Medised

[supergolden88]

My son (just shy of 2 years) has a horrendous cold. Came on very quickly and suddenly and he is a MESS. Streaming nose /blocked nose, coughing, bit of fever, terrible mood, no appetite and next to no sleep at all. Last night he managed maybe an hour (broken up) between 10pm-4am.

We have some Medised in the house (my daughter is 6) and in desperation I want to give him some. I know the guidelines changed and it is not given to under 6 but when my daughter was a baby it was given from 6 months(?). Any thoughts?

[Convex]

The usual I think.... Call seldoc/nhs direct to check...

[Pickle]

When child #1 was born it was sold as suitable from 6 months. By the time #2 arrived it was from age 2, and now age 6. Same medicine. As long as you're sensible and use the recommended dosage it is fine, from what I remember reading they changed the age due to parents abusing the sleep-inducing properties.

(can't possibly imagine who would use it to make them sleep, terrible parents. *ahem*)

[mima08]

Sorry to hear your son is feeling so bad. I cannot comment on the meds, but we just had the same cold it sounds. What helped a bit was baby vicks for chest - and in my desperation I even followed advice to put it on his head and soles of his feet (!!!). Don't ask, but he slept through (I am sure that's just because the cold had gotten better by that time, but when it comes to sleep I have become very superstitious....). Anyway: baby chest rub, olbas oil on a bib near by, and although I know that milk causes even more mucous, smoothies helped with getting something resembling nutrition into him....

Good luck, at least it didn't seem to last too long

mx

[Jacks50]

Same as pickle in our house - It was fine when my eldest was 6 months so both my other two got it when they were really ill as we read up on it and found it was exactly the same drug. probably makes us terrible parents but they slept better and felt better and seem alright for it now!!

Hope your son feels better really soon

[pebbles]

Ditto Jacks50 and Pickle - fine for 1st so continued with 2nd

[The Nappy Lady]

Here too when needed. Same ingredients & different rules between number 1 & number 2 so we used common sense when necessary with careful dosage. Also if you have a friendly chemist try asking them if they can make something up for you. Muz in Krystal pharmacy did ths for me when C had a streaming cold & there was nothing to dry it up available off the shelf.

Re Medised, last time I tried to buy it, it wasn't on the shelves - temporarily withdrawn from sale - is it back now?

[SebsC]

My 16 month old has a dreadful cold at the moment - his nose is constantly dripping but his breathing sounds so bunged up at the same time! Sneezing constantly too and off his food and generally a lot more unhappy. Am giving saline nose drops, Vicks vaporub, karvol on a tissue and Vicks humidifier in his room when he sleeps and he does seem to be sleeping fairly normally. Have the paralink suppositories for when he seems more uncomfortable but only seemed able to get these when I am in the Republic of Ireland.

[dulwichgirl2]

Why did the rules change? Did new studies emerge that it was dangerous in the lower age group? Presumably not if forumites still give it. Plug in Karvol used to be useful in the winters for us. Also, not pushing it when they start to come down with something. Suspend Tv rules and let them watch For hours snuggled up with warm milk,and ready to sleep poor little lambs...

[Saffron]

I think they changed the rules b/c of the incidence paracetamol overdose (but don't quote me on that!). If you give medised which contains paracetamal + diphenhydramine, then you cannot give any other paracetamol containing medications. You can still get medised for infants, but you need a prescription for it now, as I understand it.

Here's an interesting study:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13698575.2011.596189

In 2008, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued guidelines discouraging use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications in children under six. In light of these recommendations, this study assessed whether parents had heard of the MHRA recommendations and whether they trusted those recommendations. It also examined parental knowledge, perception and behaviours associated with over-the-counter cough and cold medication use in children. In a sample (N = 941) of UK parents, one-third (36.5%) had not heard about the MHRA recommendations. Half (54.4%) of parents who were aware of the recommendations did not trust them or were unsure what to believe. UK parents with children under six showed widespread (86.9% of sample) use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications with children. Many parents were able to identify one active ingredient in the over-the-counter cough and cold medication they reported using with their children yet few were able to identify all of the active ingredients. Despite ubiquitous use of over-the-counter cough and cold medication with children, only 29.6% of parents rated the medication as very effective, and just half (50.3%) rated the medication as very safe. In a subsample of UK parents (N = 424), 70% misunderstood the purpose of using over-the-counter cough and cold medication with children.

In addition, some research has shown that diphenhydramine was no more effective than placebo in reducing multiple night wakings when used as a sedative (Merenstein et al, Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160(7):707-712). (This is entirely separate from using it as an antihistamine to dry nasal secretions.) It's known that diphenhydramine can result in paradoxical excitation and seizures in children. Though these side effects are rare, they probably play a factor in the age of over-the-counter usage being increased.

So medised may help your sick child to sleep by reducing fever and nasal secretions, but it does not appear to be effective in yielding uninterrupted nighttime sleep in itself.

Why not see your GP tomorrow and ask about a prescription if the cold is really that bad? Then you can talk to your GP more about the usage of medised and/or what other drugs are available. It may be that there is something more suitable for your child. xx

[supergolden88]

In the end I tried to give him a small dose of 2.5 and he threw up. I think that stupid medised is just too strong tasting and caused him to gag.

In the end I tried to get him to sleep on me on the nursing chair and eventually put him in his cot and slept next to him on the floor with one hand on his back. He woke up a couple of times mostly because his fever spiked. But overall with breaks for medicine, nose sucking and rocking he slept bit better than previous night. I am REEKING of olbas and viks having put it on my chest so he would breathe it in when I cuddled him and am sore all over.