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Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

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  • #16
    Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

    Originally posted by tutusue View Post
    Regardless, the OP should definitely contact her doctor rather than relying on the advice found on an internet forum!
    true dat
    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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    • #17
      Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

      Originally posted by NoCal Boy View Post
      There I am, leaned up against a wall, both of us drenched in OJ (and of course I didn't pack spare clothes in my carry on), ...
      OK, now we all are informed that NoCal is really Tim Chapman .... with another split OJ excuse.
      Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

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      • #18
        Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

        Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
        Nobody should ever recommend an antihistamine for other than intended purposes. I know it's used a lot however no doctor will ever go on record as doing such.
        We don't have any baby-aged kids anymore, so I don't know if doctors still recommend it, but while mine were young I had a doctor give advice that using antihistamines as one choice of contending with flights. And he did it "on the record". We were lucky, though, in that our babies always traveled well, without fussing, so playing peek-a-boo for 5 hours was our method.
        Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

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        • #19
          Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

          Bring Cheerios in a plastic baggie. Also bring a few of the tactile books- kids that age can play with those for long periods of time. If you choose to get a seat for the little one, you don't have to put the car seat there- I know lots of people with children about your child's age (maybe a little younger) who strap their kiddos securely in the middle seat between Mom and Dad. Put down on a blanket for them to sit on, put up the arm rest, and you've got a little play area for them.

          (Don't get all pearl-clutching with me about not using the car seat please. It was cleared by several airlines as being safe to do and I'm just passing it on.)

          Can't think of anything creative this time

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          • #20
            Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

            Originally posted by Amati View Post
            We don't have any baby-aged kids anymore, so I don't know if doctors still recommend it, but while mine were young I had a doctor give advice that using antihistamines as one choice of contending with flights. And he did it "on the record". We were lucky, though, in that our babies always traveled well, without fussing, so playing peek-a-boo for 5 hours was our method.
            Your doctor was very fortunate that he wasn't caught.
            Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

              Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
              Your doctor was very fortunate that he wasn't caught.
              Craig, I'm really trying to understand this. Can you please cite (article, web site) your claim that a doc (in this case a pediatrician) could be in serious trouble for recommending an age appropriate dose of Benadryl to help a fussy child sleep on a flight. Please know I'm not saying you're wrong. Rather, I've never heard that a doc could be putting his/her career on the line for suggesting otc Benadryl for this off label purpose. My own doc recommended it to me for sleep.

              Then there's Tylenol PM and others like it. It's an otc pain medication that includes generic Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg) for sleep. Simply Sleep, another product made by Tylenol, is nothing but Diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg. These are examples of off-label uses that have become medically acceptable uses for this med. I'm not saying, at all, that these products that include Diphenhydramine should be given to children, esp. without consulting a doctor. I'm just pointing out that Diphenhydramine for sleep is acceptable, medically, and is included in products specifically for that purpose. Again, I'm having a hard time understanding how a doctor would be putting his career on the line for recommending an age appropriate dose of Benadryl for children to be used on a flight. And, at the risk of redundancy, a parent should always consult a doctor first.

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              • #22
                Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                I have always understood that off-label use of a product can be dangerous to the recipient. If there are problems such as allergic reactions or long term immunity of the product from use after the product was administered or advised upon to intake, that person who made the decision to use such product in an adverse way could be held liable in a court of law.

                Unless the label allows for such use of the product, liability can only be directed at the one individual that allowed it to happen.

                For example the use of a screwdriver as a prybar is as common as using an antihistimine for a sleep aid. However in the product warning label it clearly states misuse of this product clears the manufacturer or retailer of liability claims. But if Stanley Tools suggested that their screwdrivers can be used as prybars and it injures the user because clearly it wasn't made for that purpose, Stanley will be held liable.

                In the case of antihistimines, if there is no claim that this product can be used as a sleep aid and it is then used for such purposes, the one prescribing it's use can then be held liable for misuse of a product if injury or death occurs.

                Doctors who advise the use of antihistimines run the risk that nothing will happen to the child. But if something did indeed happen, that doctor can be held liable for malpractice because nowhere in the product literature or warning label did it allow for that particular product to be used in that way and clearly it warns that misuse of that product can result in injury or death.

