Medised and Piriton together?

[poptartpoptart]

DS is 6 and suffers badly from hayfever at his time of year. He is on Loritidine tablets from the doctor but I also have to top him up with Piriton once or twice a day if the pollen count is particularly high (doc said this is fine).

My question is, can I also give him Medised on top of this? He has a stinking cold at the moment and finding it really hard to sleep and breathe properly because he has a stuffed up nose.

I'm concerned because both the Piriton and Medised bottles say 'may cause drowsiness'. I don't want to overdose him or knock him out completely!

Any advice?

Hello , you are right to be concerned. He would not be able to have both at the same time. Poor thing how about Karvol caps for his horrid cold. X

I wouldn't give both at the same time, they are both anti-histamines that work in a similar way so could well cause a lot of problems

Try steam therapy, karvol and propping the head end of the bed up so he's sleeping upright

Hope he's better quickly

I've tried the lot - Karvol caps, steaming, vapouriser in his room, nothing seems to help.

Do you think I could give him a spoonful of Medised just before bedtime providing he hasn't had any Piriton since that lunchtime, ie, over 7 hours beforehand?

I have given them together but then mine don't get drowsy with piriton

I really wouldn't, unless a doctor or pharmacist has approved the proposed dosage. They all contain antihistamine (albeit slightly different ones) and taken to excess can cause serious problems.

I hope he perks up before bedtime and is better soon.

As a pharmacist, my advice is no. I'm also dubious as to the benefit of loratadine and piriton - if the loratadine isn't working, your GP should be exploring other options (such as a steroid or cromoglicate spray in addition to the loratadine, or a different antihistamine altogether) rather than recommending two antihistamines at the same time.

Try other things to relieve the stuffiness - menthol rub on his chest (and repeat during the night), plenty of water to drink, prop up his head at night.

If he's very congested, you could try decongestant drops like Otrivine - but you'll need to plead your case to the pharmacist at your local pharmacy as they are only used with caution in children aged 6-12 years. Failing that, you could try saline nose drops.