wow…good lord back in the late 80’s my GP gave me a bottle of this when I was taking my 10mth old on our first overseas flight. She was a nightmare baby that cried all the time and I was scared crazy about the flight. It knocked her out and she slept.

Wow. Many years ago, this was suggested to me as a teething remedy when my children were little and fractious due to teething. I never liked using any medicine if a cold or small block of ice could numb the area naturally so I never used it. Thank heavens for that!

Thank you for this important warning – they should be shared as widely as possible.

Haven’t heard of this brand. We use zyrtec

It really is so very important to share this information with this community and then; hopefully members of this community will in turn share with their networks and extended circles. Thank you MOM for sharing this important information; it really is very important to stay up to date with all warnings.

Why has it taken them so long to realise this should not be given to children under 6 years old? I’d be wary of giving it to children of any age without a doctor’s recommendation. Maybe some of the children who have been diagnosed with hyperactivity and aggression were that way because of the medication and not for any other reason. It would be interesting to find out if the symptoms stop after the medication is ceased.

I saw this warning on the news last night. A little worrying if you have been using it. I don’t think I’d even risk it with over 6 years now. Very scary.

I want to know why any parent would think that such strong medications to such young children. I mean it says that this can be used for short term sedation? Say what? I get that parents are concerned about relieving symptoms, but I’m sure there are much milder alternatives, especially in young children!

i used this three times so far but scared now. The advice for parents to stop giving popular hay fever medication to young children raises concerns about safety. While these medications are commonly used, the warning highlights potential risks or side effects for younger children. Parents should consult with healthcare providers for safer, age-appropriate alternatives to manage symptoms.

I used it once for my daughter who was then probably 4 years old for travel sickness. But to be honest it’s actually strange that this is sold over the counter without a script of the GP. This is absolutely not the case in the Netherlands – where I come from- or other countries in Europe

• • 
  • • Ellen replied
    • 21 Nov 2024 , 8:49 am

  ---

  I worked for many years as a psychiatric nurse and know promethazine as a medicine that quite often was used by psychosis. Promethazine is a phenothiazine. It is thought to be antipsychotic in itself ‐ although weakly so compared with others ‐ but has strong antihistamine and moderately potent anticholinergic properties (Figure 2). Promethazine is known to be sedating, which is likely due to its antihistaminic properties.

I’ve never uses this for my children but when I used to work in pharmacy I saw many parents purchase it. Never any judgement because it was usually for a long haul flight. Or genuine allergy. I always felt that you just wouldn’t give it to young ones unless it’s medically very necessary. I can see that some people would just do it because… so it’s a good thing the TGA have stepped in

Thanks for this best Article ever. https://asktotalks.info/thank-you-for-the-tip/

We never used this but I know plenty of people who have or do. Thank you for helping spread this important message.

This is a really valuable and important article and it is great that you are sharing this new advice here for mums to see and read up on. I don’t use this product but i am sure there are plenty of parents out there that do and this article will be very valuable for them.

Really important information, thanks MoM. I’ve heard people joking about giving this to their littles when they were a little rambunctious and the parents wanted some chill time, all as a joke of course. But you never know who might think it’s okay to give to really young kids. Always great when this info is widely available.

• • 
  • • Ellen replied
    • 25 Nov 2024 , 8:48 am

  ---

  The thought that it would be potentioally misused by some for this reason is of course quite disturbing. Personally I think this is even more reason why this product should not be sold over the counter. Personally I think a warning is not strong enough, it would really be better when it would become a script only medicine.