Sedating a toddler on a 12-hour flight

[brewsterbudgen]

Everything I've found online regarding long flights with toddlers, suggests some form of mild sedation as a last resort, and most sites recommend Benadryl which contains an anti-histamine. Benadryl (presumably a syrup) doesn't seem to be sold in Thailand, at least without a prescription. Can anyone recommend a similar sedative that is sold OTC in Thailand that would be suitable to help a 1-year old relax and sleep on a 12-hour flight?

[ExpatOilWorker]

Let nature and sleep cycles work to your advantage. When I took my 8 month old to Europe, we kept her active right until takeoff just after midnight. She slept for most of the flight only waking up to eat a few times.

Take a couple of Gin & Tonics yourself if you need to drug anybody.

[brewsterbudgen]

Let nature and sleep cycles work to your advantage. When I took my 8 month old to Europe, we kept her active right until takeoff just after midnight. She slept for most of the flight only waking up to eat a few times.

Take a couple of Gin & Tonics yourself if you need to drug anybody.

Unfortunately the flight is already booked and it leaves at midday (British Airways). If he manages to settle down and sleep I have no intention of sedating him, but as a last resort, and to avoid him suffering lengthy distress, sedation does seem to be recommended on my travel/parent-child forums. G&Ts are a good idea.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Let nature and sleep cycles work to your advantage. When I took my 8 month old to Europe, we kept her active right until takeoff just after midnight. She slept for most of the flight only waking up to eat a few times.

Take a couple of Gin & Tonics yourself if you need to drug anybody.

Unfortunately the flight is already booked and it leaves at midday (British Airways). If he manages to settle down and sleep I have no intention of sedating him, but as a last resort, and to avoid him suffering lengthy distress, sedation does seem to be recommended on my travel/parent-child forums. G&Ts are a good idea.

Wake him up at 3 am on the day of the flight.

[Halsted6]

We gave our 3 yr old melatonin for the long flight per pediatrician recommendation. It worked great - wasn't over-sedation nor did it cause any lingering grogginess. We avoided Benadryl because in the past it's had a rebound effect and made him hyper; it's well known for doing that with some children.

[Sheryl]

There are many OTC prepartions of syrup containing diphenhydramine (benadryl) but always in combination with expectorants as a cough syrup, and these are not intended for use in children under the age of 2 years. See http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/SpecialFeatures/ucm263948.htm

There isn't a safe way to sedate a one year old without benefit of medical advice. Many of the drugs recommended for sedation in a child that young are not available in Thailand i.e. chloral hydrate. Benzos are used for this purpose but in medical settings where adverse reactions can be countered. They require a prescription and I think you will have trouble finding a doctor willing to prescribe it for a one year old child.

[gerryBScot]

Taking off, with the changes in air pressure leading to ears popping etc together with the motion and noise, can often be the most distressing part of flying for small babies and kids. Use the traditional approach of sucking on a boiled sweet or perhaps in one so young, and to avoid the possibility of choking, some sort of boiled sweet on a lollipop stick sort of thing. I've seen baby stores selling this kind of thing. Presumably baby is flying with mother? If so, if mummy can't calm the baby I don't know what else will. Milk on demand might also assist in keeping the baby quiet and helping her/him settle. I'm sure that so long as baby is surrounded by familiar faces that s/he will settle. I think the advice about getting baby up early on the day of the flight and keeping him/her busy is sound in order to facilitate sleep inflight.

[brewsterbudgen]

We gave our 3 yr old melatonin for the long flight per pediatrician recommendation. It worked great - wasn't over-sedation nor did it cause any lingering grogginess. We avoided Benadryl because in the past it's had a rebound effect and made him hyper; it's well known for doing that with some children.

Yes, I had read that. I don't think I'll try anything like Benadryl. Is melatonin suitable for a 1 year old and if so, how much should he be given?

Taking off, with the changes in air pressure leading to ears popping etc together with the motion and noise, can often be the most distressing part of flying for small babies and kids. Use the traditional approach of sucking on a boiled sweet or perhaps in one so young, and to avoid the possibility of choking, some sort of boiled sweet on a lollipop stick sort of thing. I've seen baby stores selling this kind of thing. Presumably baby is flying with mother? If so, if mummy can't calm the baby I don't know what else will. Milk on demand might also assist in keeping the baby quiet and helping her/him settle. I'm sure that so long as baby is surrounded by familiar faces that s/he will settle. I think the advice about getting baby up early on the day of the flight and keeping him/her busy is sound in order to facilitate sleep inflight.

Yes, his mum is flying too. He doesn't have his own seat so will be strapped to her for take-off, landing and bumpy bits!

