GENERAL CAUTIONS ON ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES
• Complete the entire course of preventive vaccinations and do not skip over or delay.
• Never give any medicine on an empty stomach or soon after feeding, nor disturb a child when he is asleep or continues to weep.
• Never exceed the stated and recommended dose nor give an adult dose to a child. Give only paediatric preparations.
• Stop using medicine when the child has fully recovered, but some medicines are to be given for a specific period, hence do not cut short the treatment mid-way.
• Give medicines either dissolved in water or with some palatable vehicle but avoid giving tablets straightway on the tongue as they might gag him or cause respiration problems.
• Capsuled medicines generally adhere and stick to the soft palate or throat and, thus, may choke him; hence use liquid/tablet form instead.
• Do not mix any medicine with the child’s feed. Some medicines may be mixed with the mother’s milk ( if the child is breastfed) and then given, but follow your doctor’s advice.
• Do not insert any eye drop or ear drop without consulting a physician, nor use any corticosteroid preparations as an eye or ear drop or an ointment.
• Be careful to apply only baby cream, baby soap, and baby oil and never use any other soap, shampoo, cream or oil the elders use.
• In nausea and vomiting, avoid feeding, as the child may vomit the same.
• Do not use too hot or too cold a vehicle (like water) while giving any medicine.
The list does not end here, and there are many other cautions which elders know from their experience.