Children will often need to take over the counter or prescribed medicines to help them feel better, manage pain, or treat an ongoing health condition.
Children’s bodies react differently to medicines than adults, so make sure you talk to your pharmacist or GP about which medicine is right for your child.
The fact sheets below answer common questions about medicines and how children should take them.
Amikacin is an antibiotic used to treat lung infections caused by non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) in children with cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis.
Low dose aspirin can reduce the risk of blood clots in children who have heart or kidney problems or previous strokes.
Baclofen is used in children to treat severe muscle spasms caused by cerebral palsy or other conditions that affect the brain or spinal cord.
Cannabidiol (Epidiolex®) is an investigational medicinal cannabis product used in some children with severe and difficult to treat epilepsy.
Ceftazidime is used in children to treat infections caused by bacteria as part of our Hospital in the Home service.
Clonidine is used in children to treat high blood pressure, dystonia, pain, tic disorders, ADHD, sleep disorders and other conditions.
Advice for parents and carers about how to use Colistin Nebuliser Solution for the treatment of lung infections in children with cystic fibrosis.
Cyclophosphamide is used in children to treat different conditions that involve the immune system, to stop organ transplant rejection and to treat some types of cancers.
Domperidone is used to improve breast milk supply in mothers of children who are being treated at the hospital.
Gabapentin acts in the brain and on nerves to slow the messaging to muscles and nerves and can be used to treat a number of conditions.
Low dose methotrexate works to slow down your child’s overly active immune system and reduce symptoms of autoimmune diseases.
High dose methotrexate is given to children in hospital as an intravenous infusion to treat a wide range of cancers.
Nitrous oxide or laughing gas is a safe medicine children in the Emergency Department can have to help them cope with pain or distress.
Oxycodone is used in children to treat severe pain from an operation, injury or illness.
Thiopurines are immunosuppressants that can help relieve the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Trihexyphenidyl is an anti-muscarinic muscle relaxant used as an antispasmodic drug for both movement disorder (dystonia) and to control drooling in children.
Warfarin is an anticoagulation medicine used to treat and prevent blood clots in children.
Last updated: May 2024
