Look Out For Kids Getting Tramadol

You'll hear that tramadol can cause breathing problems in kids.

Tramadol (Ultram, etc) is sometimes used to treat pain in children, because it was thought to be safer than codeine.

But some patients can have problems with metabolizing tramadol and develop blood levels that are too high. In some children, this can lead to dangerously slow breathing, or "respiratory depression," after as little as one dose of the medication.