                With warnings like that who in their right minds would continue to advise to use any product other than intended?

                And I believe this kind of action is a felony.
                Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                  In the case of Diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl is just a brand name), it's use to help with sleep is well known and marketed for such use per my post above. The FDA has not pulled the sleep products off the market. Why would you consider the recommendation of Benadryl, by a doctor, for sleep a felony when the FDA doesn't? ALL medicines, both rx and otc, run the risk of side effects and allergic reactions. My doctor told me to use an otc antihistamine that used to be by rx only. I had a reaction to it. Again, it would help if you would cite a reference that a doc recommending an age appropriate dose of Benadryl for sleep is seriously compromising his/her career by setting himself up for lawsuits or a felony.

                  Comparing the use of a tool to a med is a bit far-fetched, imnsho! Maybe save the felony label for something as serious as giving propofol for insomnia. Benadryl doesn't qualify.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                    Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                    In the case of Diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl is just a brand name), it's use to help with sleep is well known and marketed for such use per my post above. The FDA has not pulled the sleep products off the market. Why would you consider the recommendation of Benadryl, by a doctor, for sleep a felony when the FDA doesn't? ALL medicines, both rx and otc, run the risk of side effects and allergic reactions. My doctor told me to use an otc antihistamine that used to be by rx only. I had a reaction to it. Again, it would help if you would cite a reference that a doc recommending an age appropriate dose of Benadryl for sleep is seriously compromising his/her career by setting himself up for lawsuits or a felony.

                    Comparing the use of a tool to a med is a bit far-fetched, imnsho! Maybe save the felony label for something as serious as giving propofol for insomnia. Benadryl doesn't qualify.
                    Okay you're right.
                    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                      If you are interested, here are two perspectives on off label useage, one medical and one legal.

                      http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hnf/hnf_6373.htm
                      From Health NewsFeed, a service of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
                      So called off label use of prescription medications has been much in the news lately. That’s where physicians can prescribe medications approved for one disease or condition for another disease or condition entirely. Often this happens when doctors notice additional benefits from drugs prescribed for one purpose but turn out to be helpful for others. David Goodman, a physician at Johns Hopkins, comments. GOODMAN: There’s a tremendous off label use of prescription medication. Now just because it’s off label doesn’t mean it’s medically irresponsible. There are a lot of products with a history of clinical research that show efficacy but the company never went after a product indication because it wasn’t business-wise to do so, that is, the product was generic or was going to be generic, it doesn’t mean the product doesn’t work, so writing off label in and of itself isn’t medical malpractice. Goodman says you should clearly understand why a doctor is giving you any medication.
                      http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...criptions.html
                      Legal Match Law Library
                      Doctors prescribe drugs for off-label use for several reasons: New uses are sometimes discovered after the FDA approval process, and the manufacturer does not want to go through the process again. Uses for children and pregnant women are rarely approved, so many of the treatments for these groups are off-label. Diseases such as cancer and AIDS use off-label drugs to take advantage of new uses without having to wait for the long approval process. Is Prescribing Medication for Off-Label Use Malpractice? Prescribing off-label medication is not itself medical malpractice unless doing so falls below the accepted standard of care. Off-label use is actually quite common, but there must be a medical basis for the use. Off-label prescribing can be evidence of malpractice in certain situations, such as the existence of approved, safer drugs or the lack of sufficient medical evidence for the use. Does the Manufacturer have any Liability? In most cases, the responsibility falls to the prescribing doctor to make sure that the off-label use is medically reasonable. Drug manufacturers are not required to seek approval for all possible uses of their drugs, however they cannot promote uses that are unapproved. They are also required to report known dangers and side effects, even from unapproved use.
                      But like TutuSue said, giving propofol for insomnia probably is not medically reasonable.
                      Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                        This is true. For example, Topamax is prescribed for epilepsy, but it was discovered the medication works wonders for migraine prevention, which is what I take it for. I am very thankful for whichever doctor took the chance of prescribing it for the migraines, otherwise I'd still be in bad shape. They've also discovered Topamax is helping with alcohol addiction- making it harder to absorb the alcohol, thus keeping the drinker from becoming drunk- and it's safer than Anti-Abuse.

