If your child has mild food allergy symptoms, or mild environmental allergy symptoms, the right dose of Benadryl can help relieve these symptoms. But if your child doesn’t receive the right dose of Benadryl for their age, or takes the wrong type of Benadryl for their age, the medicine could harm your child. Today, we’ll cover what your family needs to know about Benadryl, including how to identify the safe dosage (and safe type) for your child’s age.
Benadryl is a brand-name medication that can be used to relieve adults’ and children’s mild allergy symptoms. Its generic name is diphenhydramine (DYE-fen-HYE-dra-meen).
Diphenhydramine is also the name of the active ingredient in Benadryl. It is a type of antihistamine.
Antihistamines like Benadryl’s active ingredient stop the body from releasing a chemical called histamine.
When someone with an allergy is exposed to one of their allergens, histamine gets released, and causes allergy symptoms (like itching, hives, and congestion). Taking antihistamine blocks the release of histamine and relieves those symptoms.
In children, it’s only safe to use Benadryl for mild allergy symptoms, like redness, mild congestion, and hives concentrated in one area.
To safely give Benadryl to children for mild allergy symptoms, always follow your pediatrician's advice and dosage recommendation. Also, always ensure that you’ve chosen the right dosage and type of Benadryl for your child’s age group.
Remember, though: Antihistamines like Benadryl will not work to treat a severe allergic reaction. Epinephrine (an Epi-pen injection) is the only medicine that can stop a severe allergic reaction.
Also, Benadryl is generally not recommended for longer-term allergy symptoms (seasonal allergy symptoms) in children. Rather, it’s usually only recommended if your child has shorter-term allergy symptoms, due to potential side effects.
As pediatrician Dr. Kristi Redlich, M.D. (Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital) told Parents, "It is not recommended to use [Benadryl] as a long-term allergy medication [for children]. There are other types of antihistamines that would be preferable for long-term use because they have fewer significant side effects, like Claritin and Zyrtec."
Most importantly, it is never safe to use Benadryl as a sleep aid with children, no matter how old they are. It is also never safe for keeping children, of any age, calm on long trips. An overdose of Benadryl may be fatal. Even though Benadryl causes drowsiness as a side effect, it is not meant to calm your child or help them fall asleep. Many children have died from Benadryl overdoses when the medicine was used as a sleep aid.
If your child is already taking another medication that can cause drowsiness, or if your child has asthma, use caution when giving Benadryl.
Now that you know that Benadryl is only safe for mild allergy symptoms, let’s break down the safe dosage for each age group.