What safety measures should you take when your child is using codeine?
Before your child has any kind of surgery, including dental surgery or emergency treatment, tell the doctor or dentist that your child is taking codeine.
Codeine may make your child constipated, especially if your child is getting codeine on a regular basis. To help prevent constipation, it is important for your child to:
- drink plenty of liquids throughout the day
- exercise regularly
- eat a well-balanced diet, which includes fruits, vegetables, and cereal
If necessary, talk to your doctor about using a stool softener or laxative to relieve the constipation.
Codeine may make your child dizzy, drowsy, and less alert than normal. Watch carefully when your child is doing something that they need to be alert for, such as climbing stairs. If these side effects happen, tell your child's teacher that your child is taking a medicine that can cause these side effects.
If your child has been taking codeine for a long time, do not stop the medicine suddenly. Your child may experience "withdrawal" effects, such as watery bowel movements (diarrhea), headache, sweating, muscle cramps, upset stomach, throwing up, trouble sleeping.
Your doctor will slowly decrease the dose to wean your child off the medicine. If your child has any withdrawal side effects, call your doctor right away. It could mean the dose was lowered too quickly.
Check with your child's doctor or pharmacist before giving your child any other medicines (prescription, non-prescription, herbal, or natural products).
Some medicines may cause drowsiness, and should not be taken with codeine. Examples include antihistamines (hay fever or allergy medicines), cold medicines, and sleeping medicine. This effect may last for a few days after your child stops taking this medicine.
Serious risks for some children
An enzyme in the liver converts codeine into morphine. Morphine is the active drug which relieves pain. However, up to 10% of children do not have this enzyme. For them codeine will have no effect on their pain.
On the other hand, up to 30% of children have too much of this enzyme. Their bodies convert codeine into excessive amounts of morphine which can cause serious side effects. If your child is given codeine, health care providers will monitor your child for serious side effects which include severe drowsiness, difficulty waking up, or slow or shallow breathing.