Xopenex dosage- toddler

[StoriesInTheSoil]

My son was prescribed albuterol for wheezing caused by RSV but it made him hyper and jittery so the Dr switched the Rx to xopenex. He's been on it since monday. I was just looking up a possible side effect when I happened across dosage information and it said that the dose he is on is for adults and children 12 and up. He is on .63 mg 3x daily. Does that seem high to any of you who have children that take or have taken this? He is 18 months old.

[stik]

My dd has been on xopenex as a rescue medication (has been using it prn since age 20 months - sometimes a TON, sometimes not at all for months on end), and is currently taking 3 doses a day in combination with a daily dose of pulmicort to control asthma symptoms because she has a cough.

So . . . , I'm not an expert, and you should call your ds's doc with your concern. However, it is my experience that if my dd needs xopenex, she needs a lot of it. My dd has asthma and respiratory illnesses tend to lead to bronchial constriction, and then wheezing and pneumonia. Inhaled meds are supposed to have less of a systemic effect than oral ones, which is why they are the preferred method of treatment for wheezing in children - fewer side effects. Also, as far as I know, the xopenex inhalation solution is only packaged in one size dose. I'll have to check my package insert to be certain, but usually dd's pediatrician is pretty vigilant about warning me if there's any chance the pharmacist might hand me the wrong size dose. She'll tell me to check the package and stuff.

I just checked the manufacturer's website, and I notice they claim that xopenex is indicated for adults and children age 6 and over. My guess is that this is one of the many quirks of the FDA's drug approval process. It probably hasn't been tested on young children. I would guess that they don't recommend any dose at all for children under 6.

Anyway, long story short, no, three times a day does not sound like an unusually high dose of xopenex for a child with active wheezing. My dd is also doing that right now, and we did it for about 8 weeks when she had pneumonia last winter.