The most frequent errors with the medication of the children

It is obvious that the medicines are for alleviating or curing diseases, however, if the parents do not use them correctly we will not only help our children to feel better, but that in addition we can cause other ills such as diarrhea, dizziness, vomiting or even resistance to the drug in question.

It is obvious that the medicines are for alleviating or curing diseases, however, if the parents do not use them correctly we will not only help our children to feel better, but that in addition we can cause other ills such as diarrhea, dizziness, vomiting or even resistance to the drug in question. Medication errors in children occur when an inappropriate drug is used to treat a problem or illness or when the drug is not used correctly. Factors that increase the risk of error in medication

In most cases these errors are the product of human failures, due to

lack of experience or knowledge

, due to a mistake, or due to a failure of the medical system, but all these cases have a common bond, they are avoidable. Medication errors in children can be categorized into several types:-

Prescription errors

: the doctor is usually responsible. -Dispensing errors

: usually the pharmacist is responsible. -Administration and compliance errors

: the responsibility is with the parents. There are many other causes that cause errors in the medication of children. On the one hand there is thelabeling of the medication

, which is often ambiguous or is badly specified. Sometimes the abbreviations or the illegible handwriting of the doctor give rise to this type of error. Precautions to avoid errors in our child's medicationThe first recommendation is never to self-medicate the child and let the pediatrician say what the child should take and at what dose.

The parents must also

know the name, dose, concentration, dosage and appearance of the medicines

that the child takes to avoid confusion. It is advisable to make a list with the medication that the child uses in case it is necessary to leave it with someone. Finally, never stay with doubts, whenever possible you have to ask and resolve doubts, something as simple as a question can avoid many mistakes, so communication is very important to fight against errors in medication. Diego Fernández

. Editor of Guiainfantil.com