                        This thread has wandered WAY off topic. I'm sorry! Anybody got anything else for entertaining kids on planes?

                        Can't think of anything creative this time

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                          Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                          Nintendo DS, a spare battery and a portable DVD player along with snacks and candy.

                          As for the kid, I have no idea
                          LOL. Yes.

                          Mahalo for everyone's answers! I want to answer a few things but I don't want to post 20 replies So here goes:

                          - Off-label use: a lot of docs now officially prescribe things like Lamictal/lamotrigene (an anti-convulsant) for bi-polar. It works really well actually. It's also true that many sleep aids have the exact active ingredients of Benedryl. I've heard doctor friends say basically this: every drug tends to have at least 2 or 3 effects, sometimes totally unrelated things. The trick is to find the drug that has the least negative side effects and the most positive effects. Sometimes it varies per person and you end up having to try several. Hey, we're biological It happens!

                          That said, I don't like the idea of using drugs unless they're needed. So we may bring it in case he has some kind of major mood blow-out, but I don't plan on using it. There are less severe things (like Rescue Remedy) that are good too.

                          - Plane safety: I work in a flight safety related field so I'm pretty pleased with the safety of the airlines actually. I know what goes into their work and I help with it in a tangential sort of way. Typically if a plane has serious problems, the passengers aren't going to survive. I think they tell you a lot of that "in case of emergency" stuff to make you feel better, like it's a car crash or something. But serious problems on planes are not common. For non-serious problems like heavy turbulence, wind shear, hard landing, and so on, most people probably don't even need seat belts. For example the FAA would rather (IMO sort of ridiculously) have a lap child in an extender seat belt that lets them squirm all over than in an unapproved wrap like a Moby.

                          The exception being things like the hard landings that crush the wheels, but there wasn't enough energy to cause the plane to explode, the landing in the Hudson River, and that sort of thing. A seat belt would save you from having to hold on there.

                          EDIT: I should also say that I'm the sort of person that actually enjoys turbulence like a roller coaster ride, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask .. hehe.

                          Parents probably ought to do what makes them most comfortable of course

                          I think for me the separate seat or not is more of a sanity issue. Do you want to have to carry a child for a whole multi-hour flight? Does the child do better in their car seat as a familiar symbol of having to sit still for a while? I think the answers to these are probably no and yes for us, but various people finally convinced us to try it without. -_-; We'll see how it goes! Best case scenario, there's an open seat and we can just use the car seat anyway.

                          We're doing "lap practice" now with him to try to get him used to sitting on our laps for longer. We've got a bunch of new dollar store toys he'll get, one per hour or two. One of us is going to take a big (barely counting as a carry-on) backpack with our grown-up stuff and the other will take the diaper bag with his stuff. So I think this is all coming together.
                          Last edited by honulani; March 24, 2010, 07:06 AM.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                            Originally posted by honulani View Post
                            One of us is going to take a big (barely counting as a carry-on) backpack with our grown-up stuff and the other will take the diaper bag with his stuff. So I think this is all coming together.
                            Take extra baby stuff. After our emergency landing, we got stuck at the airport for hours. I had brought along enough supplies for the flight, and a few spares, but not enough for the approx 12 hours that it finally took. And, we could not find any baby supplies for sale in the airport (but maybe they have improved that now).
                            Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                              Originally posted by honulani View Post
                              [...]
                              That said, I don't like the idea of using drugs unless they're needed. So we may bring it in case he has some kind of major mood blow-out, but I don't plan on using it.[...]
                              Bingo!!! That's exactly what I did (40 years ago!) and didn't need to use it. I did a trial of Benadryl on both kids a week before the flight just in case one or both had a reaction. My kids first flight was short...LA>Tucson. It was a great trial run for the all day (including layover) LA>Hilo>Maui flight later that year. Both girls were fascinated by flying, the plane and all the people surrounding them! They turned out to be great little travelers who became great big travelers! Both still have the traveling bug.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Advice for keiki on the 5 hour flight?

                                Good point about the delays and layovers. Thanks

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