Child vs. infant medication

There are some very real differences between medication intended for children and those for infants. It's important to know what these difference are and into which category your child falls so you can administer the most effectual treatment and help your kid get rid of those cold season icks.

Here's a quick cheat sheet of the differences between child and infant medicines and some guidance on when you should make the switch from infant up to children's meds.

When to make the switch

Concentration

Administering medication to a sick infant is far more difficult than to a child. To compensate for this and to up the chances of an infant ingesting enough medicine to be effective, infant medication is often more concentrated than a similar medicine intended for children. This means that you need to be very careful with the dosage of infant meds and always use the applicator that comes with the package.

Application

Child and infant meds also differ in application. Infant medicine is often liquid and comes with a measuring dropper to facilitate application. Children's medicine can be liquid as well, but is generally given via a spoon or measuring cup that comes in the package. There are also candy-like meltaways available now that do not require a dosage spoon like liquid children's meds or water like capsules for adults.

Price

Infant medication is usually more expensive than children's medication. While you are getting a more concentrated formula with the infant meds, it still works out to paying more per dosage for infant medication than you are for children.

Differences

Age

Typically, infant medication is manufactured with children under two years of age in mind. When your child closes in on 24 months, you should think about changing from the infant meds to children's meds.

Weight

Even though the difference between infant and child is technically benchmarked by age, when it comes to medication dosage, it's more accurate to go by weight. In most cases, when your child hits the 25 pound mark, it's time to graduate to child's medication.

Of course, all of these are generalizations and vary from medication to medication. The safest bet is always to consult your pediatrician when your kiddo is getting sick. Many times over the counter medicine isn't what your child needs to feel better. Sometimes rest is the best treatment and, fortunately, that's a one size fits all prescription.

More on babies and medication

• What to do when your baby catches a cold
• Medicine that's not safe for baby
• Is it baby allergies or a simple cold?