[inbangkok]

Benadryl is routinely used in America for very young children suffering from allergies or allergic reactions like a rash. I think this would be way safer then melatonin. Melatonin is not regulated since it is a "supplement" and I would be hesitant to give it to a young child. I generally never get sleepy from medications..... But even benadryl makes it hard to keep my eyes open. The stuff seems to work.....

[rct99q]

My now 3 year old has flown overseas from Thailand to North America 5 times and sorry to say I have not had any reputable Doctor or Pharmacist who would recommend medication for an infant under the age of two.

If you decide to try it be sure to give some to yoyr toddler 2 weeks before your flight to see if there are any allergy reactions. Believe me the last place you want to experience your child having an an undesirable reaction to a medicine is on a long haul flight. We did one short haul flight from Udon to Bangkok and the little one lived it. We have experienced one really bad flight from China to Seattle and even though she was cranky bt keeping her distracted with toys and videos she did okay.

If you are "worried" about other travellers I always say tough luck! I have been disrupted more times by ignorant travellers more than crying babies and I travel a lot.

I personaly would not try to sedate my children. It takes a lot of effort over the long flight to keep them distracted if they dont sleep but in my opinion much safer than medicine.

Not sure if mother breast feeds but is a sure fire way in relaxing the infant as well. And again neither my wife nor I give a rats ass what other passengers think.

Good luck is always an anxious time as one never knows how infants will take to air travel.

[Lumbini]

It's like the parent or teacher saying to the child " here take the pill .... It will help me "

[Deserted]

I wouldn't do it. You can't tell how your child will react to the medication and I think 1 year old is too young.

[TommyTucker]

This post in my opinion is unbelievable!

We have flown many many times from Europe to Asia and back again with our youngest at 6 months old!

We have always planned out flights around our children's sleeping patterns.

If any parent needs to use a sedative in whichever form, in our opinion it is terrible.

Nature, lights, temperature are the some of the most important things in a young child's life.

Let the child enjoy and appreciate life

[DogNo1]

Xyzal might be a good substitute for Benadryl. It's an anithistamine that causes similar sleepiness for a good long while. It's easily available at pharmacies and you could try a quarter tab and then a half tab to see how he reacts to it and whether there are any side effects. Personally I have no side effects and use it as a milder alternative to Claratin, Zyrtec and Allegra. Here's a link: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/antihistamines-for-allergies

Best wishes for a peaceful flight!

[Deserted]

If you are concerned about your child not sleeping, you can just close the window nearest, put a blanket over them and comfort them. If they become tired they will sleep. If not walk up and down with them a bit. It's that simple. I don't think you need to turn to medication.

[Sheryl]

Xyzal might be a good substitute for Benadryl. It's an anithistamine that causes similar sleepiness for a good long while. It's easily available at pharmacies and you could try a quarter tab and then a half tab to see how he reacts to it and whether there are any side effects. Personally I have no side effects and use it as a milder alternative to Claratin, Zyrtec and Allegra. Here's a link: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/antihistamines-for-allergies

Best wishes for a peaceful flight!

This drug, at least, is approved for babies 6 months and over (dosage = 2.5cc or 1/2 teaspoon). HOWEVER:

- it is much less likely to produce sleepiness than other antihistamines, in fact lack of sedation is it s main "selling" point and only a minority of people are made sleepy by it; and

- it causes diarrhea in some children which will certainly not make for an easy flight

In addition, like all antihistamines and sedatives, some children have a "paradoxical" reaction and become hyper and agitated, so if you want to try this do so first at home.

Given all the above I really think you are best off not trying to sedate the child. Just get the baby up earlier than usual that day so as to tire earlier.

[lonewolf99]

I flew from Doha to Glasgow on a flight that had a child on board that screamed and cried for 7 hours non stop..................

When one of the stewardesses came to give me a drink, I asked her if there was a Doctor on board, she looked at me shocked, I then told her that it could not be normal for a child to behave like that unless there was something seriously wrong with it....

She smiled and understood where I was coming from......but did nothing about the issue.

Personally I think it is the parents fault.......and has nothing to do with air pressure, I have been on the ground with the doors open and the brats are screaming like banshees from before they even got on the plane..!!!

Over anxious parents are every childs nightmare......give the kid a glass of milk with a shot of MacAllans 25 year old malt....that will fix it....

Edited March 26, 2016 by lonewolf99

[GuestHouse]

I wouldn't medicate a child to get it to sleep on a flight, the drugs are not tested for affects at altitude and if your child does has a negative reaction you could be hours away from getting medical help.

Our two flew long haul on the LHR/BKK route as babies and toddlers, the trick we found was not to make too much fuss of the flight, keep them warm because it gets cold on the flight, so an extra blanket from home, sleep suit and socks, and keep them fed/hydrated. And always their own seat, even when they were babies.

Most of the crying comes from the discomfort children feel during take off an landing due to the air pressure changes. If your child does not have a cold, and hence blocked sinuses, then there ought to be no real problem. But do be aware that they will feel some discomfort during the time it takes for the air in their inner ear to balance out during take off and landing.

