Infant Ibuprofen Dosages

We get our infant ibuprofen at Safeway.  Their generic brand recently changed in three ways.

First, the medicine is now twice as diluted.  (The pharmacist had heard that too many parents were giving their babies too high a dose.  Apparently the manufacturer hoped watering it down would prevent this.)

Second, the bottle no longer provides dosage information for children under two years of age.  It just says "ask a doctor", which is of course the best advice.

Third, it now contains a small cup instead of those nice syringes that made it so much easier to give the medicine to an infant.  (They were Smiley's favorite teething items, too.)

Our family physician recommends for Gallant the dosages that matched what the old bottle said.  And we still have a few of those nice syringes.  So here, for our own record keeping, are the two now-missing infant dosage amounts adjusted for the half-strength new medicine.

• 12 to 17 pounds - 2.5 mL (one-half teaspoon)
• 18 to 23 pounds - 3.75 mL (three-quarters teaspoon)

Check with your doctor before following these old guidelines!