Parents drugging babies
Desperate parents seeking a quick fix to their baby’s sleep issues are being warned against resorting to drugs.
Medication containing promethazine, such as Phenergan Elixir, which is an antihistamine for children over two, is being used by some parents to make their babies drowsy at bedtime. The drug can have harmful side effects when not used correctly, some potentially fatal.
Baby Sleep Consultant founder Emma Purdue says one of her sleep consultants noticed the issue and expressed concern. Drugging babies is not the answer and is only ever going to be a quick fix if underlying reasons for the poor sleeping were not looked at, Purdue says.
‘‘We have parents asking us about this all the time. We would say go and speak to your doctor about this and definitely never use it for babies.’’
Auckland pharmacist Zuber Patel says sedating children can be very dangerous if there are any underlying issues.
Patel says doctors do, at times, prescribe Phenergan for those purposes but in those cases they have done the consultation and would be satisfied with the usage.
MedSafe warns that Phenergan can lead to fatal breathing issues during sleep in children under two.
Excessive dosage can also lead to hyperactivity, convulsions and sudden death.