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Giving Your Child Medicine: Will They Have an Adverse Reaction?

Posted on 01. Oct, 2009 by Kate in Baby Stuff, Health

In a recent study that appears in next month’s Pediatrics Magazine, researchers found that more than half of the kids in the U.S. have bad reactions to medicine, often requiring medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization.

Has your child had penicillin yet? If not, pay close attention to first time exposure as that is when an allergy may reveal itself.

To me, it sounds somewhat obvious – like monitoring what happens to your baby after you introduce new foods. But, that said, I don’t know if I paid close attention the first time the doctors gave our daughter penicillin – all I know is that I was worried about her pneumonia.

I was so on edge that all I remember is sitting in the hospital room watching her breathe oxygen and thinking truly horrible thoughts. So, now, I don’t know if there were any side effects of the medicine or if all those tests and her prescribed treatment had anything to do with complications or if it was just about the pneumonia.

According to this new study, both hospitalized children and children at home are vulnerable to having bad reactions from medicine, medicine mix-ups and accidental overdoses. So, the moral of this story – pay attention to what the doctor tells you as well as what the pharmacist tells you when you pick up your child’s medicine. Especially with liquid medicine. And, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to either track down your doctor or call the pharmacy before you administer any medicine.

photo credit: psyberartist

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Tags: child allergies to medicine, child allergy to penicillin, Pediatrics Magazine