Two tricks to help with this are: Gently massage your child's eustachian tubes (by rubbing a finger below their ear/behind their jaw - both sides of course). And, if you can get your child to do this 'Yawning' as wide and as long as possible - opening the mouth as wide as possible and moving the lower jaw side to side also helps.

Sucking on a feed bottle also helps - we had one with only a small hole in the teat to make them suck a little harder, seemed to work.

DO NOT hold noses and blow/suck to create pressure in your our your child's ears, this can easily rupture an ear drum.

Have a good flight.

[pedro01]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

[brewsterbudgen]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

I'm coming round to that view. However, sedating kids on long flights with something like Benadryl seems to be very common in the west, especially the US. There must be a lot of highly irresponsible parents out there!

[inbangkok]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

I'm coming round to that view. However, sedating kids on long flights with something like Benadryl seems to be very common in the west, especially the US. There must be a lot of highly irresponsible parents out there!

Not irresponsible. It is extremely safe and can be tested days or weeks before the flight it one is really worried about a reaction.

It is also the polite thing to do for everyone else on the plane. No one wants to listen to your kid cry for 10 hours on a flight.

Edited March 31, 2016 by inbangkok

[brewsterbudgen]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

I'm coming round to that view. However, sedating kids on long flights with something like Benadryl seems to be very common in the west, especially the US. There must be a lot of highly irresponsible parents out there!

Not irresponsible. It is extremely safe and can be tested days or weeks before the flight it one is really worried about a reaction.

It is also the polite thing to do for everyone else on the plane. No one wants to listen to your kid cry for 10 hours on a flight.

It's good to have a range of very different answers. Cheers!

[manarak]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

I'm coming round to that view. However, sedating kids on long flights with something like Benadryl seems to be very common in the west, especially the US. There must be a lot of highly irresponsible parents out there!

Not irresponsible. It is extremely safe and can be tested days or weeks before the flight it one is really worried about a reaction.

It is also the polite thing to do for everyone else on the plane. No one wants to listen to your kid cry for 10 hours on a flight.

It's good to have a range of very different answers. Cheers!

I subscribe to testing the drug on the child for adverse reactions before using it on the flight.

When the children are crying during the flight, it means a lot of work to polite mothers to look after it so it keeps quiet.

The worst ever I unfortuantely regularly see on flights are mothers of mostly Western origin which just let the child cry with the opinion that it will get tired of it by itself. NOT.

Makes for a horrible flight.

[inbangkok]

You will be on an airplane, with no emergency medical care to hand and you want to drug your child?

Highly irresponsible.

I'm coming round to that view. However, sedating kids on long flights with something like Benadryl seems to be very common in the west, especially the US. There must be a lot of highly irresponsible parents out there!

Not irresponsible. It is extremely safe and can be tested days or weeks before the flight it one is really worried about a reaction.

It is also the polite thing to do for everyone else on the plane. No one wants to listen to your kid cry for 10 hours on a flight.

It's good to have a range of very different answers. Cheers!

I subscribe to testing the drug on the child for adverse reactions before using it on the flight.

When the children are crying during the flight, it means a lot of work to polite mothers to look after it so it keeps quiet.

The worst ever I unfortuantely regularly see on flights are mothers of mostly Western origin which just let the child cry with the opinion that it will get tired of it by itself. NOT.

Makes for a horrible flight.

My last flight back to Thailand from the USA, a baby cried for 11 hours straight. I never even new such a thing was possible! I don't know the exact circumstances of why that kid was crying for so long...... But parents who simply refuse to take the necessary steps in an attempt to prevent such a thing is pretty disrespectful to the hundreds of other passengers on the plane.

The fact that so many people are getting their panties in a bunch over giving the kid a benadryl is absurd. Sometimes new parents act similar to smokers. No regard for those around them. As if we all signed on to listening to kid cry for 10 hours straight...... No thank you.

[brewsterbudgen]

The problem I have is that if we do decide to sedate our 1 year old, Benadryl isn't available here. Pharmacies don't seem to have much idea and our doctor was reluctant to prescribe anything.

[Sheryl]

Again, not approved for use on a cjild that young...in the US or anywhere else. It is not safe at that young an age. Older kids yes, a one year old no.

[inbangkok]

Again, not approved for use on a cjild that young...in the US or anywhere else. It is not safe at that young an age. Older kids yes, a one year old no.

From what I can see..... It is approved for OTC use in the USA for 2 years old and as young a 6 months from a Dr.

[ExpatOilWorker]

if everything else fails, you can always use the ultimate baby knock out: Sweet sticky rice.

My little girl love it and wolf it down. It hits her stomach like a ton of bricks and she sleep like an angel.