Dosage of Chinese medicine for children

We all know that children's physical resistance is relatively fragile and they are easily affected by diseases. When a disease occurs, we should choose the correct method for treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine can be used to treat the disease, but attention should be paid to the dosage of traditional Chinese medicine. The dosage of traditional Chinese medicine for children should be halved. It is safer to choose an experienced doctor to prescribe medicine, and attention should be paid to the dosage and combination of each medicinal material.

Dosage of Chinese medicine

The dosage of Chinese medicine for children is different from that for adults. When prescribing dosage clinically, one cannot simply use the adult dosage for children. Instead, one must adopt a reasonable dosage based on age, individual differences, severity of the disease, etc. Since children usually stop taking medicine as soon as the disease is cured and the medication time is shorter, and there is a lot of waste when giving medicine, the dosage of Chinese medicine for children is relatively larger than that for adults according to their age, especially for Chinese medicines that invigorate qi and strengthen the spleen, nourish yin and blood, help digestion, and those with mild medicinal properties. However, for drugs that are pungent, hot, bitter, cold, attacking, or have strong medicinal properties, their dosage must be strictly followed according to the proportion when used. To facilitate clinical calculations, the general dosage of Chinese medicine for adults can be used as the standard for conversion: for example, newborns use 1/6 of the adult dosage, infants use 1/3 to 1/2 of the adult dosage, toddlers and young children use 2/3 of the adult dosage, and school-age children use the adult dosage. This is the general dosage for adults, but it is by no means the maximum dosage, nor is it the dosage based on the doctor's personal experience. For example, astragalus, pseudoginseng, white atractylodes, etc. are 9 grams, ephedra, asarum, etc. are 3 grams, etc. Taking Astragalus as an example, 9 grams is used for adults, 1.5 grams is used in the prescription for newborns, 3 to 4.5 grams is used for infants, 6 to 9 grams is used for toddlers and young children, and 9 grams is used for school-age children.

When calculating the specific dosage, you must also pay attention to the following points:

1. The dosage should vary depending on the severity of the disease. The above dosage ratio is used for outpatients and cases where the condition is not very serious. If the child is seriously ill, the dosage of Chinese medicine can be increased according to the condition. For example, to treat summer heat syndrome (epidemic encephalitis B), high fever, coma, convulsions, Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxification, such as gypsum, isatis root, lithospermum, forsythia, etc., large doses are required to be effective. At this time, the dose may exceed the adult dose, but it will play an important role in saving lives.

2. The amount of medicinal flavor in the prescription varies. For prescriptions with very few medicinal flavors, the dosage can be slightly increased as long as it is not an attacking or toxic Chinese medicine. For example, in a prescription for tonifying deficiency, only four herbs are used: Pseudostellaria baicalensis, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, and Licorice, and the dosage of each ingredient can be increased by 1/4 to 1/3; for another example, premature newborns have lower body functions, and 3 to 4.5 grams of Pseudostellaria baicalensis is often used for decoction, which is 2 to 4 times the proportional dosage. If the prescription has many medicinal ingredients, the main ingredient will not be reduced, but the auxiliary ingredient can be reduced appropriately.

3. Strictly control the dosage of strong Chinese medicines. There are two types of Chinese medicines whose dosage must be strictly controlled. One category is drugs with hot or cold properties, or that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. In addition to being used with caution, once they are included in the prescription, the dosage should, in principle, be based on the above-mentioned proportions, but close observation should be made and use should be stopped when the disease is cured. The other category is highly toxic and poisonous traditional Chinese medicines. These medicines have special management and usage requirements and must be strictly enforced. Children should avoid using them. When they are needed in special cases, they should be started with the smallest amount and appropriate increases should be considered depending on how the condition changes. Once the condition has improved, they should be stopped.

4. The dosage of herbal medicine can be larger. Be cautious when using herbal medicine for infants under 1 year old. Generally, 1/3 to 1/2 of the usual adult dosage should be used. For example, 30 grams of dandelion and Commelina communis is used for adults, and 9 to 15 grams is used for infants. For children aged 1 to 3 years old, generally 1/2 to 2/3 of the adult dosage can be used. For children over 3 years old, the usual adult dosage can be used.

5 Other Chinese medicine dosage forms such as pills, tablets, and powders can be used in proportional dosages, or in the above-mentioned proportions, but attention should be paid to whether the medicinal properties are strong, which should also depend on the specific effects and impacts of the medicine on children. If the Chinese patent medicine has specific instructions for use, then it can be administered according to the instructions.