Benadryl and My 5 Yr Old Son

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Ask his doctor not a bunh of mothers maybe the there is more to this than you think former nurse A. no hills

Ask your Pediatrician.

What is it for? A cold?

take your son to the Doctor.... since he has some kind of rash/itchiness.
You NEED to have it diagnosed first.
Don't give him something unless your son is examined.

I give my three year old one of the disolvable tablets and she's good to go. Doesn't even knock her out (unfortunately... smile). But just in case call your Pediatrician to be sure.

I agree, the exact dosing is a discussion for your pediatrician. Also, what is the cause of the itchiness? The Benadryl may have no effect at all--both because of his age and the cause of the itch.

A better first solution may be an oatmeal/baking soda bath, Aveeno, Sarn, or Gold Bond anti-itch Lotion, or hydrocortisone cream.

I can tell you that my three year old gets 5ml for allergic reactions and seasonal allergies...and has been on that dose since she was 2 years old. She is around 50% percentile for weight.

Interesting enough, Benadryl liquid is still labelled for children under five in Canada. The labelling changes in the US came around for two reasons 1) studies showed that these medications aren't necessarily useful to a young child...their bodies don't always metabolize them in a useful way and 2) parents were over-dosing their kids by dosing too often when they didn't see results or in combination with other medications that had the same ingredients.

My pediatrician still prescribed the exact same active ingredients (at higher doses) in prescriptions form after the labelling changes--she said it was a quality control issue and to keep parents from medicating as indicated above...not that the ingredients themselves aren't considered safe.

Yay! Saw your update.

With meds ALWAYS get medical advice, and you can get it 24/7 through the nurse hotline through your local hospital. They have a big fat book (or database) which lists out EVERY med, and the appropriate dosages per weight, and which meds they can be taken with. The dose per WEIGHT is what's the most important thing, because a 3 year old can weigh 20lbs or 40lbs. Ditto always go by weight on meds that have the doses listed on the back. But with the nurse hotline, you never have to take a guess at 3am.

Same token, even with dose per weight on the bottle, those aren't the *actual* max dosages. If you have a stubborn fever and have already given the max tylenol AND max ibuprofen... call them up and they'll give you the "real" max dose per weight.

Better yet, find out what is causing the itchiness. Could it be laundry soap? Something he eats? btw - The last thing you want to put on your skin is hydro-cortisone, this should be a last resort.

Look for the dye free Benadryl /store brand.

Looks like you've already got your answer but I always give both my 5 year old and 11 year old 1 tsp. - as directed by their doctor.

Hi B.,

How much medicine always depends on the weight of your child. I always called our local pharmacist (call the 24 hour one, if yours isn't opened yet) and ask him/her. They will be able to tell you the specific amount.

Good luck!

L.