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Our vision
Our vision is that any parent or carer, wherever they are, has information on their child’s medicines that they can trust.
What we offer
Our medicines information pages cover many of the medicines that are prescribed or recommended for children by health professionals. They answer frequent questions, such as how and when to give the medicine, what to do if you forget to give the medicine, and any possible side-effects.
You can also read information or watch our short videos about giving different types of medicines, including tablets, capsules, liquid medicine, inhalers, eye drops/ointment and ear drops.
Who are we?
Medicines for Children is a partnership programme of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG) and WellChild. Read more about us and our work.
Latest news
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Introducing new acknowledgment certificates for developing medicines information
Medicines for Children has introduced official letters of acknowledgment for health professionals contributing to our medicine information leaflets for families. These documents can be used as evidence for personal development portfolios or CPD. This initiative seeks to support contributors who volunteer their time to Medicines for Children, ensuring more families receive clear and accurate information on their children's medicines. Backdated certificates are offered to those who have participated previously.
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Concerns raised about overuse of ‘PPIs’ in babies
Research published over the summer raised concerns that some babies may be receiving unnecessary treatment for regurgitation (reflux) using a type of medicine called proton pump inhibitors, shortened to PPIs. These include omeprazole, esomeprazole and lansoprazole. This Medicines for Children news item explains what PPIs are and whether they are helpful in babies.
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New advice to address safety concerns when using clonidine patches for dystonia
New guidance has been issued to address safety concerns regarding the use of clonidine patches for children with dystonia, emphasising proper patch application and the importance of following dosing instructions. Parents are advised to ensure patches are applied correctly and have a backup plan for switching to liquid medicine if patches are unavailable due to supply issues.
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How can we improve Medicines for Children?
The Medicines for Children team needs your help! We aim to provide reliable and accessible information on a range of medicines given to children. We want to hear from parents, carers, health care professionals - anyone who uses Medicines for Children - to understand if our information has been helpful, and what we could do to improve.
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Changes to potassium supplements
Medicines for Children has updated its information on how to give potassium using effervescent tablets. This is because supplies of the liquid potassium medicine called 'Kay-Cell-L' are likely to be limited over the next few months. As an alternative, children may be prescribed effervescent tablets and parents/carers will need to know how to give this medicine.
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Two of the Medicines for Children board given awards for their significant contributions to children’s health
We are delighted and proud to announce that two members of the Medicines for Children board – Steve Tomlin and David Tuthill – have been made Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
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