how often do you give piriton?

[jenk1]

DD ate something that she had a reaction to and i gave her piriton, the GP said that she was too young a few months ago but the hospital said ok to give it.

im annoyed with the GP because she was a lot better for having the piriton, she,s 18months old and it says on the bottle that its ok for over 1 year, i just dont know much about it and any information would be helpful

TIA

I use Piriton for mine - and have done from small - for chicken pox, allergic rashes and hayfever. I wouldn't give it where I didn't know what had caused the reaction IYSWIM. I have a dd who is allergic to Ibuprofen which showed when she had a very very bad reaction in France, and the French pharmacist gave her piriton suspension (she was 2yrs)which I might have done, but I wanted his expert opinion before I dosed her myself.

Sone dosing info here - says it's OK from 12 months, and that the dose for 1 - 2 years is 2.5ml twice a day.

Piriton fine from 12 months, Zyrtec fine from 6 months.

I used it from 12m onwards as per the bottle instructions. They suffered no ill effects from following the manufacturers instructions!

I used it on my DS who was then 11mths when he ate some meringue from my daughter and reacted to it by going red in the face, hives and crying. This was his first time and I have given it 4 times since when he has accidentally come into contact with egg. It was fine for him. Please don't worry.

the guidance on the bottle is general advice. If a child is having a severe reaction the advice from a consultant may be different. For example our daughter was (accidentally, panic and not reading the bottle) given a double dose of piriton when she had a severe allergic reaction and the consultant said that was fine for her. She was given adult epipens before reaching the weight given on them because her blood test showed she was very allergic.

Zyrtec is slower to act than piriton. I give a bottle of piriton to all my relatives with young babies and tell them if they have a severe reaction to use it en route to the hospital. It reduces the reaction and buys you time.

I haven't been advised on any meds to give ds in case of reaction. We have epipen jnr but nothing else. What is the best to give if having a reaction???

If you have an epipen use it. It is the best thing to use. Use it even if you are not sure.

I agree zyrtec is slower - but we don't have piriton in NZ and the alternatives he is actually more allergic to because of the preservative or colour used.

I would use epipen in case of bigger reaction. I have also been trained in this (once). Recently he woke up with an all over mildish rash and was itching himself crazy. Would I give zyrtec in this case to relieve symptoms??? (don't know if have piriton in australia)

I think Pyriton will do for minor to medium reactions. For a full blown one it's just useless (or so said the doctor).
Having said that, we avoid it for minor reactions like slight rashes, etc. but if the rash is extending too fast or too wide (but is still only a rash) we use it immediatly.

piriton is chlorphenamine maleate, sometimes the drug is available under another name. Zirtec is much slower to act but acts for longer so is better for hay fever. For a rash I'd use an antihistamine cream not a syrup. We have piriton cream for bites, don't know if zyrtec do one.

We've talked about what to use with other allergic families at anaphylactic campaign meetings. Many families have asthmatic children and aren't always sure whether something is an asthma attack or an allergic reaction. Some can get adrenaline inhalers and use those instead of an epipen where they have doubt.

We used the double dose of piriton when we didn't have an epipen and she had a bad reaction and it certainly didn't stop the reaction. If we'd had an epipen I would have used it. However we find that if it is given immediately there is any sign of a problem and if the problem is only cross contamination so not any large amount of allergen, then it doesn't develop to a full scale reaction. Maybe it wouldn't without the piriton as nut reactions are unpredictable but we aren't going to stop using it. Any sign of a reaction affecting breathing/ causing shock and it has to be the epipen immedtiately. If my kids were asthmatic I wouldn't wait and if I could get an adrenaline inhaler I'd use that.

We have a zanta click for bites - excellent and no chemicals or additives or expiry date. And they even wash (though I wouldn't recommend this)

I'll check with doctor for generic, thanks.

Our consultant has advised us to use piriton and out dd2 is only 7 months, she is egg and wheat allergic, gets bad Urticaria and the piriton works within 1-15 mins. Her dose is 2.5mls, once is enough so far hth

Thank you for adivce. We see consultant again on 22 Nov for our annual testing. I will ask her about this then. Are epipens limited in other areas?? I am in Australia and we are only allowed two per year. I am on my 2nd now due to expiry and as we go camping a lot I would like a 2nd for backup. Also why I would like to know about the piriton etc too.

we have 4 epipens, 2 for home and 2 for school (UK). Our gp isn't very happy about the cost but once the consultant has prescribed them all he can do is grumble. I am sometimes given pens with short dates (8 months once, anaphylaxis campaign advises you to refuse any with less than 8 months) so being restricted to 2 per year could mean not having one at all. Although second epipens aren't normally needed a very bad reaction could require 2. What happens if you have to use one for a reaction, do they get replaced?

mymama - that's ridiculous having 2 per year. It's like saying here's a pound but don't spend it.

Then again they are over $100 each here. Funnily enough nobody ever mentions having 2 (let alone 4). Everyone I know gets them ordered in with the vaccines and buys direct from Doctor, refusing anything with under 12 months.

I know some people keep a loaded syringe wrapped in Clingfilm because of the cost

Cost here is $23. I recently asked for another as a backup but was refused as had two this year. Don't quite know system, Dr or Allergist rings a number (???) and gets allocated a "script" for them. Last visit with gp he tried but was refused. You do get more if it is used on a reaction but costs $180.