Custom compounding is described as “the process of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient.” In no situation is this skill more clearly of use than in pediatric medications.
Many medications meant for children that are available over the counter contain common allergens, are not available in child-friendly dosages, or even more commonly, they look, feel and taste yucky.
What Forms Can Custom Compounded Pediatric Medications Take?
Pediatric compounding is an option designed to help children get the medications they need in a suitable form that may be more child-friendly. Good tasting flavours are our specialty, but pediatric compounding goes beyond that as we are able to make your custom medication into:
● Solutions
● Suspensions
● suppositories
● Syrups
● gummy bears
● freezer pops
● Lollipops
● lozenges
● topical creams
Who Needs Pediatric Compounding?
It can be difficult to get kids to take their medication at the best of times, and our services are available to all families. In certain cases, however, a child’s needs simply cannot be met by over the counter medication. In these cases, custom compounding makes a significant difference to a child’s ability to comply with taking a prescription medication.
Patients With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Anxiety
Most school-age children are able to learn to swallow a small oral tablet, but about 9% of children simply cannot. Whether it’s due to fear, anxiety, intolerance to unpleasant flavours, or special healthcare needs such as Sensory Processing Disorder (which commonly occurs with Autism or ADHD), being unable to take the medication can risk the patient’s treatment outcome.
Your compounding pharmacist is knowledgeable about the pharmaceutical chemistry of each drug and happy to collaborate and learn the needs of your family. They will put together a unique custom delivery vehicle especially for your child. From specific flavours to preferable textures and mouth-feel, and even trans-dermal creams, custom compounding can help ensure your child is better able to tolerate taking the medication at the dosage needed.
Patients With Food Allergies
Food allergies are on the rise and can also be a big challenge for caregivers and practitioners who need alternatives to commercially available forms of medications. The foods that most often trigger childhood allergic reactions include eggs, cow’s milk, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat and corn, and can affect up to 8% of children. Many parents also find that food dyes have a negative effect on their child, and many wish to avoid artificial food colourings in medications.
Whether your child has one of the more common food allergies or reacts to a less common trigger, over the counter medications can be hard to navigate. Using pharmaceutical-grade ingredients and allergen-free bases, compounding pharmacists can provide a greater variety of medication options.
Patients With Specific Dietary Needs
Medically prescribed diets such as a gluten-free celiac diet can run into issues when it comes to medications. Many commercially available medications contain gluten – but it can be difficult for patients sensitive to gluten to know if the medication contains it because the ingredient names are not always obvious. Some of the hidden ingredients include dextrans, dextrins, pregelatinized starch, and sodium starch glycolate. The only true way to know is to contact the manufacturer, and when a gluten-free medication is not available, it is best to work with a compounding pharmacist.
Another dietary intervention we see regularly is the ketogenic diet, which can be helpful in reducing seizure activity in children with epilepsy. The ketogenic diet is strictly low-carbohydrate and high-fat, and efforts to stick to the diet can easily be sabotaged by adding medications that do not fit within the diet. Your compounding pharmacist can help you to keep the diet on track while ensuring all medications are taken correctly.
Patients Who Need Medications In A Dosage That Is Unavailable
Compounding pharmacists can help provide patient-centred guidance in choosing the best form, dosage, and formulation for specific needs so that any doubt is removed. We provide assistance with calculations because precise formulations are of the utmost importance for our patients to see the results they need. This can improve treatment outcomes by optimizing medication dosages and reducing adverse drug reactions.
Compounded pediatric medications are an important aspect of patient care and one which we at People’s Choice Pharmacy in Richmond Hill, Ontario, take very much to heart. For children with special needs and their caregivers, a compounding pharmacy offers them hope in the form of better compliance, reduced adverse reactions and one less thing to worry about. Our experienced pharmacists will be happy to discuss your family’s needs and the solutions we can offer to patients throughout Canada. Call us at 905-770-3113
About People’s Choice Compounding Pharmacy
Serving Richmond Hill, Toronto, Markham & Vaughan
Free Ontario-Wide Shipping on all Bioidentical HRT
Located on Yonge Street, People’s Choice Pharmacy is a state-of-the-art, innovative, full-service compounding pharmacy serving Toronto, Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan, and shipping across Ontario. Our certified technicians with 45 years of experience will custom compound your medications using top quality, lab-tested ingredients. Call to speak to a friendly, knowledgeable Pharmacist today!
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