How to measure liquid medications

Quick tips from a pharmacist for measuring the right dose every time

Whether it’s a prescription medication or an over-the-counter one, you’ve probably had to measure a liquid medication at one time or another. Maybe for yourself or maybe as a parent or caregiver. It may not seem like a difficult thing to do, but it’s easy to make a mistake if you’re not careful.

A study published in the journal Pediatrics showed that 84% of parents made a least one measuring error. And 29% made a large error — measuring at least twice the prescribed dose.1

To help keep everyone safe and healthy, here are some quick tips for measuring the right dose every time.


1 Pediatrics: Pictograms, Units and Dosing Tools, and Parent Medication Errors: A Randomized Study (July 1, 2017): publications.aap.org.

Posted date: December 17, 2021

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