October 6, 2025 | Categories: B2B, Health Care
What’s the Difference Between Children’s Painkiller Medicine and Infant’s Pain Relief Medicine
When a caregiver comes into the pharmacy to purchase pain relief medicine for their child, it can be confusing for some of them to decipher between children’s medicine or infant’s medicine as well as the important differences between acetaminophen or ibuprofen. They might be visiting the store after a sick visit with a pediatrician, are stocking up on painkiller medicine for future illnesses and ouches or, they are trying to treat a common infant issue—like teething. It’s helpful to talk to the customer about the problem they are trying to treat when they’re shopping for an over-the-counter pain medication for children.
If the customer is in a hurry—or distracted by a child they’ve come in with—they might grab any OTC pain-relieving medication for children and not be aware that it’s different then their pediatrician’s recommendation.
Here’s how to assist customers who are looking to administer pain relief medicine to young children and want to know more about the differences in children’s acetaminophen, infant’s acetaminophen, children’s ibuprofen and infant’s ibuprofen.
A pharmacist needs to know a few things in order to help them make informed decisions about the best over-the-counter pain relief medication option for the child.
“Before administering a children’s pain-relieving medication, recommend caregivers know their child’s approximate weight and have confirmed with their pediatrician that the medicine is safe to give,” says Christina Varvatsis, PharmD, BCPS, pharmacist and medical writer. If they aren’t sure of the weight or official recommendation, suggest the call the doctor while they’re in the store.
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ healthychildren.org has compiled dosing charts for both acetaminophen and ibuprofen that can help caregivers determine the correct dose based on their child’s age, weight, and product formulation. “Consider keeping copies of these charts at your pharmacy as a helpful resource for caregivers,” Varvatsis suggests.
Let the customer know they should not use acetaminophen for babies under 12 weeks without consulting their pediatrician first. This is because all fevers within the first 12 weeks of life should be evaluated by a healthcare provider. Ibuprofen isn’t recommended for babies younger than six months old.
When you have the opportunity to do so, educate customers about the differences in dosing recommendations between acetaminophen and ibuprofen as well as children’s products versus infants’ products. The customer might refer to these as children’s Tylenol or infant’s Tylenol or children’s Motrin or infant’s Motrin if they are familiar with these brand names.
Here’s a quick guideline on pain relief medicine:
In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended all liquid, chewable, and tablet forms of acetaminophen be made in just one strength. Since that time, manufacturers and retailers of pediatric acetaminophen have gotten on board to change the standard amount to 160 milligrams for infant and children’s acetaminophen, according to HealthyChildren.org.
“Because it can be challenging to administer medication to an infant, the infant ibuprofen drops are more concentrated, reducing the volume of liquid the child needs to swallow,” says Varvatsis. “But this can be confusing and even dangerous if caregivers interchange the infant drops for the children’s liquid medication. To avoid dosing errors, remind caregivers to always double-check the dosing chart of the product they have and confirm the dose they’re planning to give matches up with their child’s weight and/or age.”
If the caregiver is allowing someone else to watch the child and administer medications, make sure they’ve explained the dosage and differences in medications if the OTC medicines are stored near each other. Better yet, advise them to write it down and stick a label on the product with the supplied syringe or dosing cup so there isn’t confusion.
Review the dosing chart with caregivers, Varvatsis recommends. “For accuracy, recommend using the child’s weight to determine the dose, rather than age, if possible.” That’s because the dosage recommendation is linked more closely with a child’s weight while factoring in safety considerations of their age. If an 11-month-old weighs 25 pounds, the pediatrician would likely make a Tylenol dosage recommendation or Motrin dosage recommendation based on their weight rather than the suggestion for a one-year-old so the pain-relieving effect lasts the desired amount for that larger child.
Remind caregivers to always check the label’s active ingredient(s) section. “Ensure they are only buying ‘single-ingredient products’ (i.e., those that just contain either acetaminophen or ibuprofen) rather than a ‘combination product’ that may include medicines their child doesn’t need,” Varvatsis says. “Encourage them to consult their healthcare provider or pharmacist before purchasing combination cough and cold products since some ingredients may not be safe for younger children.”
“As you walk customers through the proper administering of the medication, advise customers to measure the dose with the supplied syringe or dosing cup instead of household teaspoons,” Varvatsis says. “Those teaspoons can vary significantly in the volume they hold.” A syringe is also likely easier to get the entire dosage into the child’s mouth and not spill as a teaspoon might.
Advise caregivers to keep track of the number of doses administered within 24 hours. Jot it down in an app on their smartphones, write it down where they keep the medicine, or post it on a whiteboard in the kitchen where the family can see it. If someone else will be helping to give the medication, make sure the schedule is posted where everyone can see it.
Give acetaminophen every 4 to 6 hours as needed. Do not give more than four
Ibuprofen may be administered every 6 to 8 hours, not to exceed four doses in 24 hours.
“If the child requires around-the-clock pain or fever relief, caregivers may alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen every three hours,” says Varvatsis. “Encourage caregivers to keep a log, documenting the time each medication is given to avoid confusion.”
Suggest that the caregiver might find it helpful to set alarms or reminders to go off on their phone so they don’t forget to administer a dose. There are also free apps to help keep track of children’s medication and get timely reminders, like OnCure, Medisafe, MangoHealth, EveryDose, and RoundHealth.
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This article first appeared on the McKesson HealthMart blog.
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