Melatonin tablets to ease child jet lag?

mummybubble · Postby **mummybubble** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 11:46 am

Has anyone tried melatonin tablets to help their children get over jetlag when travelling long distances? If so, what did you think and where did you buy them?

We are travelling with our 2 and 4 year old children to Australia at Christmas and always find the combined result of 4 lots of jetlag (there's an 11 hour time difference and the journey takes 24 hours flying time..) pretty horrendous. A French friend suggested melatonin.Apparently helps adjust their body clock to the new time zone. It seems to be used fairly frequently in the US for children with sleeping issues (sometimes for children with autism and sleep problems too).

I would only plan to give the tablets for the first 3-4 days when jetlag is at it's worst. Chewable tablets for children seem to be available on US websites..

Any helpful comments would be very welcome!

mummybubble · Postby **mummybubble** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:35 am

Just bumping this...

supergirl · Postby **supergirl** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:52 am

I wouldnt do it unless agreed with my GP or paediatrician.
Make an appt and ask him/her. Do not buy online as there are so many fake.

mummybubble · Postby **mummybubble** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:20 pm

By coincidence, we saw our GP this morning for something else and did ask about melatonin. He said he couldn't actually recommend it as it was not licensed in the UK, but pointed out it is in the US. He however suggested a dose of Piriton before bedtime on the plane and at bedtime on the first day or so. Somehow I feel a little more uneasy about that than a substance that helps regulate the natural sleeping rhythm (like melatonin). I know people do use Piriton in this way however and guess a dose or so is unlikely to be a problem, although some children get hyper rather than sleepy, so always worth testing it out first in case you get 24 hours of hyperactivity!

balhamite · Postby **balhamite** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:45 pm

I wonder if they work for the hour change!

erinisle22 · Postby **erinisle22** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:48 pm

I've used Melatonin myself for jetlag (Australia/UK, it is available in health food shops in Australia) and it was helpful. Not sure if I would try it on my child as it is a big tablet to dissolve under your tongue as you go to sleep and it would be a choking hazard for my two year old, I think.