Why Parents Should Avoid Self-Medicating Children

Caring about the health of a child is one of the biggest responsibilities for every parent. Every parent wants quick relief for their child whenever they fall sick.

Many parents try to solve small health issues of their children by giving them medicines without proper medical advice. This habit is known as self-medication and it involves giving medicines based on the guesswork, online suggestions or previous prescriptions.

It may sound convenient to many parents but self-medication in children can be very harmful. Their bodies are still developing and may react differently to certain medicines.

If parents understand the underlying risks related to self-medication, it may help them to make safer choices for their child’s health. In this blog, we will discuss them along with why the parents should avoid self-medicating their children.

What Self-Medication Really Means

Self-medication means using medicines without properly consulting a doctor. According to a 2025 meta-analysis of studies across India, about 19.8% of children had received antibiotics through self-medication without prescription.

It usually includes:

• Antibiotics
• Painkillers
• Cough syrups
• Fever medicines

Parents have this misconception that if a medicine worked earlier for their children will work again in the same way. However, children may develop new symptoms that may not resonate with the old medicine.

Their age, body weight and medical history play an important role in deciding the right medicines and correct dosage. The chances of severe issues becoming very high and they can affect the growth of children and their overall health.

Why Children Are More Sensitive to Medicines

Children are more sensitive to medicines because their internal organs are still developing. That is why their organs process medicines differently compared to adults. It makes them more vulnerable to wrong dosages and inappropriate medicines.

Their liver and kidneys are not fully developed which means that their bodies take longer to break down and remove the harmful substances. A dose that feels small for an adult can still be too strong for a child. To be precise, even common medicines can cause unexpected reactions in their body.

According to a 2024 cross-sectional survey in Delhi NCR, 62.0% of participants admitted to purchasing antibiotics without any doctor’s prescription and 40% of them chose antibiotics based on their past experience.

Since children cannot always explain their discomfort in clear words, parents may misunderstand symptoms and end up giving unsuitable medicines. This situation makes it important for the parents to avoid guessing the issues and instead rely on expert medical advice.

Risks of Giving the Wrong Medicine

Parents should thoroughly understand the risks of giving the wrong medicine to their children. It can lead to multiple problems that may affect both their health and recovery. The wrong medicine may not treat the actual illness and can even worsen the symptoms.

Some medicines can hide important signs of a disease which makes diagnosis difficult to map. Many medicines have side effects that are hard to identify when symptoms overlap. On top of that, these side effects may create confusion for both the parents and doctors.

Using medicines without proper knowledge also increases the chances of:

• Allergic reactions
• Stomach issues
• Breathing problems
• Severe complications (that require emergency care)

These risks can be avoided if the parents avoid self-medicating their children and follow professional guidance.

Danger of Incorrect Dosage in Children

One of the most common mistakes that parents make while self-medicating their children is giving the wrong dosage. They don’t understand the thing that children need medicines based on their:

• Weight
• Age
• Medical condition

Even a small mistake in the dosage can affect their internal organs. An overdose of the medicine can be dangerous because it can cause toxicity in the body. On the other hand, too little dosage of medicine may not treat the illness at all and may encourage the disease to become stronger.

Certain medications like liquid syrups, tablets and all kinds of drops require accurate measurement. So, using household spoons or estimating doses can easily lead to errors. This is why parents should never experiment with the dosages and should consult a doctor for proper instructions.

Misuse of Antibiotics and Long-Term Impact

Many parents self-medicate their children whenever they have a common illness like:

• Fever
• Viral Flu
• Cold and Cough

They believe that medicines used to cure the above health issues in children can work for almost every illness. However, antibiotics are meant for bacterial infections and they do not help in treating the viral illnesses which are extremely common in children.

There is a fact about the relation between antibiotics and bacteria that is quite unpopular. When antibiotics are used again and again without any medical supervision, the bacteria become resistant to them and stop responding to the medicines and treatment. A 2025 report estimated that between 3 lakh and 10.4 lakh deaths in India in 2019 were linked to bacterial infections that were resistant to existing antibiotics.

This problem is known as antibiotic resistance, and it can make future infections very difficult to treat. Children who take unnecessary antibiotics may suffer from:

• Weakened digestion and immunity
• Repeated infections

How Self-Medication Affects a Child's Immunity

The immunity of children develops slowly with their age. So, a frequent self-medication habit can interfere with this process. When children are given medicines too quickly even for some minor health issues, their bodies do not get enough time to fight minor infections on their own. This habit can weaken their immune system in the long run.

It can make them more dependent on certain medicines for simple issues as well. Unnecessary usage of medicines without diagnosis may also disturb their gut health which plays an important role in immunity. A strong immune system is built through proper nutrition, hygiene, rest and professional medical supervision, not self-medication.

Why Professional Medical Advice is Always Needed

The medical professionals carefully study the symptoms and understand how different illnesses affect the children of different ages. They perform physical examinations, ask some important questions and suggest tests if required.

All these steps help them in finding the root cause of the sickness which parents may not be able to find at home. The doctors also understand how a child’s body responds to medicines and can prescribe safe and effective treatment plans.

The professionals also give advice to parents that helps reduce the chances of mistakes. This ensures timely recovery and prevents long-term complications. Well, visiting a doctor may take time but it always protects the child’s health better than guessing the treatment.

Conclusion

Self-medicating children may look helpful but it can cause many health problems. The reason is that their bodies are still growing and need careful treatment. Medicines work differently for children and only a doctor can decide the correct medicine and dosage. They can also do it after understanding the real cause behind the illness.

When parents avoid self-medication, they protect their children from wrong medicines, side effects and delayed recovery. The safest choice is always to visit a doctor whenever a child feels unwell and follow the treatment plan given by the doctor.