Drugging babies to fly..

[WelshOneEmma]

I would like to think that I wouldn't need to do this and would try very hard to not do this.

Mind you I probably wouldnt take a small child on a long journey. We are planning to go to Italy in a few months but will likely drive, so we can take the dog too.

 

[Noelle610]

I'm going to be the bad guy here and admit we did it. On our flight to my MILs, my LO did fine. It hurt her ears for a little bit and she fussed, but other then that it was no big deal. We didn't give her anything because we didn't need to.

However, coming back was a different story. She was terrified, crying, shaking, clutching my clothes and burying her head in my chest. We had anticipated this because she has had problems with anxiety and being overstimulated in the past, and its usually at its worst after being around strangers. The only way to resolve it was to remove her from the situation. Obviously it's not an option on a plane. Our doctor was fine with us giving it to her for anxiety and figured the dose for us.

I don't feel bad about it. Doctors and hospitals use Benadryl for anxiety. It's only sold to the public as allergy medication, but I don't see a problem with using it for anxiety on a doctor's order. People take anxiety medication for flying every day. Just like I have to determine if she needs Tylenol for teething, I have to decide if she needs Benadryl for anxiety. It wasn't for the other passengers' sake. It was to calm her down. She screamed for the first twenty minutes of the flight anyway. That's the one and only time we've used it.

Exactly this.

I think there's a difference between drugging your kid because you don't want the inconvenience of caring for then when they're fussy and drugging your kid because the trip is a necessity and they're prone to severe anxiety and overstimulation.

Never say never. Every baby is different. Until you've had THAT baby, it's hard to say what you would do in the situation

 

[bananaz]

Fear that other people might be bothered by my child's normal squealing or fussing wouldn't be enough for me to consider medication, but if I had reason to believe that my LO would be truly upset or distressed or in pain and that a little Benadryl would make the experience easier for her then I would definitely consider using it. I don't think that makes me evil or that it would constitute an "abuse of parental power," I think it's taking appropriate measures to protect my child's well-being.

However, I've previously given my baby Benadryl on her pediatrician's recommendation because of her eczema and I know how she reacts to it. I don't think I would be comfortable giving her a new medication while on a plane thousands of feet in the air.

 

[AP]

I'm another who uses to be in the judgemental camp but I'm certainly not now.
But I just don't fly and i avoid the situation of everyone having a hard time.

 

[ukgirl23]

Im 100% against it.. we used to live in Norway and I would fly my babies to England four times a year.. we had to take two flights and a two hour car journey just one way.. drugging them isnt needed and it can have health issues for your baby to be so drowsy on flights. I found that breast or bottle feeding during take offs and landings helped babies ears to pop so they didnt get so upset. a few times they cried but they are babies its what they do... I wouldnt drug my child to benefit other passengers.

 

[PepsiChic]

no never would I give my child a drug when they arent sick or need it!

I flew when Barry was 3 nd 4 months old and again when he was 15 months. was it difficult? yes, did he get upset? - at 15 months yes, at 4 months no. But once he had a drink of some warm milk from his sippy cup and got to sit on y my lap after take-off he was fine!

 

[NoodleSnack]

I'm going to be the bad guy here and admit we did it. On our flight to my MILs, my LO did fine. It hurt her ears for a little bit and she fussed, but other then that it was no big deal. We didn't give her anything because we didn't need to.

However, coming back was a different story. She was terrified, crying, shaking, clutching my clothes and burying her head in my chest. We had anticipated this because she has had problems with anxiety and being overstimulated in the past, and its usually at its worst after being around strangers. The only way to resolve it was to remove her from the situation. Obviously it's not an option on a plane. Our doctor was fine with us giving it to her for anxiety and figured the dose for us.

I don't feel bad about it. Doctors and hospitals use Benadryl for anxiety. It's only sold to the public as allergy medication, but I don't see a problem with using it for anxiety on a doctor's order. People take anxiety medication for flying every day. Just like I have to determine if she needs Tylenol for teething, I have to decide if she needs Benadryl for anxiety. It wasn't for the other passengers' sake. It was to calm her down. She screamed for the first twenty minutes of the flight anyway. That's the one and only time we've used it.

Yep, that's what I was thinking when reading the OP. There's no gain to being gungho about not giving medicine that's known to be safe to the child if he's screaming his head off on the plane. It's not about the other people, it's about calming down a screaming child in a very limited space. I can usually walk him around to calm him but if we're stuck in a turbulence or something, and nothing else helps, I will take the drug, thank you very much.

 

[SerenityNow]

I've not given an infant benedryl when traveling but I've given it to my Dd as an infant for allergies and for motion sickness when she was older. I have a family member who is an ER Dr. and she would give it to her babies when they had long flights or car trips so they would sleep through it. She is, of course, trained to figure out dosage based on weight so she wasn't just guessing at it. I also think that her job makes her the world's most relaxed parent-- except around glass coffee tables.

Ive seen many posts here where a mother has given her baby calpol when they are having a fussy night. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US and half the time the person was using the recommended dose. I always feel very uncomfortable when I see mothers using it for anything other than bringing down a fever but I'm not a Dr or a pharmacist so I'm not going to tell her that she's being irresponsible because I don't actually know how risky it is.

Having a kid with allergies probably colors the way I feel about this but I'd be more concerned about inappropriately using calpol than Benedryl.

