Careful! You May Be Giving Baby the Wrong Acetaminophen Dose

Photo: Getty Images

I ran into this problem last weekend when my toddler had a fever: Some infant acetaminophen should be given in a different dosage from what we were used to, and it’s actually pretty confusing (at least, it was to me, and I reported about this months ago). So here’s a head’s up to look extra closely at the instructions when you’re giving baby medicine.

That’s because some infant acetaminophen (such as Tylenol, Little Fevers, Triaminic, store brands and more) switched their concentrations from 80 mg/0.8 mL or 80 mg/mL to 160 mg/5 mL, so now it’s actually in the same concentration as children’s acetaminophen. In the long run, it will probably be easier to remember that way, but until we adjust to the change, it’s important to be extra cautious when giving baby the medicine.

In other words, instead of giving my two-year-old 0.8 mL of the old infant liquid, I gave him 5 mL of the new stuff, and it was the same amount of medicine. It’s important to note that not all liquid acetaminophen brands may have made the switch yet and that you might have bottles of both the old and the new at home, so it’s probably really easy to make a mistake here. To avoid that, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising parents read the bottles extra closely before giving baby acetaminophen (yes, even when you’re in that 4 a.m. haze) and to call baby’s doctor if you have any questions at all about dosing. Also, be sure to only use the measuring device that comes with the medicine -- some of the newer bottles have syringes instead of droppers -- for a completely accurate measure.

For more information on the new dosing, go to the FDA website.

Plus, more from The Bump:

More Pregnancy and Parenting News

Infant Formula Pulled From Shelves After Baby Dies

Watch Out Mama, Acetaminophen Dosage Will Change

-- Elena Donovan Mauer

See More: Baby Basics , Baby Doctor Visits , Newborn Basics , Toddler Basics , Teething