Giving a medicament to a young child requires an acceptance of the medicament by the child. It is thus necessary that the medicament is sweetened and flavored.
The liquid form is the easiest form to prepare and in which to give a medicament to the child. However, the liquid form has two drawbacks:
preservatives in amounts that are relatively important with respect to the weight of the child must be incorporated in the liquid; and PA1 the liquid must be taken with a spoon; the dosage accuracy is thus never perfect and, furthermore, the medicament may happen to be taken not during a meal, but on an empty stomach.
If the product is, for example, a salt of magnesium, it must be taken with food. Actually, for some children, magnesium salt products will cause diarrhoea and stomach pains when taken without food.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powder that can be mixed with food in a perfectly dosed amount, and therefore a powder in unit dose and of a small volume. The above phrase "of a small volume" must be emphasized since there exists a medicament in the form in small bags, but they must have a relatively large volume, since the medicament comprises some excipients which, generally, are not suitable for a young child.
Moreover, there exists unit doses in a dry form which are to be swallowed, for example tablets or capsules. In some cases, these forms are dangerous to swallow and can cause stomach problems, or they are eliminated without having been absorbed by the body.
Capsules are known by U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,848 to De Limur which contain a pulverized dehydrated fruit and vegetable product provided to flavor various kinds of food dishes. These capsules are therefore designed to be easily opened and then re-closed, in order to choose the desired amount of product.
The present invention provides a capsule of a fully different type. Actually, this capsule is easily openable in order to enable the mother of the child to pour the whole content of this capsule, for example, a powder of a magnesium salt to which is added a sweetener or a flavoring agent, into a food that is easily accepted by a young child, such as yogurt, custard or a similar product.
It is thus clear that the purpose of the present invention is totally different from that of the above U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,848 to De Limur. The present invention relates actually to a powdered medicament to be taken in the form of a unit dose. Thus, each capsule contains a certain amount of a perfectly dosed powder and must be easily openable. This capsule is not designed to be re-closeable, since the capsule must be completely emptied once open.