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Child Drank A Capful Of Children's Advil. Could That Be Dangerous?

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Posted on Fri, 14 Sep 2012
Question: my 3 year old grandson got on the counter this morning at home and drank a capful of children's advil could that be dangerous?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (20 minutes later)
Hi

Advil is usually given to children at a dose range of 5 to 10 mg/kg every 6 to 8 hours, the dosage should generally not exceed 40 mg/kg for each day. So if your grandson is about 35 pounds or 15 kg (I am just guessing his weight, you can work out the actual value based on his known weight), then his maximum dosage for a whole day would be 600 mg.
In most formulations of advil they state that 1 tsp or 5ml contain 100 mg, so 600mg would be 6 tsp or 30 ml (this is the maximum his body can take over a 24 hour period, usually in divided doses).

You would have to look at the cap because medication caps can hold different amounts to determine what is the maximum he could have taken with that specific cap to see if it is less than 30ml or whatever value you work out based on his weight ( you can send me his weight if you prefer and I can work it out for you)

Possible side effects that you can look out for would be: nausea and vomiting, headache, pain in the abdomen due to irritation of the stomach, heartburn, dizziness, rash, retaining urine, passing alot of air.
You may want to give him something to eat or drink to full his stomach and reduce the contact of the medication with the lining.

I hope this helps and most likely your grandson will be ok but if you notice any worrying symptoms then you should take him to be assessed.
Feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Michelle Gibson James (9 minutes later)
Thank you so much for your time.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (17 minutes later)
Hi
no problem, let me know if you need any other assistance
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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Child Drank A Capful Of Children's Advil. Could That Be Dangerous?

Hi

Advil is usually given to children at a dose range of 5 to 10 mg/kg every 6 to 8 hours, the dosage should generally not exceed 40 mg/kg for each day. So if your grandson is about 35 pounds or 15 kg (I am just guessing his weight, you can work out the actual value based on his known weight), then his maximum dosage for a whole day would be 600 mg.
In most formulations of advil they state that 1 tsp or 5ml contain 100 mg, so 600mg would be 6 tsp or 30 ml (this is the maximum his body can take over a 24 hour period, usually in divided doses).

You would have to look at the cap because medication caps can hold different amounts to determine what is the maximum he could have taken with that specific cap to see if it is less than 30ml or whatever value you work out based on his weight ( you can send me his weight if you prefer and I can work it out for you)

Possible side effects that you can look out for would be: nausea and vomiting, headache, pain in the abdomen due to irritation of the stomach, heartburn, dizziness, rash, retaining urine, passing alot of air.
You may want to give him something to eat or drink to full his stomach and reduce the contact of the medication with the lining.

I hope this helps and most likely your grandson will be ok but if you notice any worrying symptoms then you should take him to be assessed.
Feel free to ask any other questions