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Calpol/Nurofen?

Dont want to start a debate here, although I am not precious enough to know that some people will disagree with me! lol!

How often would you consider it acceptable to give either of these medicines for? The boys are teething really badly, although I only think this is what it is obviously, but I hate giving medicine. I dont take it myself unless I am in desperate pain (I get migranes and have to take meds, but I didnt take any of my painkillers past 7 days after my section as the pain was manageable)

However, I seem to be giving them either of these meds (mainly Nurofen at the moment) quite regularly. It has taken just over a month to almost finish a small bottle of Nurofen (for 2 of them!) My MIL (who I do get on with!) says that, if they are better after the meds then it is obviously helping and so I shouldnt feel so bad about it. Hubby says the same thing. But, as yet, the teeth they are struggling with (they have large top teeth like me it would seem) still havent popped through. I have watched them move down the gum through the month so im sure this is what it is.

What do you think? How often do you give the meds? Are you someone who gives it at the sign of a sniffle to nip it in the bud or do you wait until it's desperately needed?

Be nice ladies please! lol

Replies

  • Oh hun, it does sound like the boys are struggling a bit with their teeth. Ioan's top teeth have just started to look like they may appear and he has had a few bad nights.

    I've been giving calpol for the last 3 nights before bed and also occasionally during the night if he has gotten up in pain (obviously leaving 4hrs between doses).

    It's difficult to know how long to give it for. I haven't given the ibruprofen yet but have it here just in case. I know it says on the box about how long to give it for but I think that may be if your having to give it 4 times a day every day but if your only giving it once or so a day then I personnally would carry on until they are not in pain.

    If you are concerned then you could pop into a chemist and talk to the pharmacist-they should be able to give you some professional advice on the medicines and the amount your using.

    Hope they feel better soon.
  • i had the same worries as you, i was panicked when i had to buy a new bottle of calpol when rafferty was 4 months old until my friend said..."thats nothing we are on our 3rd bottle!" I spoke to my doctor about it as well and he said if they are under the weather then give it to him! he said if he was really poorly then to give calpol and neurofen at the same time and not worry about staggering it.
    Rafferty had Tonsillitus 3 weeks ago and over 2 weeks he had both Meds every 4-6 hours until i felt he was back to his normal self.

    Its so frustrating to not know what is hurting them that i think its best to help them out with any pain, if your boys are not themselves then i dont think giving them medicine will do any harm,

    x x x
  • I don't think I give medicine enough! I rarely take anything, althought that's probably because I'm lucky enough not to be in pain very often, and I grew up with parents who NEVER gave me Calpol or anything like that. They were complete hippy parents so they probably gave me something herbal instead! :lol: So, it's generally a last resort, and when it's clearly obvious Sam's in pain. Looking back at when his first teeth were coming through, I wish I'd given him Calpol regularly throughout. The poor thing was clearly teething and in pain, but I only gave him Calpol at most once a day, and it did help, so why not give it more?

  • Thank you ladies. I was so worried people would slate me for 'giving meds for an easy life' which I promise im not doing!

    It is only once or twice a day, and not every day, and I havent given both together, except on the advice of a doctor when they had bronchiolitus.

    I do give it on the odd occasion at night, when they are obviously in pain.

    Thank you xxx
  • Coco - Im EXACTLY the same. Mum never gave us meds, unless we begged! I rarely take anything!

    I do only give it once a day, and not on many days. Maybe im worrying about it too much!
  • I was the same as you gemmiebaby and coco, I was always reluctant to give meds and i dont think i ever gave any to dd1 when she was teething. But a couple of years ago dd1 got her finger trapped in a door and cut the tip of it off, when we got to the hospital they gave her some calpol and ibruprofen straight away and within a very short time the pain was relieved so much that she wanted to go in the playroom while we were waiting for the x-rays. So now i know how effective it can be i'm not so stingey giving it to them. (she had the finger re-attached succesfully btw).

    Still with things like coughs and colds though i try and do things like steaming and lemon and honey hot drinks before any meds.

    Speak to a pharmacist about any questions, they are far more knowledgeable about meds than most gp's.
  • I said the same thing to D today about giving LO too much. He has been bad for 3 weeks now and I have been putting it off and using calgel as much as possible but some days he looks at me crying with such a sad look I feel awful that I can't do more!!
    I try not to give it to him every day and try cold yoghurts and things first but if he is clearly in a lot of pain I give him calpol. Did I read on FB that you have those food net things? Have you tried putting pieces of frozen melon or banana in them for them to chew on to help? Someone recommended that to me recently.
    Did you know you are not supposed to give them nurofen on an empty stomach? Someone told me recently so thought I would share the wisdom!
  • I was at the doctors on Fri for an unrelated matter, but my daughter is teething, first one popped through on Tues and I had the same worries about over using medicine. The doctor said that providing you follow the dosage advice it does them no harm. The reason it's not advisable for adults to take medicine too frequently is that there are often other complications such as alcohol for example, which can affect the liver and made worse by overusing meds. But she said with babies, if it helps them stay comfy then dose them up.
    So don't feel guilty at all Gemmiebaby.

    One thing I have been doing is using the herbal Ashton and Parsons teething granules before I was certain it was teething pain as I didn't want to give her Calpol unnecessarily. Coco you saying about your parents being hippy - my family all think I'm some kind of hippy because of the granules and I use Weleda natural products on baby girl image
    xxx
  • I'm long way behind you gemmiebaby and only in the early stages of teething but tried new era tablets for infants teething pain (holland and Barrett) after my mum swore they worked miracles on my sis and I. Ds was a nightmare for 5 days a couple weeks back, so grumpy and irritable tried the new era and within a day had my happy little boy back! Don't know how good they'll be when we get to the hardcore teething but so far would definitely recommend them if you wanted to try something else x
  • I think that if my LO would benefit it from it, then I'll give it. She often has Calprofen for her teeth (I think it works better than Calpol) sometimes once or twice a day if she's really struggling.

    I used to work for the company that make both Calpol and Calprofen and the testing is RIGOROUS. There is no way anyone is going to sell a drug for babies especially unless they know it is absolutely safe. Paracetamol and Ibuprofen have been around for years and there's loads of data to prove that they are safe.

    As long as you follow the instructions and don't exceed the recommended dose there is no problem. These recommended doses are way below the safety limit and Dr's will prescribe them both at higher doses for longer periods of time if necessary.

    There's no way I'm going to let my LO suffer when I know there is something in the cupboard that will help. Why would I not give it to her?

    B x
  • Agreed on a few things:
    - the stated recommended dosage is way below any danger level so just stick to them.
    - the teething granules work wonders!! I always try these first, then the panadol or nurofen.
    - always give nurofen with or after food (I dont think it says this on the bottle but iboprofen can give stomach ulcers if taken on an empty stomach)

    We now have 7 teeth and I have to say those 2 top front teeth were the worst so far, and the longest to actually come through. I also felt at that time i might be giving the panadol/nurofen to my son for too long but I was at the gp for something else and I mentioned it and he wasnt phased.

    Bongela is also good to try before the panadol or nurofen (make sure you have the teething one as Ive seen several times that some stores stock the adult one in the baby section!!! :x )

    Also, have you tried Anbesol? It's also very effective.
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