Syringes Better for Giving Kids Medicine Than Spoons

Experts have already cautioned parents of the risk of using domestic spoons in giving their kids medicines as it could result to overdose.

The experts examined 49 tablespoons and 71 teaspoons gathered from 25 homes in Attica, Greece. The study showed that the capacity of the teaspoons were from 2.5mL to 7.3mL, with an average volume of 4.4mL. The tablespoons used had a capacity of 6.7mL to 13.4mL, with an average volume of 10.4mL and median 10.3mL.

According to Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences Director Professor Matthew E. Falagas, there was a huge difference between the spoons’ sizes, with some not even having any relation to the exact calibrated spoons made available commercially in kids’ medicines.

For instance, a parent using a large domestic teaspoon would be providing his/her child 192% more medicine rather than one giving medicine to his/her kid using a small teaspoon. As a result, it would increase “the chance of a child receiving an overdose or indeed too little medication,” said Falagas.

With this information, researchers from the United States, as well as in Athens, suggested that parents use calibrated medicine syringes instead of spoons to accurately provide the liquid medication to their kids. Such a method is likewise more effective, particularly for children who are still young or reluctant to take their meds. Spoons can be easily avoided and pushed away, leaving parents uncertain on how much their child has taken in.