Figured you guys were all geniuses so you could help me brain storm.
My little guy just went to the ped for his 7th ear infection in a row when they finally got a good look at his echzimah (I can never spell that), and realized it was as bad as I’ve been saying. So to combat both in addition to the antibiotic for his ears again, they prescribed orapred.
The bottle says 1 teaspoon 3 times a day for 3 days. That should be 9 teaspoons in the bottle and yet after only the third dose I can tell there’s only enough left for one, maybe two more doses. Which leads me to remembering when I asked for syringes they handed me a bunch of 1 mL syringes at the pharmacist. Needless to say I’m a bit concerned that he’s supposed to be getting 1 mL doses and I’ve given him massive amounts more. Soooo, where can I find the correct dosage for a 19 lb. infant? Anyone have a clue? I figure I can hunt this down on my own without calling the doctor’s office, which is closed, or his ped at home, who is sick.
Call the pharmacy!
that pharmacy is closed as well. I should have noticed this earlier. It is an on site pharmacy w/ the doctor’s office.
One teaspoon is equivalent to 5 mL, which seems a reasonable dosage (assuming liquid amoxicillin or something of the nature). However, it’s impossible to tell if the dosage is right based on the info you gave - because it’s dependent on how much of the drug is mixed in how much solution. I would call the pharmacy tomorrow and see what they say. It’s possible that they miscalculated the amount needed for 9 doses.
Well, I found some information that suggests 1-2 mL for 20 lbs.
I guess I could have added it has 15 mg/5mL of prednisolone solution.
I called the doctor at home. She said it was supposed to be 1/2 tsp which is closer to what I suspected. It’s prednisone. Not really a huge deal short term. And perhaps it’s staved of bronchiolitis, being everyone is “coughing up a puppy or something” to quote my 8 year old.
OraPred is anywhere from .25 to 2mg/kg/day. So:
19 lbs is about 9kg
9kg x .25mg = 2.1mg
9kg x 2mg = 18mg
18mg divided by three doses would be 6mg per dose.
There are 15mg per teaspoon (5mL) so a 6mg dose would be a little less than 1/2 a teaspoon.
The extra dosing is no problem - except that the baby may be bouncing off the walls! - but the pharmacy needs to be held to account for this. I hope your doctor was rightly concerned about what sounds like mislabelling.
Thanks for all the help guys. He seems to be o.k. albeit major cranky. I’m of the understanding the poor thing is probably withdrawing. Ha! I’ll give him a smaller dose or two just to wean him down, but he’s supposed to be finished in a day or two anyway.
oh cranky is one of the major side effects of steroids, and the bigger the dose, the crankier. Don’t worry, he’s little, he’ll get over it quickly.
Mary
Yup. And he’s got the crankyness. I thought it was only my oldest who had lungs of steel. I stand corrected.
Is it spring yet? I am anxious for healthy kids again. This has been going on since Sept off and on every other week someone else is sick. Blah.
Wait until they’re teenagers, then they have the angst of puberty, the crankiness of being sick, the expanded vocabulary courtesy of schooling, topped with the loss of knowledge about “inside voices” - - 
And just when you think you’ve heard/seen/been through enough, they give you a hug and say, “Mom, you rock!” which makes all the above seem so irrelevant!!!
How true! I’m feeling for you…