Hi all, i need advise on this. I gave my 2 yrs daughter Children's Triaminic "Chest and Nasal Congestion". I gave her half a tsp at 8am and another half a tsp at 2pm. Since it is not working, i need to change and give her Claritin for Children....I currently have the Walgreen Brand. How long do i need to wait before i start the Claritin?
READ the label. I'm not sorry to be so blunt. What you're doing is dangerous. These meds are not to be given to a 2 yo.
I think you ought to take your child to the doc. Triaminic isn't approved for children under SIX...yours is two? I think you need some professional guidance.
Also, Claritin is for allergies. Our ped currently PRESCRIBES it for my six year old. I realize you can buy it OTC, but you haven't always been able to, and that ought to say something.
I'm not being harsh in an unnecessary way...please don't take this the wrong way...but experimenting with drugs on your child is not safe. Please take her to the doctor and get some advice.
You do know that kids under 6 (I think) shouldn't get ANY OTC cold medicines, right? I'd ask your doctor before giving that child ANYTHING else.
YIKES
Ignore the people saying they do different things just because 1 is cold medicine and one is allergy medicine. Phenylephrine and Loratadine are BOTH antihistamines, aka have the same mode of action, so you don't pop on both without an okay from a doctor. Benedryl, chlortrimaton, and about half a dozen others are all antihistamines. Never, ever, ever double up on antihistamines without an okay from your doc. It doesn't matter what the box says it's "for", it's the ingredients that matter.
If the dosing is 6 hours on the triaminic, wait 6 hours from last dose before starting the new antihistamine, unless instructed by your doctor to give both together.
WHEN IN DOUBT: 24/7 nurse hotline. They have OTC dosing, "real" dosing, interactions, otc timeframes, "real" timeframes (often the same, unlike dosing), and modes of action all in a handy dandy little book. The nurse will be able to tell you exactly how soon you can give it.
Childrens Triaminic and Claritin don't contain the same medicine so you don't have to wait any particular time. HOWEVER, you should not be giving Triaminc to a two year old. It's not approved for toddlers and studies have shown it's not effective at all.
One more thought - Triaminic and Claritin fight two different things. Triaminic is for a cold. Claritin is for allergies. Do you know which your child has? And have you talked to her pedi about giving unapproved medicine? It can actually be dangerous...
Call a pharmacist and ask. They're the professionals.
I would call the pharmacy first before changing anything.
Call a local Walgreens or other all night pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. Don't take any chances.
If it is effective for six hours you can give it to her anytime after 8PM
Ok, so here's the problem. The safety and efficacy of these drugs are not tested in children and 2-3 year old children are most likely to suffer from an overdose/adverse side effect from these drugs. Because of that, and because we don't truly know what a safe effective dose is, nor do we know really how long it takes a 2-3 year old to metabolize these drugs because it has not been studied (to my knowledge) then certainly nobody here can give you any accurate advice about when to give another dose of a similar drug. I think the best advice you've received is to follow the label...so if it says to wait 6 hours, wait six hours (at least).
My cousin told me that her pediatrician had OK'd the use of children's cold medicine (first I'd ever heard of such a thing) and if that's the case then you should consult the same pediatrician about dosing with other medications.
As for my own 2 year old, I set up the humidifier, give him some saline spray squirts, and a homeopathic honey cough remedy and prepare for a long night. I'm sorry your LO is sick.
