IBUPROFEN DOSING
The following table gives ibuprofen dosing
guidelines by weight. It can be used for both
Children's Motrin and Children's Advil. Ibuprofen
can be administered every six hours.
Ibuprofen is a very effective medicine for fever
and for pain. Unlike acetaminophen, it is also a
very effective anti-inflammatory medication. Like
acetaminophen, it has no effect on other symptoms
related to a cold. Please remember to never use
any fever medicine for infants under four months of
age without talking to our office first. In
addition, please do not use ibuprofen for fever in
infants under six months without speaking with our
office first. If your child has a stiff neck, is
unusually lethargic or unresponsive, or might be
dehydrated please call our office immediately.
The most common side effects of ibuprofen are
abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Giving the
medicine with a full stomach is the best way to help
prevent these side effects. If your child already
has these symptoms, it might be better to use
acetaminophen instead.
Note that ibuprofen is now available in a
variety of dosage forms and concentrations. Please
be sure to use the dose appropriate for the type of
medication you are using. In addition, use only the
dropper provided with the oral drops to measure the
dosage of ibuprofen. This dropper is a very
different size than the dropper provided with
acetaminophen drops and other droppers available,
and improper use could result in over- or
under-dosing.
|
Weight |
Dose |
|
Oral Drops
(50 mg/1.25 ml) |
Suspension
(100 mg/5 ml) |
Chewables
50 mg |
Chewables
100 mg |
Caplets
100 mg |
Tablets
200
mg |
|
12 - 17 lbs |
50 mg |
|
1.25 ml |
1/2 tsp |
|
|
|
|
|
18 - 21 lbs |
75 mg |
|
1.875 ml |
3/4 tsp |
|
|
|
|
|
22 - 32 lbs |
100 mg |
|
2.5 ml |
1 tsp |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
33 - 43 lbs |
150 mg |
|
3.75 ml |
1 1/2 tsp |
3 |
1 1/2 |
|
|
|
44 - 54 lbs |
200 mg |
|
5 ml |
2 tsp |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
55 - 65 lbs |
250 mg |
|
|
2 1/2 tsp |
5 |
2 1/2 |
2 1/2 |
|
|
66 - 76 lbs |
300 mg |
|
|
3 tsp |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
77 - 87 lbs |
350 mg |
|
|
3 1/2 tsp |
7 |
3 1/2 |
3 1/2 |
|
|
88 - 98 lbs |
400 mg |
|
|
4 tsp |
8 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
|
