Benadryl before flying?

How do you feel about it?

We are taking dd on a plane on saturday. She has a little cold but her ears are clear. The ped said give her motrin and benadryl beforehand to keep her nose clear and keep her calm.

But, I can't help feeling like I am drugging her- what do you think?

Re: Benadryl before flying?

You're drugging her because she's stuffy not because you want her to sleep. I'm on a big fan of drugging to fly but your pediatrician is telling you she's got a cold.

Also - try it beforehand if you haven't already. It makes Maddie stay up ALL NIGHT.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

I say anything that helps your DD feel good...go for it.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

she has a cold I would def give it, even if its better there might be mucous still left over that might bother her.


I dont however believe in giving meds for the sake of making a baby sleep. We went on a trip to Az not to long ago and I posted about this. My nephew who is the same age as my son was also going to be on the flight with us. Well, he was given benadrly for no reason other than to make him sleep and my son was given nothing. My son slept much longer than him so go figure But youre situation is different if my ds was sick I would have given him the benadryl.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

Posted by nrthshgrl

You're drugging her because she's stuffy not because you want her to sleep. I'm on a big fan of drugging to fly but your pediatrician is telling you she's got a cold.

Also - try it beforehand if you haven't already. It makes Maddie stay up ALL NIGHT.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

I would definitely try the Benadryl beforehand to see what kind of effect it has on her. I felt bad about giving it to DD as well...but, I ended up giving it to her when we were on an 11 hour flight and was desperate to calm her down and get her to sleep! Go figure-- I think it had the opposite effect. She didn't sleep at all.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

I would go ahead and give her some, I give Noah Medised (its the SED thats important) all the time. Its a painkiller, so if his teethies are bothering him at night or if he has a little cold, I sedate him a little bit. They wouldn't sell it if it was bad for them. The only stipulation on the bottle is not to use it for more than 3 days at a time.

I gave him some on the flight from NY to the UK and he slept for almost the whole way. It only usually keeps him sleeping for about 2 hours...but I say give it a go.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

I think maybe give it to her. It will help clear the ears/nose/throat and help with the pressure change.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

If she has a cold, I would definetly give her something, you don't want her in pain with the pressure in her ears, I know how I feel when I fly w/ a cold.

We are flying very soon w/ Alex too, but since she's not sick (knock on wood), we decided not to "drug" her, even though many people suggested we do (to make her sleep).
It's not around her naptime, & I'm afraid it will just have opposite effects.

Re: Benadryl before flying?

Since she has a cold and your pediatrician said to do it, I would. Otherwise I would not and I never have. As someone mentioned try it beforhand since for my daughter it made her more irritable and awake. Anithisthamine is a stimulant. My ped. always said to get the OTC medications that does not have it in there, like Tylenol cold.

Re: Benadryl before flying?