Okay mamas. If I gave my infant the acetamenophin (because I couldn't find the Motrin) can I give him the Motrin now afterwards when the correct time has elapsed for his next dosage? Or are you not supposed to mix the two? (Btw, they are both the generic brands as those were the only okay ones after the Motrin./Tylenol recall.) Thank you
EDIT: I should clarify. My 19 mo old cut his finger failrly deep yesterday. The bleeding stopped immediately and I don't think he needs stiches . I cleaned the finger a bit, put some neosporin on it and have a bandaid on it that I would like to keep on for a couple of days. I will then take the bandaid off to let it breathe. He's seems ok but you can tell he's favoring that hand and it is sore. He wants me to hold him a lot right now which I am doing. I don't want to keep alternating the Ibuprofen with the motrin but just switch from IBU to Motrin after hours + from his first dosate of IBU and will keep givin ghim Motrin there after every 4-6 hours if needed. I just think Motrin is stronger IBU and want it to take the pain away.
Hello MLB,
As the mother of 5 let me say: please remember that it takes awhile for the healing of a cut to take place-- it closes from the inside out so he will favor it for a while.
I have interchanged the two often and had no problems. Good Luck
Why are you giving medication? For fever, teething, tummy ache??? Is there an alternative or did the doctor recommend?
I was always told you can alternate Motrin / Tylenol every 2 hours if needed. (Regular dosage should be every 4 hours)
Motrin is simply a brand name for ibuprofen. Unless the mg/dosage is higher, it's exactly the same.
Tylenol and Motrin are completely different molecules and work totally differently. Usually, most pediatricians recommend alternating between Tylenol and ibuprofen every 6-8 hours.
You should contact the pediatrician's office though to make sure his vaccines and immunizations are up to date. Even if he's not in need of stitches, they may want to administer a tetanus shot if he's not already received one.
Good luck.
You can do the motrin 3 hours after the tylenol.
I would pick one and stay with it. He really doesn't need both. Tylenol is for mild pain and fevers. Motrin is for inflammation and more serious pain. I would give the Motrin every 6-8 hours as prescribed. If he is still favoring his hand then I would call the doc just to see if they wanted to give a light antibiotic too.
When I have medical questions I always go to the pro, usually a Pharmacist will take a moment and tell you thin information you need...they are professionals, where we are not. I could tell you I give my kids both meds at the same time and never have a problem but the truth is you don't know us, we are strangers and could easily give you bad information.. Meds were taken off the market for children under 6 years old because they were dying due to parents giving wrong doses and not following directions on the bottles. Google it, it is a CNN article that explains the recall better than any other. Please ask a pro when it comes to your child's life.
I've mixed up pain meds before without any problem, first I did it on accident, forgetting where the tylenol was then giving motrin, so I was under the impression that motrin is Ibuprofin, but as along you follow the recommended dosage you should be fine.
Hope your son's finger heals quickly
Just to clarify ...Motrin (ibuprofen) can only be given every 6-8 hours as needed. Tylenol (acetaminophen ) can only be given every 4-6 hours as needed. If the pain is being controlled using just one medication, then just stick with that medicine. If he starts having pain before the next dose of his medicine then it's OK to give the other medicine. Just make sure you write down the times you give each medicine, and do not give them any sooner than the times written above. Giving the medicines alternately every 2 hours is NOT recommended. You will be overdosing on the ibuprofen. And next time, please contact your doctor regarding medication dosages. You have been given wrong and possibly dangerous responses on this site.
Normally it's fine to alternate Tylenol and Motrin. However, Motrin should not be given when there's bleeding. It will cause it to bleed more. This time I would ask an advice nurse.
I feel that if there is enough pain to warrant giving medications, the cut should at least be seen by a Dr. to be sure stitches aren't necessary. Just my 'better safe than sorry' philosophy. Since I tend to give as little pain meds as possible, I'm not really familiar with mixing them, so can't give you advice for that.
You should change the bandage every day and if it gets wet - try using a medicine on the cut that has pain killer in it like Bactene or Neosporin.
Ibuprophen and and Motrin are the SAME - use every 6 hours. Tylenol should not be mixed with anything that's why they took so many cold medicines for kids off the market last year.
I've always found that Motrin slows down bleeding.
He wants to be held because he is in pain and also maybe got a little scared from the injury and just needs to feel safe.
If fever has not subsided in 2hr. it should be ok to alternate, but you should always check with pharmacy or pedi if your not sure
Yes, every 3 hours if you're alternating, four otherwise. 2 hours is a bit close together, but it would probably be okay if it was just once in the day.
If you're using it for a fever reducer, alternating is a great way to get the fever to break faster if it's reluctant...fyi!
After the correct amount of time has lapsed (whatever the bottle says), you can switch the medications.
On Dr Sears' website, it states you can alter them every 3 hours. I've done this with my daughter. Here's the link: http://askdrsears.com/html/8/T088900.asp It's the second bullet point under helpful hints.
You can give them both at the same time, to great effect, especially for stubborn fevers or serious pain... but it's usually recommended that you start out with one. Not because of any danger or interaction (like I said, they work well together), but just because double tapping is usually unnecessary.
Just check with your pharmacist. I know from school, and from nursing, but you don't know me from adam. Your pharmacist, however, you know has their degree AND it specializes in medication and their interactions.
I agree with the last posts, that for medicine or medical advice, don't blog or chat, call a professional! Pharmacist, advice nurse, they are usually free to talk to, and professionally trained to answer medicine questions so you don't risk messing up, at the expense of your child.
You can actually alternate the two medications simultaneously....Tylenol, then two hours later Motrin, then two hours later, Tylenol (b/c now it's been 4 hours), then four hours later Mortin....etc. We have been told by Drs that this is OK and recommended.
Alternating the two medicines is fine, but piggybacking them, as Samantha suggested (IBU, then two hours, TYL, then two hours, IBU etc., ) is only recommended for a high fever that will not break, not for everyday pain. For the pain of a cut or other everyday-type occurance (twisted ankle, etc.) this would be overmedicating. However, if you started with Tyl/Acetamenophin and would like to switch to Motrin (Ibuprofen, Advil, all the same meds) after the first four hours, there is no problem with doing that.
I would also change the bandaid every 12 hours or so. On a finger there is no pain/drama about removing the bandage and it will heal faster if you change it and apply fresh ointment on a regular basis. The Neosporin I use has a mild topical pain reliever in it which will help with the discomfort and is perfectly safe when used with oral pain relievers like IBU and Acetamenophin.
Lots of cuddles and kisses will help too!
