Too much Ranitidine for baby?

[Tutankhamum]

What dosage of ranitidine does your baby take?

My 15 week has reflux and I requested ranitidine after trying gaviscon with no results.

The dosage on the bottle says 5mls 3 times a day. He's approx 5kg and the doc said it's 1ml per kg.

I'm concerned this is too much as on nearly all forum posts I read about the medication the dosages mentioned are more like 0.5 mls 3 times a day rather than 5mls.

The oral solution is 5mg/ml so he's getting 75mg ranitidine a day; does this sound too much?

Taken from the BNF. So sounds about right

The solution is 5mg/5ml so that's 15mg a day not 75. Is this still too much?

I'm pretty sure we were on 0.5. It didn't make a bit of difference.. Baby grew out of it at six months. I feel your pain though!

My 5 month old baby had a reflux review yesterday. The GP went off BNF guidelines. She's 6.25 kg and now on 0.6ml x3 day. Gp said that when baby turns 6 months the dosage can basically be doubled. So I'd say 5ml x3 day is way too much. I'd ask the pharmacist maybe? Or call surgery and ask for a recalculation.

5ml sounds like a lot.
Are you getting mixed up with 1mg per kg? Rather than 1ml per kg?
My 22lb lo is taking 2.6ml 2 x day

Thanks for the link bump, I'm going to check with the docs and pharmacy tomorrow as nearly all posts on various forums refer to dosage much smaller than what we've been prescribed, like oly5 mentions.

" He's approx 5kg and the doc said it's 1ml per kg"

I think that's the mixup - it should be 1mg per kg.

Getting advice and not giving that dose to your baby is the best idea.

As an aside, we started ranitadine at 4.5months and it was lifechanging. I hope it helps your baby x

Thanks for the replies, I am concerned he's been prescribed too much compared to others.

On the bottle it says:

5mg/5ml oral solution

Take ONE 5ml spoonful THREE times daily

Also, was anyone told to take it before, with or after food as there is no box or leaflet with the bottle.

😮 sounds like an error there to me OP! Can you remove the identifying information and post a picture of the pharmacy label?

That dose sounds right but Ranitidine comes in different strengths as long as it's definitely 5mg/5ml then dose for a baby under 5 months is 1mg per kg three times a day. Your baby is 5kg so 5ml three times a day should be correct.

I suspect people using the smaller doses have a different strength.

Having said all that - always check with your pharmacist that it's the right dose/ strength/ medicine - they really won't mind.

yes that's too much! It goes on weight and even when my very poorly reflux baby was 7 months old it was only 3mil a day! We used gaviscon at the same time.

Just so you know my DD's reflux turned out to be cmpa and I didn't find out until she started weaning, this was also the story of a friend's baby and a couple of ladies' babies on a fb parent group I was on. My DD was off all meds within a week of going DF! Something to keep in mind and consider trying if you can.

I had this, my baby was on a high dosage but it still looked very high going by the bottle advice. Checked with the pharmacy and they had labelled it for a weaker solution than was in the bottle! Def worth a check with the pharmacist just in case!

What MynewnameisKy says is right - I didn't realise there were different solution strengths!

Thanks all. Mamabear, the doc did mention cows milk allergy but he doesn't seem to have symptoms of that eg rash. We use carobel to help keep the milk down but he still spits up milk and what looks to be stomach acid. He also arches and looks to be in pain after some feeds.

I'm definitely checking with both pharmacy and docs tomorrow as he's already on other meds due to a liver issue so need to be vigilant not to overdose.

Thanks again.

MynewnameisKy, hopefully the solution strength is the key to the different dosages.

I just tried looking up strengths, and the "normal" solution strength is 75 mg in 5 mL (or 150 mg / 10 mL). I can't see evidence of a 5 mg/mL solution though it would make sense to have one for small babies. So I agree check carefully with the pharmacy and the key is to check whether the concentration is right. Is that 5 mg / 5 mL printed on the prescription label, or is it on the bottle's original labelling?

GrasswillbeGreener, the 5mg/5ml is the original labelling.

To confuse matters, on my second bottle, the original label also states 5mg/5ml but the pharmacy printed label says 50mg/5ml!!

It's 1mg per kg 3 times a day, not mls.

So that's 5mgs per dose if your baby is 5kg. If it's 5mgs per 5mls then yes it would be 5mls per dose. It depends on the concentration of solution.

I've only ever seen ranitidine 150mgs/10mls. In which case it would be 0.3 mls.

Ah, well it is probably OK then - but definitely you need to discuss this with the pharmacist. The anomaly in their printed labels can be sorted out and they will probably want to double check that their procedures avoid all risk of the two concentrations being mixed up with each other.

Though, 75mg/5 mL could look like 5 mg/5 mL if the 7 gets covered by a pharmacy label ...

Hi!

So...Ranitidine oral solution comes in two formulations, 75mg/5mL which is the licensed product readily available from normal suppliers however they do an unlicensed solution which actually is 5mg/5mL which is available for order through a specials lab.

Please, please ring the pharmacy you collected this medication from tomorrow and just ask them to double check the dose according to the prescription. I would always rather a patient spoke to me with a dose concern for a baby rather than just trust the label. Labelling errors do occur

Posted too soon! Labelling errors do occur and the problem with a Ranitidine label error is the dose can be mistyped from 0.5mL to 5mL which is a huge dose increase.

Check with the pharmacy first thing.

P.s in regards to your other question, give the Ranitidine about 20mins before a feed so even if she is sick that should be enough time for the medication to have been absorbed.

To confuse matters, on my second bottle, the original label also states 5mg/5ml but the pharmacy printed label says 50mg/5ml!!

Ok definitely need to query this before you give any.

It's stressful enough having a poorly baby without this added stress.