Getting kids to take drugs can be challenging. What is even tougher is getting the best suitable form of drugs for kids who might not be able to take drugs in widely available forms or who react to certain ingredients in most available drugs. This makes parents and caregivers consider compounded drugs. Compounding is simply a process of combining, mixing or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient by a licensed pharmacist.
Medication can be tailored to the child to allow better compliance in cases when the commercial product is unable to meet the needs of the child. For example, oral suspension, suppository, or lozenge formulation are sometimes needed when the manufactured products are only offered as solid oral dosage form. Most children aged 6–11 years can swallow small oral tablets with training, but about 9% of children cannot. Some common barriers to effective tablet swallowing include developmental stage, fear, anxiety, and intolerance to unpleasant flavors. Children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) and/or medical complexity (CMC) will pose an even greater challenge, potentially risking the patient’s treatment outcome [1]. Fireside Pharmacy provides compounded drugs in the form of specially flavored liquids, topical creams, transdermal gels and other dosage forms suitable for our younger patients’ needs.
Sensory processing disorder (SPD), patients with food allergies, and specific dietary needs can also be a big challenge for caregivers and practitioners who need alternatives to the commercially available forms. The foods that most often trigger childhood allergic reactions include eggs, cow’s milk, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, and wheat, and can affect up to 8% of children [1]. Compounding pharmacies such as Fireside pharmacy are trained to meet the needs of children with common and uncommon food allergies. Using pharmaceutical-grade ingredients and allergen-free bases, our compounding pharmacist can provide a greater variety of medication options by removing non-essential ingredient such as lactose, gluten or a dye to which a child is allergic [2]. For example, high-fructose corn syrup and sorbitol, commonly used in commercial medications, must be avoided in children with corn allergies. A compounding pharmacist can choose a solution or suspension base and other ingredients that are free of these allergens [1].
How do I know if my child requires compounded medication?
A health care provider will determine and prescribe compounded drugs when commercially available drugs do not meet your child’s health needs. Parents or caregivers could inquire of the extent of tolerance their kids could have for mass produced drugs and how safe it is. They could also inquire if there is any evidence that the outcome will be better with the compounded formulation.
When trying to get compounded drugs, patients and caregivers should find out if the compounding pharmacy are duly registered with appropriate professional organizations. Our Pharmacy is a member of PCCA, one of the largest bodies of compounding pharmaceutical professionals committed to excellent compounding pharmaceutical practice.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6560512/
[2] https://www.pharmacist.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-pharmaceutical-compounding
