The Paradoxical Effect

Well, it is Sunday morning here at the DeFoor house and normally we would be hustling about getting ready for church, but not this Sunday...we are recovering from several things around here...snotty runny noses, hacking coughs, swollen lymph glands and last but not least something called the Paradoxical Effect. Some of you might be wondering what in the world the last thing is or some of you might be painfully aware of it if you have ever had a sick child who has had an adverse reaction to some medicine. For those of you who might still be scratching your heads, let me explain.

The Paradoxical Effect: A paradoxical reaction is when medical treatment, usually a drug, has an opposite effect to an effect normally expected. An example of a paradoxical reaction is when a pain relief medication causes an increase in pain. Some sedatives prescribed for adults, actually cause hyperactivity in children.


Both of our kids have been round for round this winter with "the crud" as I like to call it and this time has definitely been the worse. Our little Kate has really had it bad with a cough that shakes her entire precious body with each spell. I finally broke down and took them to the doctor and we discovered that she had some fluid behind her left ear and that we needed to go ahead and treat it for safety precautions. If any of you know me well enough, you will know that I am VERY conservative on giving antibiotics and prefer not to at all costs, but I felt with the trifecta of symptoms she was experiencing we had better bite the bullet. Anyway, in conjunction to the antibiotic the doctor recommended to give her some benadryl to help dry up all the "crud" and give her some relief. Well, after last night, we have discovered that she doesn't respond to Benadryl in a very "typical" manner. Most children I guess get very drowsy and sleep more soundly with a drug like Benadryl, but not Katie. She was bouncing off the walls or at least the rails of her crib into the wee hours of the morning. It was like she was on speed! Whew!!! She finally crashed sometime around 2:00am and then was up again at 6:30ish. She is usually a very good sleeper, but with this cough and benadryl reaction she has been giving most insomniacs a run for their money. The beauty of Kate's personality is that no matter how little sleep she gets or how yucky she feels, she just keeps on trucking with her very sweet smile and personality.


Well, we have learned new things this weekend and definitely been given a test in patience and determination, but I just know we are on the road to recovery and a healthy spring!!