Would you give Benadryl to a 19 m.o.?

Sunflower777

I know the bottle says not to give it to children under 2, but my 19 month old is really stuffy right now and I think it's due to allergies. I'm debating giving him a smaller dose tonight so he can sleep. He's never had it before, so I'm not sure if it will hype him up or make him sleepy. His older brother had it at age 2 and it did NOT hype him up, so I'm thinking it might be the same for my little guy. 

rebbieW

I would follow the instructions and not give it unless I'd been advised to do so (and told how) by my pediatrician.

Maybe the doc can recommend something?

peekaboo716

No. I don't tolerate it well at all, so I avoid that stuff for the family, if possible. So far, so good.

I would call the pedi to see what they recommend.

penguingrrl

I know it's safe for any age since my pediatrician said to have it in the house from the time my first was born just in case, although I have no idea what the dosing would be under 2.  I would call your ped and ask what dose to give.

Bellisimo

Eh, you can, but we give Zyrtec since MH suggests that the dosing is easier and there's less risk of respiratory depression.  Works like a charm!  You have to get the proper dosage from the MD...depends on the patient's age and weight.

KoriBrett

I would only if I knew how he'd react, and if there were more symptoms, if it was most definitely allergy related.

In your case, I wouldn't.  My sister gets all hyper on benadryl.  Me?  Scoop me off the floor with a spatula 30min later.  You don't want to experiment on that at night.  There are also a ton of colds going around here right now, not sure where you live in MI but everyone is sneezy coughy & sniffly, not all of it is allergies.  And since it's just the schnozzola giving him issues, I'd just do the nose drops and humidifier for tonight.  And a long warm bath to loosen up the snot.

joseysbride

I would, but I'd call the pedi and ask for the appropriate dosage.  My son had a bad cold this spring and I had taken him in to the pedi.  She recommended I give him Benadryl at night to help him out a bit, and it really did help.  But yeah, I would not be comfortable just giving them whatever I felt was right as far as the dosage goes.

ilovemygirls

Absolutely.  My pedi recommended it for my youngest when she's sick as she has asthma & it helps her relax & get through the stage in the night where she is coughing like crazy & can't go to sleep.  She was probably about 18mos when I started giving one dose at night when she's sick.  It really helps her relax & get to sleep.  My pedi said you can use it in that fashion for long periods of time very safely.  Just make sure you have the correct dosage- check on askdrsears.com, I believe they have a dosing chart.  I am not much of a medicine taker myself, and I don't like to give it to my kids, but once I saw how much it could help her when she's sick I could see no reason not to. 

JoLiz

I have given DD benadryl a handful of times... 1 teaspoon every 6 hours - she had an awful allergic reaction to amoxicillin.  She swelled up and was covered in a rash - the benedryl worked wonders!