DH gave Melatonin to the WRONG child

[NotTheOnlyPomInTheVillage]

For background, we have had a very stressful couple of days. Due to COVID-19, we have had to shut our business and we are not entitled to any government help (we are in Australia). We have also been given notice on our apartment but have nowhere to go as we do not have a deposit for a new apartment due to our business shutting down.

We have 2 DC: an older teen DS with ADHD and a younger DD without ADHD. DS is on 3 x the normal dosage of Melatonin to ensure that he sleeps. This is on prescription.

For some inexplicable reason, DH went to give DS his Melatonin but gave it to DD instead. We are now terrified about what will happen. There is no medical helpline here, so we don't know what to do.

We have done some Googling and we can't find anything that says it's dangerous for DD, but we are still freaking out. Does anybody have any knowledge of this? He gave her 3 ml.

Just to add, this is most unlike DH. He is always calm and controlled and never makes mistakes like this. He is really upset and keeps asking himself over and over again how he could make such a mistake. I know it's just the stress we are under so I'm not cross with him. I just want to ensure that DD is going to be OK.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Also use Nurse-on-Call if you’re in Victoria on 1300 60 60 24. Your insurance provider almost certainly has a similar phone advice service if you are somewhere else. Good luck.

Thanks again, I called the number and got put straight through to the poisons unit. They were very reassuring. Apparently 80 mg is considered an overdose, so she should be fine.

Ignore the 3 year old part, I completely blurred the age of your DD and dose. Apologies. A 7yo will more than likely be fine but I do think you should check the active ingredient quantity in the dose your older son is getting as 3mg isn't a lot. We adjust Ds1's dose as necessary but as I said, he is usually on 4mg minimum directed by age and weight.

Well I live in the UK and I buy it online.

I have no idea why the UK is so weird about melatonin.

Other countries do not have it on prescription. I used to buy it in the Co-op in Italy and Lidl sell it in Spain. Glad you got some advice OP, occasionally these things happen. 😊

Did Your dd not ask her dad why he was giving her medicine? I know if I tried to give any of my kids medicine they would ask why they had to take it.

What the fuck is it with men and messing up medications the last couple weeks?? On mn we’ve had a child hospitalised with a Ritalin overdose, a cat killed with a metacam overdose. Now the wrong child given medication. How does anyone get someone like this wrong??

You can not buy it legally in the UK it is a prescription only medicine. You can only buy online from countries like the US but strictly speaking its not legal to do that. (as I do as I was desperate and the GP thought ds needed it but he wasn't allowed to prescribe it and the paed refused and now all ADHD assessments are cancelled)

Whilst researching I read studies that showed taking melatonin has little to no effect on people who produce it naturally. Ds went through a stage of hiding his sweets (he won't take the liquid due to sensory issues) and a friend ate one in the middle of the afternoon. It had absolutely no effect at all. The sweets are 5mg.

Some people do get side effects with it.

Interesting comments. A father overdosed his child on here last week. Apparently it is okay as he was stressed. But giving it to a child who never has it ?!

Zeros...don't blame the child. Ffs. She is 7 and probably trusts her father.

I can’t understand why you would think it would be harmful but glad you have the reassurance.

I am not blaming the child, I just don't know any child aged 7 who would not question why they were being given medicine!

Are you always this uptight? It’s a naturally occurring substance you can buy over the counter. FGS calm down and have one yourself! @Winnietheshit

What an incredibly and unnecessarily rude and unkind response. Not only that but it's ignorant, there are plenty of things that occur naturally in the body that would be harmful in excess.

Your son takes it every day, so what makes you think it would be dangerous for your daughter?

What the fuck is it with men and messing up medications the last couple weeks?? On mn we’ve had a child hospitalised with a Ritalin overdose, a cat killed with a metacam overdose. Now the wrong child given medication. How does anyone get someone like this wrong??

I was thinking the same thing.

I know a woman who used to give other people's DC melatonin when they sleep over at her house. (No idea what on earth she was thinking - she didn't even ask the parent's permission). In any case all the kids were absolutely fine.

It will be fine, she will just have a massive sleep. Why the fuck are husbands so useless? It’s Like they’re not used to mental wifeworl or whatever...oh, wait....

Melatonin bought in the US on holiday caused my kidneys to fail - with certain chronic conditions it can be dangerous which is why the ‘U.K. is funny’ about it and wants some control

Are you always this uptight? It’s a naturally occurring substance you can buy over the counter.

The active ingredient in aspirin is naturally occurring and available otc. It doesn't mean it's a good idea to feed it to 7 year olds.

Similarly with all 'oh it's fine, it's just a hormone' comments. Hormones, in the wrong dose and in the wrong body, can play havoc. I'm glad the advice is that your DD will be fine OP, but I can understand the worry!

It won't do her any harm, but it's pretty powerful so watch her going upstairs, stop her running around and don't let her out on her bike in case she has an accident while she's drowsy. And cut her some slack if she's grumpy or tearful.

Just google 24 hour medical helpline in google and Australia has its own version of NHS direct.
1800022222

I cannot imagine any scenario where I would be so stressed that I gave routine medicine meant for my son to my daughter.

I just don’t understand how that could happen. How detached does he have to be from the day to day of his own children to make a mistake like that?

I used to take melatonin as a sleep aid. I was never was prescribed it but you can buy it from US suppliers as a food supplement. It's not dangerous--plenty of Americans take it for jet lag too as well as general sleep probs. Only side effect I became aware of was slight giddiness from time to time. Not an issue.

How does anyone get someone like this wrong??

Humans make mistakes. I would imagine losing your business and your home is quite stressful.

Have you ever heard of the cases where a parent forgets to drop their child at nursery and leaves them in the car all day?

We all make mistakes every day. I bet you don't even notice most of them. When experiencing stressful life events, they are more likely and occasionally, they have more profound consequences. Thankfully, in this case, there will be no profound consequence, maybe just a sleepy child.

I used to work for a health telephone helpline service.

I once took a call from a very distressed woman who had handed her husband 2 tablets and he promptly took them......she had handed them to him to give to their dog!
It's not only 7 year olds who don't ask questions! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

PS.The gent was fine, if a little embarrassed.
His wife was amazed at his blind trust in her.

Glad to hear your DD is ok.
Sound like your family is going through a very rough time.
Best wishes to you and yours and hope it is sorted ASAP.