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Ever given your kid a dose of Benadryl to just get them to sleep? In the house? On a plane?
You could be abusing your kid.
That's the new word from the Journal of Pediatrics: A study that looked at off-label uses for children's medicines has declared parents are committing "an under-recognized form and/or component of child maltreatment."
Ouch.
According to the study (quoted on CNN), study author Dr. Shan Yin used information from the National Poison Data System.
He found that children were most commonly receiving analgesics, stimulants/street drugs, sedatives, hypnotics, antipsychotics, and cough or cold medications -- and out of 1,400 cases between 2000 and 2008, there were 18 deaths.
But beyond the actual on-purpose child abuse cases, Yin said there are all those hazy situations: where parents THINK they're doing something that's OK but they're skating on thin ice.
Let's get it out there: I have never done this to my child. But I also consider myself lucky to have a mom who is in health care -- she has helped me through some pretty tough times.
If every parent had a nurse practitioner with pediatrics expertise on speed dial, I'm willing to bet there would be substantially less drugging of kids.
Which is to say: I totally understand how this could happen.
You haven't slept in a week because your child won't sleep, and what could a little Benadryl do, right? It never hurt them when they had a bug bite, why should it hurt them now?
A lot more than you'd think.
"Benadryl can sometimes have a paradoxical effect and cause kids to get really hyper," warns Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD, FAAP. The pediatrician behind Pediatrics Now says parents should never use medication that isn't doctor-prescribed or being used for the exact over-the-counter use described on the packaging.
"It’s not a good idea to give medication to small kids for purposes other than what they are intended for due to side effects," O'Keeffe says. "We simply don’t know the correct dose other than for the purpose the medication is intended for."
"What parents are doing is giving themselves a placebo effect but potentially harming their child by giving a medication that could create untoward effects."
Have you ever medicated your child without the doctor's say so?
Image via DraconianRain/Flickr
Comments (6)
I've never understood this, but like the OP...my situation is different...I have a sleeper...always have ... so there has never been a need.
No, and I don't think others should but then again I am some what of a hypocrite because I personally take Benadryl myself so I can sleep occasionally. But my kids are different. In the case of something they are allergic to taking Benadry and its side affects is way safer then not. But just to sleep, especially young kids, I don't think so. I never took it to try to sleep when I was pregnant or nursing but I did get stung by a bee while I was pregnant and I took some immediatly because obviously dieing is way worse then anything that could be a side affect!
My allergist told me to always take Benadryl when I fly because of my sinus problems. I called my daughter's ped before we were flying once she was weaned (breast and bottle) and she was on the tail end of a cold. She gave the go ahead for Benadryl in that case. So while I was using it in a different way, I did call her doc.
Since then I've reserved the right to use Benadryl on a plane with my kids, but only used it once without talking to the pediatrician immediately beforehand. And that was with my daughter, and I knew what her reaction was based on previous uses.
No way! This is awful. It is one thing to give your child medicine if they are sick, another to "help" them sleep. I flew with my 8 month old from Alaska, to Seattle, to Washington D.C. Breastfeeding kept him happy. We flew at a time when I knew he'd sleep for most of the trip. Just last month I flew with him (now 2 1/2 ) from Washington D.C. to Oklahoma City. I NEVER had to drug him. You need to plan on having things (for older kids) to do. Bring a DVD player, coloring books, lacing cards, etc, etc. to keep them happy and occupied. That's called parenting. You don't just drug them because it's more convenient. Nothing about being a parent is convenient.
Drugging your child for non-medical reason is not only lazy it IS abuse!
Helping them sleep IS a medical reason. I do give our son tylenol almost every night because his teeth have been killing him. He will wake up every night about an hour and a half after he falls asleep in a sweat and he will be screaming and rubbing his cheeks. I don't want him to be in pain if he doesn't have to.
As for the plane rides, it doesn't apply to us because we don't fly. And PhilsBabyMama....you sound a little selfrighteous when you talk about never drugging your kids. If you kids have pain and sinus issues when flying then it is not drugging them and until you know that kinda pain then I would just hold back on your rude comments.
I only give my kids medicine when they are sick.