The Reason Drop Is Given To Babies Instead Of Suspension Or Syrups

The moment you become a parent, the first thing that starts disturbing you is the type of drugs you can give your little baby. The options are much but revolve around suspension, syrup and drops (solutions). Fathers are guilty of not looking before buying. But not mothers. They ask questions about what is the difference and if the drug may have side effects because of the dosage design.

The active drug (pharmaceutical) ingredient (API) or may be in the drug but with different formulation. The same dose from the different dosage design will elicit the same positive effect. However, there is a major reason some dosage designs are preferred for some sets of children than the others.

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The age of the baby is the most determining factor. The age determines the dosage and how well they will accept a dosage form. For example, a new born baby has little time differentiating between sweet and bitter. As long as it is not terribly bitter, they will accept to drink it.

Liquid drug

Drops

Drops are liquid dosage formulation design for children below the age of one year. They are mixtures of ions or molecules. These are very very small chemical entities. They are homogenous mixtures that have equal number of parts at every drop of the solution. They are a combination of solvent and solute. They are transparent and light can pass through.

Advantage And Disadvantage Of Drop

One advantage of drops is that they behave like water. That is because the API is soluble in water and the solvent behaves like water or is even water. It doesn't stain or stick to glass or a spoon. This makes it easy to give an exact dosage. This makes it very suitable to deliver exact dosage to children below one year old because a little change of dose can be dangerous. But children above 3 months don't like drops because of its unpleasant taste. That is why children drugs above 3 months are prepared as suspension or syrups.

Suspension

These are liquid dosage form design for children above at least three months of age. They are heterogeneous mixture of the drug and the solvent. They contain large particles of the drug in the solvent. These particle can be seen with the naked eyes. They settle down on standing for a long time and require shaking the bottle to dispense. Sometimes, a suspending agent is added to delay the time it takes to settle.

Advantage And Disadvantage Of Suspension

One advantage of suspension is that it can easily be sweetened. This makes it suitable to give bitter tasting drugs. However, the liquid can stick to the side of the bottle and the dispensing spoon or plunger. It also requires shaking before dispensing. Inadequate shaking can alter the dose completely. This greatly affects the dose given. This large variation of dose cannot be tolerated in children below 3 months of age. However, this difference is not that significant in children above 3 months of age.

Read Also: How to calculate children's weight using their age

Syrups

Syrups are solutions of sweetening agents (sugar, sucrose) and remain dissolved in the diluent. It is clear and not cloudy like suspension. Nothing settles at the bottom of the container. Does not require shaking to redisperse. They are viscous with colour and flavour.

Advantage And Disadvantage Of Syrups

One advantage of syrup is that it is sweet already. The dose can be adequately administered. The color may attract the child to take the drug. However, there can be problems if the sugar crystallizes. And some children find it difficult to swallow syrups because of their viscous nature.

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