PARENTS are being urged to weigh their children regularly to ensure they give them the right doses of medicine.
A NEW survey has found 43 per cent of parents occasionally or regularly take an educated guess on the dose.
The survey was released on Tuesday, before Medicinewise Week ambassador and ABC children’s star Jimmy Rees hosted an event to raise awareness about the importance of dosing by age and weight. In one year, the NSW Poisons Information Centre had more than 10,600 phone calls about accidental medicines exposures and 4391 calls about dosing errors involving children. “It’s great to have the opportunity to spread the word about how small mistakes can cause big problems in little bodies when it comes to children’s medicines,” said Rees. “Some of the top tips I’ve learnt are be prepared, read the label, weigh your children regularly as it’s important for working out dosage, know how to use measuring devices, keep records of doses and be safe and responsible with medicines around the home.” The survey showed parents felt unsure about how much medicine to give, whether to expect side effects and how to know if the medicine is working.