Emergen-C for kids?

[Wheres Toto]

Anyone know if Emergen-C is okay for kids?  My 9 year old dd weighted 102 pounds at her last appointment, so she's not a small child.  She has been sick with a nasty cold (coughing, sore throat, stuffy) since Friday.   I have the Raspberry Immune + and I find it really does help when I'm sick but most of what I'm seeing online says not to give it to children period, with nothing about size, weight, age, etc.

 

Is there something in Emergen-C that children should not have at all?  Or is it okay to give to give maybe 1/2 a dose?

[coffeegal]

There's a children's version. Can you use that?

[MEmama]

We use it regularly during cold season. My 13 yo doesn't yet weigh that, and has no trouble with it. We find it does help if taken at the first symptoms.

[gardenmom5]

I would get a chewable vitamin c. (preferably ascorbic acid)

 

for starters - it doesn't have  6 grams of sugar per serving.

 

vicks on the bottom of the feet is helpful too.

[Wheres Toto]

We've done Vicks, she won't take the vitamin C (it's extremely tart).

 

I'm hoping to not leave the house today.  It's cold and pouring rain and I'd have to haul them out with me.  I have the regular Emergen-C in the house already so was hoping we could just use that instead of the kids version.

[Rebel Yell]

http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=3192

http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=3197

 

Above are the labels for a kids and adult dose. Kids says ages 4-13... I would imagine an adult sized 13 yo would need a larger dose than a tiny preschooler... could you use what you have and give half of the adult dose? (Adult is 1000 vit.c, kids is 250, other nutrients vary... making suggestions, I am NOT qualified to give medical advice)

 

And FWIW I am happy to see in their ingredients that there are no artificial dyes and no aspartame. :)

[Arcadia]

My kids took the adult single packs when we go on road trips. They just dissolve a pack in 250ml of water and add ice cubes. The first time was when they were seven. Both my boys weigh less than 100lbs.

[redsquirrel]

my kids use it as a recovery drink from ballet. My youngest is 80lbs.  No problems.

 

I just ask them to drink it quickly (they don't have to chug, but don't sip it slowly for an hour either) and then rinse their mouths with water. That much vitamin C on the teeth isn't good for their enamel. 

 

For me, I just bought some powdered vitamin C at the store and use that instead. It came with a teensy one gram scoop. Same vitamin C boost without the sugar or calories.  But my boys like the bubbles in emergen-C. They don't drink juice or other sweetened beverages so I figure four or five of those over a week, after a 90 min ballet class plus rehearsal etc isn't the end of the world.

[shawthorne44]

Plus, while I don't know what they say now, the instructions used to be "one or two packets a day".   So, one packet is sort-of half a dose.  

[Wheres Toto]

Thank you everyone.  I gave her half a packet so far (the dosing is one packet a day on the ones I have).  If that doesn't seem to bother her stomach or anything, I may start giving her a whole packet each day or every other day once she's well.  I think we're in for a rough winter.  This is our third (thankfully brief but still) bout of coughing, sneezing, runny noses already.  She's my healthy eater in general but this should help.  My SPD, picky eater son will never drink these in a million years but hopefully if we keep everyone else healthy, it will help him too and we can stop passing them around.

[shawthorne44]

You don't have to put them in water.   Either of the orange ones are awesome in OJ.   DH adds the Raspberry to Dr. Pepper.  I;m not a big fan of the Raspberry, so I'll add it to a glass of pink lemonade.   We get the three-box set from Sam's.   I remember joking with another mom that the packets would go great with vodka.  

 

[redsquirrel]

the plain vitamin C powder also mixes invisibly into juice or even yogurt etc.  Even in plain water I can hardly taste it.  If I put in in a tablespoon of water it would be tart, but in a cup of water it's hardly noticeable.  If I put it into something flavoured, such as juice, it wouldn't get noticed at all.

[zyxwvut]

If you look at the labels on some brand name kids vitamins on amazon, and compare the amounts to the vitamins in emergen-c, you might get a good idea of how much more than the rda she would be getting.  I recently started giving my almost 12 year old girl a basic men's multi-vitamin (so there is no iron, which she doesn't need yet).  By weight and comparable dosage, it actually works out about right, and is way cheaper than kid vitamins.  Ds will start them soon, as well, and he is 9.  I just kept reading the labels until I found one that had appropriate amounts of each thing in it.  

 

Also, iirc, most of the things in emergen-c are water soluble, meaning unless the dose is really ridiculously high, the excess is just eliminated in urine with no negative effect on the body.  

 

 

[redsquirrel]

If you look at the labels on some brand name kids vitamins on amazon, and compare the amounts to the vitamins in emergen-c, you might get a good idea of how much more than the rda she would be getting.  I recently started giving my almost 12 year old girl a basic men's multi-vitamin (so there is no iron, which she doesn't need yet).  By weight and comparable dosage, it actually works out about right, and is way cheaper than kid vitamins.  Ds will start them soon, as well, and he is 9.  I just kept reading the labels until I found one that had appropriate amounts of each thing in it.  

 

Also, iirc, most of the things in emergen-c are water soluble, meaning unless the dose is really ridiculously high, the excess is just eliminated in urine with no negative effect on the body.  

 

ages 4 and up, including kids, teens, men and women, have the same exact RDA.  A children's vitamin is just as appropriate for an adult as one for men or women.  There will be individual differences between brands, but the RDA is the same for all, once you are four years old.  So, if flintstones are on sale then those can be the family vitamins and everyone will meed their RDA.  If your 10 year old can swallow an adult vitamin pill then that is fine for him or her as well.

 

Before age 4 the RDA is approx half that of someone age 4 and up.  That is why some children's vitamins direct a child under four to take one and a child over four to take two.