Daytrana (Day-TRON-ah), doesn't have anything to do with day-trading. Instead, it is the new 'Ritalin patch' that was recently approved by the FDA for treating children with ADHD.

Now some parents may be shaking their heads thinking 'why do we need a Ritalin patch?,' but for others, Daytrana is just what they have been waiting for.

Consider how Daytrana works:

• you apply the Daytrana patch to your child's hip about 2 hours before you need it to work
• and then remove it about 9 hours later, for about 12 hours of ADHD symptom relief

In addition to being helpful for kids who won't take oral medicines, even ADHD medicines like Adderall XR, Ritalin LA, or Focalin XR, that you can open and sprinkle on things, Daytrana allows you to be a little more flexible than other once a day medications.

For example, if you don't need all day symptom control, you can simply take it off early. Or if you forget to put it on it on the morning, you can still put it on later in the day and take it off at the regular time and not have to worry about your child staying up all night. On the other hand, if you forget to give your child Concerta or Adderall XR and give him his dose at noon, the medicine is going to probably still be working at midnight and your child will likely have trouble going to sleep.

Another situation where Daytrana may be helpful could be if you leave early for work and your child often forgets to take his ADHD medicine before going to school. In this case, you might put the Daytrana patch on when you leave for work and before your child wakes up (unless you wake him up when you put the patch on...).

There should also be less concern about abuse with Daytrana.

Still, Daytrana will likely be a niche product and probably won't replace more traditional ADHD medications, such as Adderall XR, Concerta, Focalin XR, or Strattera.

Daytrana Facts

Daytrana is approved for children between the ages of 6 and 12 for the treatment of ADHD. It comes in four dosage strengths, from 10mg to 30mg.

Daytrana should not be given to children with significant anxiety, agitation, or tension, glaucoma, allergies to methylphenidate or other ingredients in Daytrana, tics, Tourette's syndrome, or a family history of Tourette's syndrome. It should also not be taken by children who are taking or who have recently taken an MAOI.

Like other stimulant medications, it should generally not be used in children with structural heart abnormalities, hypertension, or a history of drug dependence or alcoholism.

According to the prescribing information sheet, 'in the clinical studies with patients using Daytrana, the most common side effects were decreased appetite, sleeplessness, sadness/crying, twitching, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, nasal congestion, inflammation of the nasal passages, and irritation (redness, itching) at site of application. Other side effects seen with methylphenidate, the active ingredient of Daytrana, include dizziness, headache, fever, drowsiness, nervousness, allergic reactions, increased blood pressure, and psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations). '*

Contact Sensitization

One thing that is concerning about using Daytrana is that if your child develops contact sensitization or an allergy to Daytrana, then he may have problems with oral forms of methylphenidate too, like regular Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, and Ritalin LA, and 'may not be able to take methylphenidate in any form.'*

*Daytrana Prescribing Information Sheet. 04/06

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