photo via flickr.com
We’ve been saying it for years: a teaspoon in your kitchen is not a “teaspoon” in medicine dosing terms. Same goes for the tablespoon. In other words, kitchen spoons are made for eating, not for measuring medicine!
A recent study found that when using household spoons, participant measured medicines highly inaccurately, with some pouring 8% less than recommended and others pouring 12% more.
The best way to measure medications for your child is with the dosing device that comes with the product. If you don’t have one, or the medication does not come with one, you can ask the pharmacist for a measuring device when you pick up your prescription. A teaspoon of medication is equal to 5 cc or ml of liquid (the unit of cc and ml are equivalent). Medicine droppers or cups may indicate units in parts of a teaspoons and/or cc’s or ml’s. Please note that when you are using infant acetominophen or ibuprofen, only use the droppers that come with the medication itself.
Willows Pediatrics believes accurate dosing is imperative to the health and safety of our children. If you have any questions about this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
One other tip directly from the AAP: If you know your child will need medicine in the middle of the night, measure out the dose ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until it is needed. An exact dose will be waiting for you!