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| Main > Medicine Cabinet > Adolescent > Adolescent Medicine Cabinet |
Adolescent Medicine Cabinet
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| Remember that most of these medicines, especially the cold remedies, will not make your child get better any faster. They should be used only if they are making your child more comfortable and are not causing bothersome side effects. If your child is not improving after a few days of being on an over the counter medicine or if he is getting worse, you should call your doctor.
NEWS ALERT: on November 6, 2000 the FDA recommended that consumers not use medications, including many over the counter and prescription cold remedies, with the ingredient "phenylpropanolamine" because of the risk of stroke. For more information see the Phenylpropanolamine Information Page. |
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OTC medications
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Over the counter medicines that you should have handy and can use under a doctor's supervision include:
- antibiotic creams for minor cuts and scratches
- moisturizers or lubricants if she has very dry skin
- cough and cold medicines - see below
- hydrogen peroxide
- pain and fever relievers - see below
- rehydration fluids
- saline nasal drops
- skin creams, including hydrocortisone cream (0.5 or 1%) or calamine lotion to be used for itchy rashes or bites.
- antifungal creams to treat ringworm
- Desenex cream, spray or powder
- Lamisil cream
- Lotrimin AF cream, spray, powder, or lotion
- Micantin creams, powder, or spray
- Tinactin cream, powder, lotion or spray
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pain and fever relievers
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Adolescents may take an acetaminophen or ibuprofen containing product for relief of pain and/or fever. You should avoid using aspirin containing products in children under sixteen years of age with chickenpox or flu symptoms because of the association with Reye syndrome.
Ibuprofen and aspirin can also be used as an anti-inflammatory medicine, to help with the pain and swelling associated with muscle sprains, etc. |
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cough and cold preparations
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| Adolescents may take oral or topical decongestants, cough, cold and allergy medicines per the package recommendations.
NEWS ALERT: on November 6, 2000 the FDA recommended that consumers not use medications, including many over the counter and prescription cold remedies, with the ingredient "phenylpropanolamine" because of the risk of stroke. For more information see the Phenylpropanolamine Information Page.
Medications (including prescription and over the counter medicines) that include phenylpropanolamine, and should be avoided until they are reformulated.
Instead, look for decongestant and cold medications that have either pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine as an active ingredient.
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