Decongestant?

ammommy wrote: What is your favorite decongestant for little ones? Alec needs one and after trying Robetussin (sp?) and it not working, I thought I'd ask the experts
Robetussin makes him horribly hyper and the ped's office is closed so I can't get thier opinion.

texasp3 replied: My ped recommends Pediacare products - she thinks they work better for little kids than other stuff that's on the market. They work well for Gabriel. Right now he's on Pediatex (prescription decon) and it's not making him hyper even though it's pretty strong.

ediep replied: I like pediacare but I have a hard finding the plain decongestant. We used Robatussin, simply stuffy, or dimatapp. the robitussin makes Jason completely zonk out, so I don't ever give him that during the day.

Mandasmomma replied: We are going thru the same thing now - the only thing I could find when I went out this week was Robitussin - and it makes her wake-up - instead of fall asleep...and it is for nights....I have to give it to her too long before bed for it to actually work thru the night for her.

I think we are gonna call the pedi tomorrow anyway - instead of her getting better, she is getting worse now.


Good luck!!
Kelly

coasterqueen replied:
Same here. I *thought* I was giving Kylie a pediacare decongestant and it wasn't and the doc told me what I was giving her was actually worse for her symptoms and could cause seizures. Yikes! So we are sticking to robutussin, although we couldn't get Kylie to take that so she's taking triaminic. Not my favorite because it makes her hyper.

ammommy replied: Isn't it amazing how the same medicine can make 3 children react in 3 different ways. I hate the trial and error phase of finding OTC meds. I wish you could just get samples instead of shelling out $$ for something that will be used once, then thrown out.

BTW, it looks like the Dimetapp is going to work (crossing finger smilie inserted here )

DVFlyer replied: As far as I'm aware of, there is only one "decongestant". That is pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (Sudafed). It is bottled, capsuled, etc in medications such as Robitussin, Pediacare, Triaminic, etc, but if you look on the bottle, they will all have pseudoephedrine if they are a "decongestant". This is why you can buy generic- Sav On, Vons, etc- brands of the medications and save quite a bit.

It's all the same medication when compared to it's brand name counterpart. Pseudoepedrine is the cause of the hyper activity. So, unfortunately for most people, there is no way around it.. with the exception of adding an antihistamine (see below).


If you buy a medication that is a "Sinus and Pain Reliever", it will have pseudophedrine and Tylenol (acetaminophen). It won't matter if it's brand name or not (unless it uses Ibuprofen for it's pain reliever ingredient).

If you buy a medication that is the above PLUS allergy, it will contain an anithistamine (quite a few variations here). Most will put people to sleep with the exception of Claritan, which not too recently became an over the counter medication. You will see it being marketed under Alavert. It's the same thing as Claritan, just look at the label. So, a decongestant AND antihistamine will usually not cause hyperactivity since they counteract each other and most of the time will cause drowsiness.

But of course, not being a Dr. or Pharmacist, I can only speak from my own knowledge and you should consult your professional before making any medication choice for your children.

ammommy replied:
Nice disclaimer
It probably is all of the additives that make the difference with the different meds.

DVFlyer replied: sexymomma....

Too bad Chocoate isn't one of those additives! I'd medicate MUCH more.

coasterqueen replied:
It was the antihistamine and decongestant my doc said was a no-no when they are sick and that it could cause seizures. I was clueless on that.

redchief replied: There are a few other decongestants other than Pseudoephedrine HCI, but that's the one most prescribed by docs as a decongestant. One of the side effects of it are minor excitable behavior or mild drowsiness, but that tends to diminish as the body acclimates to it. Phenylpropanolamine is another decongestant commonly used and that stuff runs me right up a wall. I get the jitters just thinking about the stuff.

The primary ingredient in Robitussin is Guaifenesin, which is an expectorant (used to break up "tight chest" mucus). The -PE version of Robitussin has pseudoephedrine in it.

The Pediacare decongestant contains pseudoephedrine if my memory serves me correctly (We haven't had anyone young enough for that in years).

Dimetapp is an antihistamine. If your child's stuffiness is due to allergies, Dimetapp will help, otherwise it won't. Often allergy medications contain both antihistamine and decongestant(s). That's what I take due to my always runny nose and seasonal (all 4 of them!!!) allergies.

Hope that was helpful.

Sunflower04 replied: Joey takes a decongestant called Ryna 12 which he doctor prescribed. It works good for him. He really can't take over the counter with his asthma.

DVFlyer replied: Re: Phenylpropanolamine- Not sure how current this information is, but PPA has been looked at by the FDA.

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm

mumof2little1's replied: I use Dimetapp Elixar with my children. I have always used it since my daughter was a baby and it works.