Sedation Of Caylee - Do you think it's common?

[JaneInOz]

I think its a very common practice, and has been for a long time, just the type of sedation has changed...
Today its things like over the counter things with antihistamines

Sadly it wouldnt suprise me if MANY Cases of SIDS isnt from this practice. Not necessarily from that night or the week preceding but perhaps from months of doing it and who knows what it could do

Its all to do with their breathing and lung capacity.

Antihistamines alter your breathing opens up airways

Look at this article http://news.bio-medicine.org/medici...edative-does-not-improve-infant-sleep-3962-1/

Exactly who is recommending it ?


ETA ooh Snap to the poster earlier on , I must have been writing my post and since then you had posted yours - great minds hey !..I sincerely believe it could be a huge amount of sids cases

 

[Salome]

I think drugging kids to sleep is much more common than we know. When I was an infant, the mom's cure all was a 1/2 teaspoon of whiskey in a full 8 oz. bottle of formula to calm and relax the baby. None of us died and none of us were murdered by our parents.

When I was younger I remember being at an extended family picnic/camping trip thing, and someone had a baby. All the women were sitting around talking about how to help babies sleep in situations like this, and I remember the mother of the infant saying something like "you do what you do when they're teething real bad -- a little bit of brandy on the nipple or the pacifier." I didn't really understand it at the time, but yeah, I did have an image of someon dipping a baby bottle nipple into a glass of brandy.

I think giving kids a small dose of some kind of alcohol is traditionally pretty common. Once over-the-counter medicines for children became so popular, people probably started using these. Even now, I have to stop my mom from giving my nieces a bunch of medicine at the first sign of a cough or sniffle. There are plenty of soothing things one can give children that are natural, but we seem to be a culture focused on pharmaceuticals as the answer to every ill.

 

[Crabcake23]

Since this case began I have heard so many parents talk about using over the counter meds to sedate their kids...
these people are no better that KC imo.
Parenting is a tough job, but if people are having trouble coping they need to reach out for help- not Benedryl.

What ever happened to giving a baby/toddler a pacifier? Singing to and rocking them? A warm bath before bedtime? Sheesh. I have a friend who was a nanny to a very prominent Sony executive and she was instructed to give benedryl to knock the babies out. I have 2 boys and never once have I ever misused medications to knock them out. I did it the old fashioned way with time, attention and love.

Edited: I meant Dimetapp is what my friend was told to give the babies. Not benedryl. But, does it really matter? Drugging babies to put them to sleep is wrong, no matter what is used.

 

[JaneInOz]

Oh cr@p just google this sentence

do you use benadryl to get your child to sleep

AND LOOK at All the people that DO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hroark2112]

I used to do something particularly evil to my daughter when I knew I needed her to sleep well through the night.

I played with her. Ran around the yard, wrestled with her, pillow fights, water pistols...until she was exhausted. Then she'd sleep like an angel all night long.

Problem was, it backfired sometimes and I ended up more tired than she was!!

Damn, all I needed was cough syrup???

 

[Elphaba]

benadryl is some potent stuff... talking about setting your kid up for a drug addiction...

 

[Jolynna]

I just plain do not believe anyone would use chloroform to make a child sleep.

As has been pointed out, benedryl and cough syrup are the drugs that come up if you google. They are also readily available over the counter.

MOO

 

[butwhatif?]

What ever happened to giving a baby/toddler a pacifier? Singing to and rocking them? A warm bath before bedtime? Sheesh. I have a friend who was a nanny to a very prominent Sony executive and she was instructed to give benedryl to knock the babies out. I have 2 boys and never once have I ever misused medications to knock them out. I did it the old fashioned way with time, attention and love.

Edited: I meant Dimetapp is what my friend was told to give the babies. Not benedryl. But, does it really matter? Drugging babies to put them to sleep is wrong, no matter what is used.

Me either...I dont even like having to give my children panadol when they have a fever.
One of my girls has allergies, and has problems with her sinuses but I use a vaporiser(sp) in her room at night, and instead of sedating her with meds, I lay down with her and rub her back....I have to do it with just one finger in really slow circles, and she's fast asleep in no time.

Not only is it relaxing and calming for her, but me too. I figure there's only going to be a few more years where they want snuggles and backrubs from mummy, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

 

[reefshadow]

Many parents also do not realize that in many children Benadryl has the opposite effect, making some kids hyper and irritable instead of sleepy.

