DR. PAULA'S WEB SITE

Back to Medicine Cabinet

Fever Reducer

Under 6 months use TYLENOL infant drops. It's got a great safety margin and babies seem to not mind the sticky sweet taste. A few warnings: SHAKE WELL . The package tells you to but in very small letters and it is essential when you use the suspension. Also ask the doctor how much to give because the package indications under dose in order to get a very big margin of safety. You want your babe's fever to respond so get the right dose and give it no more than every 4 hours. The dose, in case you know your baby's exact weight and can convert to kilograms, is 15mg per kilo of weight and the infant drops are 80mg per .8 dropper full. For example a 22lb baby is about 10 kg. and 15mg times 10kg equals 150mg as the correct dose for this baby. 2 dropper fulls of infant Tylenol equals 160mg (80 + 80 = 160) so give almost 2 full dropper fulls (babies never get it all in their mouths anyway so just go for the 2 dropper fulls).

After 6 months and for very high fever (over 102.6) I strongly prefer Children's MOTRIN drops or suspension particularly if you've tried the correct dose of Tylenol and the fever hasn't budged. The dose is 10mg per kg of baby weight so again check with your doctor and get it right. The Motrin tastes great, works fast and lasts longer than Tylenol which means you have less struggles giving medicine and your baby feels better and is safer sooner. It's also a great pain reliever because it's an anti-inflammatory drug as well as a fever reducer (Tylenol does not have anti-inflammatory properties) and most baby pain is from things like ear aches and teething and these pains involve swelling and therefore respond real well to Motrin. A perk.

There's also much to be said for the FEVERALL line of acetaminophen (that's the active ingredient in Tylenol). It is hard to find but it is without sugary taste and not sticky so some finicky babies who spit the sweet stuff out prefer it. Also they make a suppository form which when all else fails and your baby is throwing up everything else you've tried this gets you where you need to be, inside the body (not my favorite route but it usually works unless the baby has diarrhea).

Send your comments to: webmaster@drpaula.com