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Children’s Medicine Dose Calculator

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Children's Medicine Dose Calculator Nigeria — Paediatric Dosing Guide | Enavec Pharmacy
🇳🇬 Nigeria-Specific · Evidence-Based · Free

Children's Medicine
Dose Calculator

Enter your child's weight or age and get the correct medicine dose — with Nigerian brand concentrations, volume in ml, and clear safety warnings.

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Always confirm with a pharmacist or doctor before giving any medicine to a child. This calculator provides reference doses based on published guidelines — it does not replace professional medical advice. If your child is very unwell, has difficulty breathing, cannot keep fluids down, or you are unsure, seek medical care immediately.
Step 1
Enter Your Child's Details
Weight gives the most accurate dose — or let us estimate from age
In kilograms (kg) — use a scale for accuracy
Some medicines differ by sex
Step 2
Select the Medicine
Choose a category then select the medicine
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Cannot calculate this dose

Calculated Dose

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Always use a medicine syringe or measuring cup — not a kitchen teaspoon. Kitchen spoons vary in size and can cause incorrect dosing. Medicine syringes are available at Enavec Pharmacy.
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Children's Dosing Questions

The most important safety information for parents

Paracetamol dose for children is 10–15mg per kg of body weight, given every 4–6 hours, with a maximum of 4 doses in 24 hours. For a 10kg child: 100–150mg per dose. In 120mg/5ml syrup, this is 4.2–6.3ml per dose. Always use a medicine syringe — not a kitchen spoon. Do not use for more than 3 days without medical advice.
Ibuprofen dose for children is 5–10mg per kg per dose, given every 6–8 hours. Do not exceed 40mg/kg per day. Ibuprofen should not be given to children under 3 months of age or under 5kg. It should always be given with food or milk. The most common ibuprofen syrup in Nigeria is 100mg/5ml.
Coartem (artemether-lumefantrine 20/120mg) is dosed by weight band: 5–14kg: 1 tablet twice daily for 3 days; 15–24kg: 2 tablets twice daily for 3 days; 25–34kg: 3 tablets twice daily for 3 days; 35kg+: 4 tablets twice daily for 3 days. Give with food or milk. Crush and mix with small amount of water for young children who cannot swallow tablets.
NO — promethazine is CONTRAINDICATED in children under 2 years of age. It can cause fatal respiratory depression (breathing to stop) in infants and young children. This is a black box warning from regulators globally including NAFDAC. For children aged 2 years and above, promethazine can be used but only under medical guidance. Never give promethazine to a child under 2 years old under any circumstances.
This calculator can estimate weight from age using standard WHO paediatric formulas: for 1–12 months: weight (kg) = age in months ÷ 2 + 4; for 1–5 years: weight (kg) = (age in years × 2) + 8; for 6–12 years: weight (kg) = (age in years × 3) + 7. This is an estimate only. For accurate dosing, always weigh your child on a scale. The calculator clearly shows when a dose is based on an estimated weight.
Cetirizine is safe for children aged 2 years and above. The dose is 0.25mg per kg per day, maximum 10mg per day. For children 2–5 years: 2.5mg once or twice daily. For children 6–11 years: 5mg once daily. For children 12 years and above: 10mg once daily. Cetirizine causes less sedation than older antihistamines like chlorphenamine (Piriton).
Always use a calibrated medicine syringe or the measuring cup supplied with the medicine. Kitchen teaspoons and tablespoons are NOT standardised and can vary in size by up to 50%. A "5ml" kitchen teaspoon may hold anywhere from 2.5ml to 7ml, which can result in under-dosing or overdosing. Medicine syringes costing less than ₦200 are available at pharmacies and provide accurate measurement in 0.5ml increments.

Safe Medicine Dosing for Children in Nigeria

Correct medicine dosing in children is one of the most common challenges facing Nigerian parents. Unlike adults, children's doses must be carefully calculated based on weight — not age alone — because children of the same age can vary enormously in size, and medicines distribute through the body based on body weight. This calculator provides evidence-based dosing guidance using the same weight-based formulas used by Nigerian paediatricians and the WHO.

Why Weight-Based Dosing Matters

A common mistake Nigerian parents make is giving children a fixed "half tablet" or "half teaspoon" without accounting for weight. A 2-year-old can weigh anywhere from 9kg to 16kg — a child at the lighter end needs significantly less medicine than one at the heavier end. Giving too little medicine risks treatment failure; giving too much risks toxicity. This is particularly important for medicines like paracetamol (where overdose causes liver failure), ibuprofen (where overdose affects kidneys), and antibiotics (where underdosing promotes antibiotic resistance).

Nigeria-Specific Concentrations

The same medicine comes in different concentrations in different countries. Paracetamol syrup in Nigeria is commonly available as 120mg/5ml (Emzor, Panadol baby) and 250mg/5ml (adult concentration sometimes used for older children). Amoxicillin is available as 125mg/5ml and 250mg/5ml. Using the wrong concentration calculation can result in a dose that is half or double what is needed. This calculator shows doses for the specific concentrations available in the Nigerian market.

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The Malaria Priority in Nigeria

Malaria is the leading cause of fever and hospitalisation in Nigerian children. Every parent should know the correct dose of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) — specifically artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem, Lonart) which is the WHO and NAFDAC first-line recommendation for uncomplicated malaria. Correct dosing of malaria medicines is critical — underdosing fails to clear the parasite and promotes drug resistance; overdosing risks cardiac side effects. This calculator provides accurate weight-band dosing for all three commonly used malaria medicines in Nigeria.

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