To help reduce confusion and medication errors, a standardized concentration of Tylenol (acetaminophen) has been introduced.
This new version of Tylenol - Infants' Tylenol Oral Suspension comes in a concentration of 160mg per 5ml, just like the concentration of Children's Tylenol Oral Suspension.
The new Infants' Tylenol Oral Suspension (160mg/5ml) replaces the older, more concentrated Infants' Concentrated Tylenol Drops, which was available at 80mg per 0.8ml. The benefit of these concentrated drops was that younger infants and toddlers got to take less medicine. On the downside, it was easy to overdose your child if you gave the concentrated drops, but were using the dosage guidelines for the less concentrated Tylenol suspension. That would get your child over three times the recommended amount of Tylenol.
To confuse things even more, another concentration of infants' acetaminophen drops has been available, at 80mg per 1.0ml.
Unfortunately, all three concentrations of acetaminophen may be on store shelves right now, as stores sell out of the older versions, which might include Tylenol and other versions of acetaminophen, such as:
- CVS Infants' Pain Relief Suspension Drops
- Infants' Tylenol Oral Suspension
- Infants' Concentrated Tylenol Drops
- Little Fevers Infant Fever/Pain Reliever
- PediaCare Infants Fever Reducer Pain Reliever
- Triaminic Infants' Syrup Fever Reducer Pain Reliever
- Walgreens Infants' Pain & Fever Acetaminophen Oral Suspension
- Equate Infants' Concentrated Acetaminophen Suspension Drops
- Equate Infants' Acetaminophen Suspension Liquid
To help reduce the chance of medication errors with acetaminophen, the FDA recommends that parents read the Drug Facts label to identify the concentration of acetaminophen in their product. Except for the youngest infants and toddlers, the Drug Facts label will also reveal the correct dosage and directions for use.
If you still need the dosage for Infants' Tylenol, go to:
- Dosage for Infants' Tylenol Oral Suspension if the Drug Facts label says "160 mg per 5 ml" or "160 mg (in each 5 ml)"
- Dosage for Infants' Concentrated Tylenol Drops if the Drug Facts label says "80 mg per 0.8 ml" or "80 mg per 1 ml"
Don't rely on seeing 'drops' or 'suspension' in the name to know what concentration of acetaminophen you have. For example, it is hard to know concentration of the CVS Infants' Pain Relief Suspension Drops by just looking at the name.
Sources:
FDA. FDA Drug Safety Communication: Addition of another concentration of liquid acetaminophen marketed for infants. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm284741.htm. Accessed January 2012.