 

[Imajica]

Sadly there have been enough to where the question is asked whether this is what's really going on in many SIDS cases:

These types of antihistamines definitely depress the already immature respiratory system of an infant when administered. Which may be similar to the type of respiratory depression seen in S.I.D.S. cases. This could account for the fact that poisoning/overdose deaths have been confused with S.I.D.S. It is truly frightening to think about how many babies have been murdered in this fashion without the true reason for their deaths ever coming to light. :steamed:

Thanks for the link, I had no idea about the connection between the two problems. I will definitely be looking into the whole issue more deeply.

 

[stagehand]

Very common with OTC cough and cold medications.

 

[AmyinTheHam]

A Dr. told me I could try the recomended dose on my daughter when she was 2 and still not sleeping thru the night. I was desperate and the Dr had told me so I did, and guess what, my child didn't sleep any better.

I just came to accept that my nights will not be without disruption for a while and I am ok with that. I have had to give it to her for a bee sting, and also for rashes, and it doesn't really do much to her in a normal dose. I guess the sad thing is many folks will give more hoping it will make them sleep. I keep it in the house in case anyone has an allergic reaction but that is it.

I know a lot of mom's and if it is common, people don't advertise it. I am not friends with many "young" mom's though, mostly older (early 30's to late 30's).

 

[TURBOTHINK]

Sadly yes, it's a fairly common practice.

But I have always heard it's with more common sedatives that aren't illegal such as Diphenhydramine which is commonly found in the antihistamine Benadryl.

That is one of the major reasons the FDA issued new strong warnings about prescribing antihistamines and cold meds to small children.

There is a good but infuriating article about parents like Casey who drug their kids for "peace and quiet" here:http://tinyurl.com/5goo7f

And another here about parents who drug their children during airplane flights:http://tinyurl.com/63n26j

Unfortunately, just about every foul thing you can think of to do to an innocent child has and is done every day in this world by caregivers who don't want to give care.

There just aren't enough resources for those that need help.

All of my children have traveled on airplane flights since they were small babies. I always give them a decongestant about 45 minutes prior to the flight. Small children's eustachian tubes are very narrow and any congestion in those tubes can cause excruciating pain on take off and landing.

On an airplane, barotrauma to the ear – also called aero-otitis or barotitis – can happen as the plane lifts off or descends for landing

It is common in children because their Eustachian tubes are narrower than those of adults and become blocked more easily.

 

[DingDang]

I worked as a nanny for almost ten years, and sadly, it is very common. I cannot tell you how many times I was instructed to give a child some sort of medicine when they absolutely did not need it (for the record, those jobs never did last long and I NEVER gave medicine to said child).

Some parents would flat out tell me why they wanted the child to have the meds, others would try to be sneaky about it. Sad, sad, sad.

 

[fay]

Oh cr@p just google this sentence

do you use benadryl to get your child to sleep

AND LOOK at All the people that DO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No thanks, I don't have the stomach for it. I'll take your word.

 

[MD MOMMY]

Many parents also do not realize that in many children Benadryl has the opposite effect, making some kids hyper and irritable instead of sleepy.

So true. My daughter as an infant had awful allergies and the Dr. told me to try Benadryl. I did and my daughter was up for 20 hours straight, I am NOT kidding. It effects children differently. I wouldn't say using sedatives is common but I do think some mothers use them when they shouldn't be.

 

[Pocono Sleuther]

This is true, I was very stunned, to say the least, that this woman I know always gave her elementary aged daughters Benadryl so they would go to sleep. She is your Junior League type, perfect house, car, etc. You know the type. I was repulsed when she told me that. So sadly people do drug their kids.

Truthfully, I think it's very prevalent among the 'perfect' types. They want everything to be storybook and in order to get it they will do nearly anything. It's sickening, for sure, but many of these 'have it all' families hide the worse types of secrets.

 

[Pegster57]

When I was an infant, the mom's cure all was a 1/2 teaspoon of whiskey in a full 8 oz. bottle of formula to calm and relax the baby. None of us died and none of us were murdered by our parents.

When I was a little kid a common cough/cold remedy was honey/lemon juice/brandy. Nasty tasting stuff.

 

[twitterpated]

My daughter did not sleep thorugh the night, and I mean NEVER slept through the night, until she was 3 years old. She was up like clock work at 12 a.m., 2 a.m., and 5 a.m. every night. So what did we do? We loved her, plain and simple. We patted her back at night, held her hand, put her in the bed with us, etc...And then one day, she just started sleeping through the night.

Was I desperate for sleep? Yes. Was my marriage effected by it? Yes. BUT...Drugging her was never a thought that crossed my mind. I will admit that I was very hesitant to have another baby, though!!!! But, eventually I did and he is the best sleeper ever!

 

[tiredofthis]

I use to know someone who claimed to give her daughter nighttime Nyquil to go to sleep so she and her boyfried could party.