Dr prescribed medicine for DS but pharmacist won't dispense it.

[tigerwhocametoT]

I had a telephone consultation with my Gp today about my DS waking up at night screaming with a itchy nose. Dr thinks it cold be adenoids causing the problem so she prescribed him nasal drops to use once a day.

When I phoned the pharmacy to see if prescription was ready she said that they put it on hold because the nasal drops are not Suitable for a child his age so until she speaks to the doctor she won't dispense it.

She said it's not suitable for children under 6 and my Ds is 2.I don't really know what to think now.

This is quite common, a lot of medications aren't actually licensed for use in young children as few pharmaceutical companies want to test on children. It's up to the individual pharmacist if they are prepared to dispense the drug for that age child.

I had this with DD when she was tiny and very ill, sometimes the pharmacist would phone the GP, sometimes just refuse.

A pharmacist will not dispense medication, even though they have the prescription, because if there is any doubt they will have to check with the GP who issued the script. Mistakes can be made and the pharmacist is the last person who carries out checks that medication is suitable for the patient. If something went wrong then their livelihood and reputation is on the line.

A pharmacist has a legal duty to check before dispensing anything where they are uncertain of the safety or appropriateness so she is doing the right thing. This is how many dispensing errors are picked up.
Having said that, many medicines used in children are not officially licensed for that age group yet are perfectly safe. This is because they have not been tested in the formal way but there is sufficient evidence that use is safe.
I would just give the pharmacist time to confirm. She will then either dispense the original item or the replacement the GP suggests

Its common for the pharmacist to ring and speak to the GP in cases like this, if the dose seems too high, it interacts with another med the patient is on, its not licensed for that age group or there are other concerns about what the Dr has prescribed. Drs are humans too, and can make mistakes. It might seen annoying, but its about safety for your child!

Doctors are amazing at diagnosis- that's their job. They're not all amazing at prescribing/ drug interactions etc like pharmacists are so sometimes they need to check. The outcome will either he an alternate medicine or the doc saying that he's happy for your child to have this medicine regardless of official guidelines due to clinical experience. It's so important for pharmacists to do a final check- don't worry- it's a safety thing

Thanks everyone. I was wondering why the doctor prescribe Ds medication that wasn't even used on children he's age.