Problems When Kids Get the Wrong Medication or the Wrong Dose

When you take the right medication, dosage, and for the correct length of time, it can save your life. Medicine not taken correctly can cause deathly consequences to adults and children. Giving the wrong dose and medication to children can have more severe consequences than the same mistake given to an adult. Children are smaller than adults, and their immune systems are still developing. Organs such as the kidney and liver, used to remove toxins and chemicals from the body, are growing. When a child takes the wrong medication, or an incorrect dose, the problems can be much more severe.

Further, when kids have medication issues, they can deteriorate faster than an adult would due to their immature system. And as any parent knows, since younger kids are still learning how to communicate, they may not accurately explain their feelings or suffering.

Thirty-two percent of medication errors in children involved the wrong dose of a medicine, compared with fourteen percent in adults. Since children are half the size of an average adult, when you increase the dose, it can be deadly for a child even if the increase is only a small amount. These mistakes can occur either in the hospital and the pharmacy.

Why Are Pharmacy Wrong Dose Errors More Common with Children’s Medication?

When prescribing a pediatric medication, Doctors must take into consideration the height and weight of the child. This variability means a pharmacy cannot give standard-sized medicines to a child.  The medication given to children can come in different forms, such as drops, liquids, and chewables. When calculating the dose, even one decimal can make a massive difference in medication strength. If a misinterpretation of a prescription occurs, this will directly affect the child’s health.

As pharmacy error attorneys, we know that there is a need for more medications to be manufactured specifically for children to reduce children’s medication errors from wrong doses. Further, pharmacists need to double-check the prescription given to each patient, especially children.  If a pharmacy error led to your child’s illness, injury, or death, you need to talk to an experienced pharmacy malpractice attorney. Give Kennedy Law Firm, LLC a call at 713-325-6445 to schedule a consultation.