How should you give your child vitamin K (phytonadione)?
- The medicine will be provided to you in a glass container called an ampoule.
- Vitamin K is drawn into a syringe using a filter needle that is specially designed to filter out any tiny glass pieces that may have gotten into the liquid when breaking the glass ampoule.
- The following steps can be used to measure out vitamin K from the ampoule:
- Wash your hands with soap and water before handling the medicine.
- Screw the filter needle tightly into the syringe that you will use to measure out the dose.
- Wrap an alcohol swab around the neck of the ampoule where there is a line marking and snap off the ampoule tip. Break the ampoule facing away from you to avoid injury.
- Place the filter needle with syringe into the opened ampoule and measure out the amount of vitamin K you need by pulling the syringe plunger.
- Do not push any medicine back into the filter needle once it is drawn into the syringe. This is to prevent any tiny glass pieces from getting into the liquid.
- See the section below on how much vitamin K to measure out.
- Re-cap the filter needle off of the syringe.
- The glass ampoule and filter needle should only be used once.
- Dispose of the glass ampoule and any remaining medicine, along with the needle, in a sharps disposal container.
- Make sure you understand and are comfortable with the way to prepare vitamin K and know how to dispose of the needle and syringe.
How much vitamin K should you give your child?
Vitamin K is available in several different strengths. The dosing information below applies to the 10 mg/mL (1 mL) glass ampoules. Please check the label on your vitamin K ampoule and ask your pharmacist if you have any questions about dosing.
1 mL = 10 mg of vitamin K
Your child has been prescribed _______ mg of vitamin K for each dose. This dose is equivalent to _______millilitres (mL) on the syringe that has been provided.
Your child’s doctor may sometimes need to change the dose. If your child’s dose of vitamin K changes, please ask one of the nurses or the pharmacist to complete the dose chart for you.