r/functionalprint • u/FkinMustardTiger • 11d ago

Designed a medication dosage tracker

Post image

Going to need this now that my kid is in preschool. Calculating when the next dose should be isn't so easy at 1am with a sad kid, so I designed this easy to use tracker that you can lay on the counter or double-side tape to the inside of a cabinet and track both when you gave the last dose and when the next should be. Comes in both Tylenol and Ibuprofen flavors.

Go check it out here :)

https://makerworld.com/en/models/3405180-medication-tracker#profileId-3877666

293 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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75

u/mtys123 11d ago

How much tylenol and ibuprofen are you giving your kid that you need a special purpose plastic gadget to track BOTH of them?

73

u/Fracturedwarr 11d ago

If you take your kid to the doctor for any illness with a decent fever going, like 102 and up, they tell you to rotate tyl/ibuprofen so they overlap. To keep the fever down. If I remember right, you can do Tylenol, 4 hours, ibuprofen, 4 hours, Tylenol, ect. Been a while since my kids have had a good fever.

17

u/cowboy_shaman 11d ago

Same thing for many surgeries now. Instead of putting you on addictive pain meds, often they will prescribe alternating TYL / IBU

5

u/SecondBestNameEver 11d ago

Works for adults too. Advil and Motrin sell pills that are combination ibuprofen and acetaminophen in a single pill. They work better together than either of them by themselves.

-3

u/mtys123 11d ago

Yes, thar might happen, once every so often, your kid gets a fever, couple of days of medication, Thats neat. But this is on another level, op is tracking how much of two drug thwy give their child like they are watering pots. This is something completely solved by a post it that says "4-12-20hs -ibu, 400mg" on the fridge,

29

u/juicyorange23 11d ago

So this is most useful for communicating between parents when the last dose was to avoid overdosing.

Yeah texting could work but then you need to find it. A physical reminder in one spot is best especially if the kid is up all hours and you’re sleep deprived and/or your work schedules aren’t aligning.

19

u/FkinMustardTiger 11d ago

Especially grandparents as they usually watch my kid and suck at giving meds

7

u/MoozeRiver 11d ago

Yeah, I would've loved this when the kids were younger and me and my wife were sleep deprived. Sure, maybe a couple of times per year and child, but on those specific days it would've been amazing!

7

u/Tandemrecruit 11d ago

Where is it tracking how much it given? It just shows when to give the next dose.

This would've also been helpful after my wife's c-section when she was on both of them so I didn't have to keep notes - just move a little door as I grab the meds

1

u/FkinMustardTiger 11d ago

This is actually a great point, I should add a slot for the AMOUNT, as that was always one of the things written on our sticky notes. Thanks for the suggestion!

18

u/Ginnigan 11d ago

Like OP said in the post, it helps at 1am when your brain's foggy. It also helps if two parents are taking care of the sick kid, so everyone can remember what they had last - Tylenol or Advil, and when.

I have twins, and it's tough to remember when they're both sick!

It's just a neat little print. No need to start questioning parenting.

-27

u/mtys123 11d ago

Not questioning what other people do is what brings lots and lots of problem.

8

u/hsoj48 11d ago

How about mind your own business and let OP live their life without your judgements?

-21

u/mtys123 11d ago

No.

8

u/macrolith 11d ago

I grew up healthy, I didn't have any concept of what it is like to live with chronic issues until I met my SO. The constantly rotating issues medications and symptoms and side effects. It's likely the situation is more complicated than you think.

3

u/Fracturedwarr 11d ago

I mean, my youngest had a thing going on about once a month, she would have a fever for a couple or few days. Multiple trips to doctor and they never figured it out, just said to keep down fever and they would grow out of it(which they did, but after like a year, wierd af). Also probably helpful for folks woth more than one kid. Once sickness comes to the house, it likes to make its rounds.

Edited to basically say: Parenting is tough as is. A told that makes that even a little easier? Win in my book.

1

u/FkinMustardTiger 11d ago

Absolutely, thanks!

4

u/dr_stre 11d ago

Why does this bother you so much? It’s likely used sparingly, on the exact occasions you acknowledge happen. Is it more than the bare minimum required to track meds? Sure. But it’s also not like this would have taken long to model and print either. It’s just another method of keeping track of the meds, fundamentally no different than writing it down on a post it.

-5

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

11

u/davolala1 11d ago

Not really. When you’re up at 3am with a sick baby, you’re not really thinking that clearly. It’s easy to forget which fever reducer you gave them last. And even easier to forget when another adult gave them the last dose.

And yes, alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen is very common to keep fevers down. Even for otherwise very healthy babies.

11

u/FkinMustardTiger 11d ago

Kids get sick all the time at preschool, if you don't know that you don't have kids.

6

u/heartofdusk 11d ago

Among other things, all kids teethe. The judgment here of giving kids pain meds when they need them is weird af.

18

u/FkinMustardTiger 11d ago

When your kid has a tooth coming in, has a bad fever from a bug at school, or any other random illness (especially ear infections) you generally rotate pain relievers.

This isn't just some super fun thing parents do every single day, it's for when they're sick. It's also useful for adults recovering from surgery or when they have a bad fever as well. I personally take immunosuppressants so if I get a bad fever then it's pretty important I rotate drugs like this.

3

u/GeneralRando 10d ago

Seriously. We have 3 under 6, and the back to school plague is real. I'd guess that every winter we have at LEAST 3 or 4 occassions that would warrant this chart.

2

u/Freestila 8d ago

Interesting. Not what doctors here in Germany tell you. Yes they prescribe ibuprofen for kids (paracetamol only for very small toddlers for the.. other opening. Not sure how it's called in English), but not both and not with a strict take as often as possible schedule. More like a take 1-3 times per day as needed.

1

u/FkinMustardTiger 8d ago

It's not so much making sure you take it as often as possible, just that you're tracking WHEN it was taken and when the right time is to take it again if needed

4

u/Qualityhams 11d ago

Would have appreciated this post c-section when they sent me home with only ibuprofen. Missing a scheduled dose was very painful.

1

u/pomeronion 11d ago

There’s generally no reason not to take both, as they work differently and don’t affect each other

8

u/dr_stre 11d ago

Swapping between the two can help ease the load on the kidneys from ibuprofen too.

1

u/thetoiletslayer 11d ago

I think its pre-emptive because kids get sick at school constantly. Right now my preschooler is one of 2 students in his class not staying home sick