 

[jenniferttc1]

Eh, if doctor said it was fine, I see no problem. Flying with a 5 month old is a completly different story to older babies. I recently flew with my 13 month old...complete nightmare for a walking and hyper baby to sit down that long and that many plane changes I habent done it, but I would probably try it one day if my kid is one of those obnoxious children .

 

[JessPape]

I did a 9.5 hour flight with my daughter at 2.5 months, and we had 2 hours at our countries airport, than another 4 hours in Germany waiting for my husbands sister. I would NEVER ever drug her. That's dumb, and whats the point?


Okay... I need to edit this, I don't mean for this to come off wrong to anyone WHO Has.. This just personally isn't for us.

 

[vintagecat]

I'm going to be taking at 12 hour flight soon to take my daughter back to meet my family in the United States. I'm absolutely dreading it because my daughter can barely handle long trips on the train or bus. No idea how I am going to cope, but I have no choice. I haven't seen my family in nearly three years and they haven't met my child, so to me, it IS necessary for us to visit. I won't be taking any medications with us, but I don't see a problem with a parent using a prescribed dose from a doctor as an absolute last measure if a child is very distressed. If you drug them before they even have the opportunity to adjust to the plane, then I think it's just plain lazy. They might be able to handle the flight and you're not providing them the opportunity. I think the fact that we feel like we need to cater to everybody around us rather than our own kids is kind of messed up. Children are absolutely everywhere...you don't get to exist in some alternate universe where you don't have to deal with something that's natural.

 

[jenniferttc1]

I did a 9.5 hour flight with my daughter at 2.5 months, and we had 2 hours at our countries airport, than another 4 hours in Germany waiting for my husbands sister. I would NEVER ever drug her. That's dumb, and whats the point?


Okay... I need to edit this, I don't mean for this to come off wrong to anyone WHO Has.. This just personally isn't for us.

As I said above I habent ever done this, but I believe its totally different with a little older babies. I flew with my sin st 10 weeks and at 13 months and will again in may. 10 weeks was s dream. They are little and sleep and nurse the whole time....13 month plane tide was way different and miserable. He didn't sleep all day and the plane was full capacity

 

[readytotry]

I did a 9.5 hour flight with my daughter at 2.5 months, and we had 2 hours at our countries airport, than another 4 hours in Germany waiting for my husbands sister. I would NEVER ever drug her. That's dumb, and whats the point?


Okay... I need to edit this, I don't mean for this to come off wrong to anyone WHO Has.. This just personally isn't for us.

As I said above I habent ever done this, but I believe its totally different with a little older babies. I flew with my sin st 10 weeks and at 13 months and will again in may. 10 weeks was s dream. They are little and sleep and nurse the whole time....13 month plane tide was way different and miserable. He didn't sleep all day and the plane was full capacity

I agree. A 2/3month old baby has very little idea of where they are and can very easily be pacified with a feed/cuddle.
A scared 15month old who wants to run around whilst the seat belt sign is on is a completely different matter. If the plane is full you might have a very small space to keep them entertained in. They will also be overtired, possibly in pain from earache, overstimulated etc.

And to the person who said they would drive instead? Having done both I would say a 2hr flight to Italy is infinitely preferable to a 24hr drive.

 

[Noelle610]

I'd like to point out that we're talking Benadryl here. Not Valium. Not saying you have to agree, but I think some of these reactions are a bit judgemental and over the top.

 

[babydust1990]

I'd like to point out that we're talking Benadryl here. Not Valium. Not saying you have to agree, but I think some of these reactions are a bit judgemental and over the top.

Of course they are, we're in baby club!

The once was mum on a plane,
who's babys screaming drove people insane,
so she whipped out some drugs,
And stuck in his plug,
And he slept soundly so she felt no shame

 

[ukgirl23]

Bendyrll is still bad, it can cause tummy upset too. My son too it after an allergic reaction to penicillin and it made me feel sick and sleepy.. I would rather have him alert and healthy on a plane especially since having a sleepy latherargic child 300 miles above earth no where near medical staff is dangerous.

There was a big debate a few years ago about if you should drug your children to sleep at night and that was very taboo... this is rather the same in my view. Sorry if I sound judgemental but drugging my child to make life easier isn't what I would personally do... a 15 month old child will happily sit on a plane for a few hours if you have things to distract them.. I think the problem lays with the parent not the kid

 

[fieryphoenix]

I'd like to point out that we're talking Benadryl here. Not Valium. Not saying you have to agree, but I think some of these reactions are a bit judgemental and over the top.

I was thinking the same thing! It's benadryl or cough medicine we are talking about, not some hardcore sedative lol

 

[aliss]

I don't think I'd give my kid meds for a flight!!!!

But I might get a few Scotchs from the flight attendent and offer to let some old lady to hold him "for a few hours".....

https://www.jaunted.com/files/16133/Sleeping_On_a_Plane.jpg

(But in all seriousness, we didn't, the longest flight we've taken was 5 hours... we've done it 6 times, and he wasn't mobile and in okay spirits, so no need)

 

[Noelle610]

I'd like to point out that we're talking Benadryl here. Not Valium. Not saying you have to agree, but I think some of these reactions are a bit judgemental and over the top.

Of course they are, we're in baby club!

The once was mum on a plane,
who's babys screaming drove people insane,
so she whipped out some drugs,
And stuck in his plug,
And he slept soundly so she felt no shame

You rock

 

[special_kala]

I wouldnt consider it.

What if the baby had a reaction to the drug mid flight???