Paranoid About Giving Mucinex (Guaifenesin) to a 3 Yr. Old

In all honesty I try to not give kids medication when it is not for their age group. All the kids dying from meds that were not meant for their age group is just one of those things that reinforces it to me.

I would ask the doc for a nebulizer and some Xophenex. The med is mixed with sterile water in the vial and it loosens the goo about the same to me. It also helps the goo come up easier that the tussin.

I am using tussin, sudafed, and the nebulizer to keep all my symptoms at bay.

Read this to learn why they are saying children under 4 shouldn't be given cold medicine: http://www.cdc.gov/features/pediatriccoldmeds/

It should help alleviate your fears! If your doctor said it was OK and gave you the correct dosage, go for it. Your son will thank you!

My son is 2 now, but when he was 16 or 18 months (and weighed 24lbs) he had some chest cold where he needed the nebulizer. The doc suggested Children's Mucinex as well. It worked wonders! I'm always a little nervous about giving the kids medicine 'before the minimum age limit', but think of it this way: If you twist your ankle and it's sprained, your doctor might tell you to take 4 Advil at a time, even though the instructions say take 2, and no more than 8 a day, you know? There's a time and place to disregard the instructions: when your doctor tells you to is one of them ;)

I would ask the doc if there are any other options first, really I hate to give little ones meds, esp if they are that close to the "okay" limit - the truth is they really do not do much testing on kids with these medicines so it's just a shot in the dark based on adults and the animals they test on.
http://voices.yahoo.com/5-natural-ways-help-decongest-bab...
Try these methods FIRST for 3 days, if you see no change, then try the mucinex. If you do not have a cool mist humidifier my pedi suggests a wet sheet or towel hung in the room with a tub/bucket underneath to catch the dripping water (cold water) and keep it in a small room. I have moved a tv and dvd player or a portable one into his room before investing in a cool mist (I know money can be tight but they are worth it).

Yes, give it to him. He will be miserable if you don't. The doc said it was OK, so don't worry, give your baby some relief.

You can also call a pharmacist and make sure if it makes you feel better. I gave stuff to my oldest that helped alot, but now they say do not give.....I think if it helps give it.

March is only 32 days away.....he's close enough to 4...trust me. Ages are just guidelines....
this whole "cold medicines are dangerous" thing is a new thing, Very new. I think it had more to do with parents that weren't conscious about dosing and giving their children too much, so they set new guidelines. We all got cold medicine at that age (if it helped) my kids are 11 and 18, they got it too....nothing bad happened.
if its going to save him from this horrible chest congestion it is the least of your worries.

I have not read any of the things you are mentioning. But I love mucinex.. It is the best stuff.

I would start with a quarter of the doctor-recommended dose and, if there are no issues, work up to the full dose.

It's great that you're careful.

I haven't had any problems with Mucinex but my kids are teens (I don't remember Mucinex when they were little). That being said I'm usually more interested in getting at the root cause of the mucus.

Good luck and hope you all feel better.

PS: This is just my "mom" opinion - I'm not a health care professional of any type. With meds I tend to be pretty cautious, but that's just me. Your situation could be totally different.

I would go ahead and give it to him if the dr said it was ok. I have given that to both my boys since they were little bitty!! That stuff is wonderful!

I would give your son the Mucinex. I would also suggest if you do not believe your doctor or do not trust him then I would switch doctors instead of asking moms on here who are not doctors. You should really believe your doctor and trust him and not need any validation from other moms on if what he said is okay or not.

What many people do not understand is that medication is dosed by weight. They have changed the age for cold meds for kids because there are STUPID PARENTS who would use cold meds to make their kids go to sleep and instead of making sure to dose them properly they would not and then would OVERDOSE THEIR CHILD! I would never give a medication to a child without knowing the proper dosing. Being a Bio/Chem major in college this is very important to know the proper dosage by their weight.

I gave my kids single ingredient cold medicines at 1.. (this was before they changed the guidelines for dosing young kids)

If they coughed I gave them plain guafesin. If theyt had a stuffy nose they got plain pseudaphed.

they wre fine.. a big problem is people buying a kid cold remedy with several ingredients.. they adding a second drug on top of that and overdosing the kid.

There's a product for kids made by Mucinex just for kids. It's called mini melts and comes in little tubes filled with a tasty powder version of Mucinex. Kids love taking it. You just tear open the top and they pour in their mouths. They love it and you won't feel guilty!