This article was professionally consulted with Doctor Specialist I Nguyen Huu Nam - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.
Children vomiting after taking medicine is probably a common occurrence for parents. This phenomenon occurs more often in children under 4 years old. Children vomiting after taking medicine may require another dose and affect the treatment results.
1. Do children who vomit after taking medicine need another dose?
Factors that determine whether children need another dose after vomiting include:
- Time from when the child takes the medicine to when they vomit;
- Type of medicine;
- The child's condition after vomiting;
- The part of the medicine that can be seen while the children vomit.
In addition, mothers need to pay attention to other factors such as:
- The dosage form of the drug, which can be mentioned as: Syrup, tablet, capsule;
- Amount of vomit;
- The age of the child.
However, not everyone can accurately assess the above factors. To ensure good treatment, parents need to pay attention to the time from when the child takes the medicine until the child vomits. Then decide whether the child should take another dose or not, but should still consult a doctor for accurate information.
The following is a principle based on the time the child takes the medicine until vomiting for parents to make a decision (it should be noted that this principle may not be true in some specific cases):
- The child vomits within 15 minutes of taking the medicine and you can see the pill (for tablets) in the vomit: The child needs to take another dose.
- Children who vomit after 1 hour of taking medication (15-60 minutes): Children can take another dose of medicine, considering the treatment results and side effects in case of overdose. For example, antipyretics, pain relievers, anticoagulants, hypertension medications, Opioids, etc. should not be given another dose because it can increase the risk of overdose for children.
- Children who vomit more than 1 hour after taking medicine: Children do not need to take another dose of medicine.
2. Measures to help limit children's vomiting after taking medicine
To limit children's vomiting after taking medicine, parents can apply some of the following methods:
- In addition to medicines that require taking on a full stomach or immediately after eating, mothers should give their children medicine away from meals to avoid making them vomit.
- For children under 6 years old, choose medicines that are easy to take. For tablets, you should ask your doctor if you can crush or dissolve them for your child to drink. Do not mix the medicine with milk or food to avoid possible drug interactions.
- You should divide the time to take the medicine reasonably. This not only helps children avoid vomiting after taking the medicine but also helps ensure the quality of the medicine during treatment.
- Parents should be careful when giving their children syrups to avoid choking on the medicine. In case the child vomits after taking a fever reducer, parents can replace it with suppositories.
- For children under 1 year old, when choking on medicine, parents need to apply the back-patting and abdominal pressing technique, for children over 1 year old, apply the Heimlich technique. Then, take the child to a medical center to receive help from doctors.
Raising children is never easy for parents; it is a continuous process of learning and growth. The younger the child, the more careful the care required. Therefore, it is essential to thoroughly research and understand information before applying it to a child, in order to safeguard their health.
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