Four times A DAY

[questabellatreetop]

My DS has tonsillitis, he needs four doses of medicine a day. I take this to mean he needs four doses in a 24hour period, to me it's painstakingly obvious, DH says only during the day, I think that is absolutely ridiculous. Who is right?!

What would you need to wake them? I've given mine antibiotics from syringe whilst sleeping loads of times!!

That's also been my modus operandi for many years.
They don't even notice the taste either. Well. Maybe once or twice.

I can't believe you actually have to ask.

I'm on oramorph. Prescription says 4 times daily. I got told 8am 12 4pm and 8 pm. Hope you sorted it.

I have never woken a child or myself to take medicine at night, ever. We are all fine.

I always space antibiotics out over my children's waking hours, rather than disturbing them when they are sleeping. That said, I've just got back from the doctors as I have come down with tonsillitis; my GP told me that the guidelines for penicillin have just been changed, and therefore instead of taking 2 tablets four times a day, I have been instructed to take 4 tablets twice a day.

Hospitals don't waken you during the night to give you one of your 4 doses: 6 a.m., 10 a.m, 2 p.m. 6 p.m.are the norm. You can space your son's medication to cope with his waking hours. If he is ill and sleeping best to let him sleep and give him the due dose asap.

2old2beamum- definitely check with your epilepsy nurse or pharmacist before you stop the night doses!

What would you need to wake them? I've given mine antibiotics from syringe whilst sleeping loads of times!!

Way to choke your child ....

And why haul yourself out of bed to go through all that faff when medical professionals tell you it's totally unnecessary.

I have prescribed antibiotics my entire career.

I have never one been asked this question.
I has never crossed my mind that anyone might think they had to wake themselves or a child to give a perfectly spaced dose.

My head is reeling !

Hospitals don't waken you during the night to give you one of your 4 doses: 6 a.m., 10 a.m, 2 p.m. 6 p.m.are the norm.

As an ex-nurse, those are most definitely not times that I would have administered a schedule of drugs which are prescribed 4 times a day.

Drug rounds were generally 7-8am, 12.30-1pm, 5-6pm and 9-10pm.

It would have been unusual to be asked to administer medications outwith those times, but it happened sometimes.

Ilovemalteaserbunnies no I would not dare change his epilepsy drugs however I have always stuck to the 6hrly rule with all my children even with antibiotics within an hour. It is only for 5-7days!

I only give it to mine in night if they wake anyway when unwell..when dd has ear infections she will generally wake up so I space out the meds

Saying something is 4x per day is TOTALLY different to something that is 4 hourly! Please don't anybody confuse this. E.g. inhalers, if they are needed four hourly then give them 4 hourly. They are not comparable to abx

Yabu and tbh plain silly!

It's waking hours. Your DH is right. I can't believe anyone would wake a poorly child. Sleep is vital for recovery.

Hospitals do wake you up to administer antibiotic! When they are specific and have to be spaced out, they should be spaced out over the 24 hrs period not just waking hours ! This way the dose is equal over certain amount of time. Pain killers work slightly different as to maximum dose in 24 hours.

IrisTs is speaking absolute sense, antibiotic levels peak and trough and antiobiotics should be given regularly to get the full effect.
No wonder we are becoming antibiotic resistant.

Hospitals do wake you up to administer antibiotic!

Of course they do. My dd got a chest infection whilst she was in hospital for something completely unconnected. She was woken for antibiotics at midnight and 6am. They sent us home with the ABs and instructed us to give them at as close to 6 hourly intervals as possible. I've always done it that way and will continue to do so unless a doctor whose surgery or ward I'm sitting in tells me different. 4 times a 24 hour day, evenly spaced.

And as a pp has pointed out, it's only for a week, if that.
(Obviously more serious conditions can take longer)

6am, 10-12am, 6pm, 10pm in Hospital. Personally I’d give more spaced out for kids to keep blood levels of antibiotics high/effective as poss. I’d give 6am, midday, 6pm & midnight

My kids don’t react well to being woken. Definitely in waking hours is what we’ve done. One child sleeps like a dead person and really doesn’t wake unless she is getting up. The other sleeps so lightly but then when she’s awake she’s up!!

And as a pp has pointed out, it's only for a week, if that.
(Obviously more serious conditions can take longer)

But as you’ve mentioned multiple times previously on this thread, your children would barely wake and go straight back to sleep. So of course that’s fine for a week. No hardship. DD1 would be awake for 4 hours if I woke her for any reason in the night (and she wakes if I just open her bedroom door). A week of that and she’d be a wreck.
When I was in intensive care with sepsis they woke me once at 1am, then my next dose was 8am.

In a hospital it would be every six hours. At home every four is fine. Try to space it evenly during the day.

But if I get medication and it says take three times daily, I take one in the morning, one at lunch time and one at night. That isn't evenly spaced over 24 hours, but I never thought of waking up in the middle of the night for the medication...

I literally would not even consider waking through the night to give medicine, unless the child needed it.

YABU your husband is right.

@pollymere - I am a trained nurse, and in the majority of situations in hospital, antibiotics would be given during the day, not six hourly - it is pretty rare, even in hospital, to wake a patient up for medication.

I think that, if a patient's condition was bad enough that they needed to have the antibiotics during the night, they'd be on IV antibiotics, so they could be easily administered without waking the patient.

I can honestly say I NEVER came across a case where a patient was awoken during the night to take oral medication on a hospital ward.

But @Mum2jenny there's been pharmacists and doctors on this thread saying waking hours only so...

I would never wake a sleeping child. Especially a poorly one. As my mom (surely the ultimate expert on this) always says, "sleep is the best medicine"