Pediatric Over-the-Counter Medicines: Questions from Parents and Caretakers

Our Pharmacists Answer Your Questions about OTCs for Your Kids

Being sick isn’t fun for anyone, but when it’s your child who isn’t feeling well, you might feel additional anxiety. You not only care about them being safe and healthy—you also just hate to see them not feeling good.

When you visit us for over-the-counter medicines for your child’s cold, cough, or fever, we want to make sure all your questions are answered. With so many over-the-counter medicines to choose from, it’s not always easy to know which ones are best for your child’s situation, or how best to take them. Our pharmacists have years of experience, and most of us have kids of our own at home, too. We’re here to help—we want to simplify the process of figuring out how to give your child the best help they can get to feel better. Read on for the most common questions we get about pediatric over-the-counter medicines, and our answers.

What are specific things that Forward Pharmacists can help me with?

We can help you figure out dosing, age appropriateness of a given medicine, and what we call “condition-appropriateness”—finding the medicine that actually addresses the conditions that your child has. In some cases, your child may have complicating factors that affect whether or not a medication will be the right one for them. We can help you figure out what the best product is to help your child—the safest, most effective thing for them. Don’t be afraid to ask us—we love answering these kinds of questions. All of our pharmacists have kids, so we know what it’s like to have a sick kid at home.

Can I give this to my kid?

Sometimes a medicine looks like it will be helpful, but you can’t tell from the label if it’s safe for kids. As parents and caregivers, we’re usually pretty careful about what we give our kids, and cognizant that some things may be harmful for them. That’s where as pharmacists, we can step in, look at the label for you, and go through the ingredients one by one. Sometimes a combination product will have one ingredient that won’t be okay, but we can then help you find an alternative without that specific ingredient, something that will be safe for your child to take.

What do you have for cough for kids? What about for cold, for fever, or something else?

We have a lot of different formulas that are geared specifically for dealing with the symptoms of colds, coughs, and/or fevers. And we have special, kid-friendly formulas and flavors that make it easier for kids to take. Come into any of our locations and we can go through with you the best medicines for kids for cough, cold, or fever. We’ll help narrow it down and find what works best for you.

What specific products does Forward Pharmacy carry that parents or caretakers might want to know about when caring for a sick kid?

One great thing that we carry in our stores, and is great for small children in particular, is room humidifiers. Some kids are too young for medications, so one of the really great ways to help them if they have a runny nose, a stuffy nose, or coughing, is to use a humidifier in their room. For these kinds of symptoms, having a little humidity in the air can help ease symptoms and support the healing process.

As always, if your child’s symptoms seem serious, make sure you check in with child’s doctors. Some conditions may be more concerning for kids than adults, such as fever. We’re more concerned about fever in kids than adults, especially with small kids. Follow the guidelines from your pediatrician about what temperatures to watch for, or ask one of our pharmacists. Sometimes over-the-counter remedies won’t be enough, so be sure to check in with your doctor.

Need an over-the-counter medicine delivered? Call your local Forward Pharmacy branch to place an order!

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Children Aren’t Just Little Adults

When you’re looking through all the options for over-the-counter medications, there are so many things to consider that it can be daunting—especially when that medicine is for your kids. Children metabolize medications differently than adults, so it’s important to make sure that you are giving both the correct dose, and the most appropriate ingredients. We’re here to make the process a little more straightforward for you.

Published on Mar 23 2020

Last Updated on May 08 2020

Categories: Over the Counter Medication, Prescription Medication, News