Over-the-counter fever reducers for kids are briefly provide in some components of the nation. NPR’s Daniel Estrin asks pediatrician Christina Johns what recommendation she offers to oldsters.
DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
Spare a thought, would you, for folks of babies this vacation season. There’s a tripledemic within the U.S., the flu, RSV and COVID, and it is wiping out over-the-counter kids’s medicines from drug retailer cabinets. Doctors say there is no such thing as a must panic. There are alternate options. We’re joined this morning by Dr. Christina Johns, who focuses on pediatric emergency drugs in Annapolis, Md. Welcome to this system.
CHRISTINA JOHNS: Thank you a lot for having me.
ESTRIN: Dr. Johns, that is actually surprising. I’ve been studying about shortages of youngsters’s Tylenol, kids’s Motrin. I imply, these are the fundamentals. What is the rationale for these shortages?
JOHNS: You know, proper now, as a result of we’re seeing such a surge of pediatric sicknesses, and so whereas we have got a lot of sick children, there’s a variety of a necessity for issues like over-the-counter ache and fever reducer medicines.
ESTRIN: So if I could ask your recommendation on behalf of our listeners, in case your child does get a fever and you’ll’t get your fingers on over-the-counter medicines, what ought to folks do?
JOHNS: So I’ve a few ideas on it. I believe, to begin with, individuals are very used to getting what they’re used to, and I might encourage of us to know that there are generic formulations of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, which is often often called Tylenol. And so search for these. I believe additionally get some steerage out of your pediatrician. Those individuals will know precisely what are the great choices in your space and will have some insights in the place to go to have the ability to discover some drugs. I believe additionally chewables for older kids, and naturally, there’s at all times a rectal suppository for very younger infants for Tylenol.
ESTRIN: What about youthful children? Like, if in case you have common grownup Tylenol, for instance – I used to be simply wanting via my drugs cupboard. Most of the ache relievers I’ve say protected for teenagers 12 and up, however what about youthful children? Can youthful children take these?
JOHNS: You know, we actually do not encourage of us attempting to present both a half of a capsule or break up a pill. Dosing may be very intentional in pediatrics and it is based mostly on weight, and so it’s extremely tough to get a exact dose in case you do it that manner. So that is usually one thing that we encourage of us to not do.
ESTRIN: What a few popsicle or simply taking a shower? I imply, you already know, any residence treatments that you just may advocate?
JOHNS: Yeah. You know, these are actually nice choices. I at all times say to of us, when children are over about 6 to eight weeks of age, keep in mind that by and enormous, you wish to deal with the kid and never the quantity. And so if they’re comfy and feeling OK and appearing properly, then possibly it’s time to lean into issues like a lukewarm bathtub or a popsicle. Other consolation measures like tons and plenty of fluids – that may actually assist.
ESTRIN: Let me ask you a sort of a counterintuitive query. Would having a fever truly be useful so long as it isn’t too excessive?
JOHNS: You know, the fever is the physique’s manner of mounting an immune response. So I’m not afraid of fever per se as a result of it is a sign to me that the physique’s doing what it must do to struggle no matter an infection is ongoing. I believe it is essential to notice that some kids, 1 in 5, in actual fact, could have one thing referred to as febrile seizures, the place when the speed of rise of temperature may be very steep, then they’ll even have a seizure. And this may be very dramatic, very horrifying. It is usually a innocent phenomenon that goes away by the point kids enter elementary faculty.
ESTRIN: At what level ought to a mother or father name a pediatrician?
JOHNS: So my common feeling about it’s that when a mother or father is anxious, whatever the motive, that is the time to examine in with their kid’s pediatrician. That is what we’re right here for. Certainly, for any new child, any child who’s lower than 4 to six weeks of age they usually have a fever of over 100.4, that could be a state of affairs that should have a pediatrician name for steerage. And older than that, the issues that I usually search for are, is the kid having issue respiratory? Are they not being as responsive as ordinary? Are they so sleepy that they’re exhausting to speak to? Of course, at any time when anybody has a fever, you do not really feel 100%, however your baby nonetheless needs to be responding to you and in a position to comply with instructions developmentally appropriately. You know, hearken to your parental intuition, and if one thing appears not proper, make that decision.
ESTRIN: Dr. Christina Johns, emergency pediatrician and in addition a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Thanks a lot on your recommendation.
JOHNS: Thanks for having me.
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