When a child wakes up sick with a fever, many parents will run to the medicine cabinet to get their little one some medicine for relief.
However, a recent study shows that it’s easy for parents to get the dosage wrong when it comes to liquid medication.
One out of five parents who took part in the randomized controlled trial measured more than twice the directed dose, and nearly all of them measured inaccurately to some degree, according to study authors.
Keep Instructions Consistent
Eva Love, M.D., of Cleveland Clinic Children’s did not take part in the study, but said that avoiding confusion about how to measure medicine can go a long way in preventing dosing errors.
“What’s important is to homogenize the way we talk to parents about medication administration,” Love said. “Clearly with the recent study that’s come out and subsequent studies to that – just talking to parents in terms of milliliters is the best approach.”
Use the Right Tools
In addition to pediatricians being consistent with dosing instructions, researchers said the tool that parents use can greatly influence their chances of getting it right.
The study showed the use of dosing cups was associated with more than four times the odds of making an error compared to when a syringe was used. Liquid medication syringes can be obtained from any pharmacy or pediatrician’s office.
Ask for Help
Experts say it’s important for parents to learn how to use a medication syringe correctly from either a doctor or a pharmacist.
Love recommends that if parents need to administer medicine at home, but just aren’t sure if they are doing it right, it’s best to call their doctor first.
“Have someone show you in the office, because sometimes even (the location of) the plunger line is confusing to parents,” she said. “So if you’re unclear, I always say, ‘Let me show you.’ We can draw up a little bit of water in the office and I can show you with a syringe.”
— Submitted by Cleveland Clinic News Service
