Child With Bad Cough. Given Domstal And Emeset. What Should Be The Dosage?

Posted on Wed, 18 Sep 2013

Question: I have a 5 yr old son who has a bad cough and has vomited 5-6 times in the past 4 hrs. I gave him a dose of domstal at 2215hrs and then i gave him 5ml Emeset at 0130 hrs. he has not eaten anything. Please advice me if the action taken by me is alright and also suggest me the next course of action. I hope it is not an overdose.

Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

Thanks for writing to health care magic.
I can understand your concern.

Vomiting occurs because of various reasons. A child with severe cough may vomit because of raise in the abdominal pressure. If the vomiting is because of cough then your antiemetics will not have any effect.

Self medicating your kid could some times be XXXXXXX It is always better to get advise from a paediatrician before giving any medication.

Dosage of domstal and Emeset depend on the content of the preparation. Various preparations contain varying amounts of domstal per 5ml. So how much domperidone is present per 5m of that syrup.

First basic cause of vomiting should be treated. If cough is the cause for those vomiting then we should treat that first. Monitor for the following in a child with cough.
1.     Rapid breathing.
2.     Chest indrawing while breathing.
3.     Abnormal noise while breathing.
4.     Nasal flaring
5.     Bluish discoloration of fingers (cyanosis)
6.     Irritability or lethargy
If your child has any of these you should consult your doctor immediately

Continue to ask further queries as required.
Hope this helps.
Take care.
Dr Y V Siva Sankara Murty
M.D.(Pediatrics)
Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (13 hours later)

Each 5 ml Emeset contains 2mg of ondansetron solution. Now my son is having 99.6 fever and has also passed a loose stool. He is still coughing badly. But no more vomiting. What do you suggest next.

Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (22 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hi

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

If a child has loose stool with vomiting then you should watch for dehydration. Monitor for signs of dehydration.
They include
1. Decreased skin turgor
2. Increasing thirst.
3. Sunken eyes.
4. Irritability.
5. Drowsiness.
6. Decreasing passage of urine.
Oral rehydration solution or any other solution containing salt and sugar should be given.
Probiotics and Zinc prescribed by your doctor will be useful.

2mg of ondansetron for a 5 year old is not over dosage.
Since you are mentioning that your child has bad cough I suggest you to consult your paediatrician once for a physical examination.

Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (36 hours later)

could u please let me know what should be the minimum gap between two doses of Emeset and how often can it be repeated. what if the child vomits after 40 min of taking the first dose of Emeset. please advice.

Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hi,

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXXXX

The minimum gap that I tell my patients is 4 hours. If a child vomits immediately I normally ask them to repeat the dosage. But if it after 40 min then I will ask them to wait.

Hope I answered your query.
Take care.

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