You should always throw out any expired medications.
This is true for adults and children of any age.
Not only do expired drugs lose their potency, they can also be harmful.
In addition, if you notice that a certain medication does not look quite the same way that it did when originally purchased, throw it out as well.
In some cases, these medicines can prove to be harmful if used once their original composition has altered for any reason.