Calpol Night age limit

[mootthing]

Hello,

My 9 month old is teething and has a heavy cold so we've been giving him Calpol Night occasionally to help him sleep. The box clearly states 3+ months, but I just came across something on a website saying that it is no longer considered suitable for children under 6 years! Does anyone know if this is correct? I only bought the stuff in January. When did it change and what is the problem?

[PeasPlease]

It has changed to 6 years old because the antihistamine in it that has a side effect of knocking you out is no longer considered suitable for babies. Some packs still say suitable for 3+ months but the newer ones don't.

If you try to buy it over the counter you will be asked the age of your child.

[Elibean]

I think it was changed mostly because some parents were confused and were giving it as well as other paracetamol or antihistamine based meds, thus overdosing their babies.

That said, we were told by several medical professionals to give dd2 Medised (same thing) when she had bad colds with ENT issues, at the age of 2, and she was fine. She's 3.5 now, and still tends to have trouble breathing with colds - so we still give it to her when appropriate - not to make her sleep, obviously, but when she's very uncomfortable at night with heavy mucous. I tend to under-dose her, because its strong stuff.

[teaandcakeplease]

Yeah I agree with everything said already. When my first daughter was 3 months old, I bought it no questions asked and I would give it to her at stated dosage if really ill and blocked up and it worked so well! When she turned age 2 they had changed the limit to 2 years and then literally a short while later (felt like it) they upped it to 6 years - even though the boxes still say 2 years old.

It is so good when tilting the cot, karvol etc is no longer doing the trick and they're miserable. So I confess I keep an old box with the dosages on and still use if desperate even with my 13 month old son. I'm very careful though like Elibean

Don't tell anyone... shhhhh

[teaandcakeplease]

Also one of the reasons I was told in Boots one time, is that there is no evidence that cough and cold medicines work on children. I could be wrong but isn't that because they don't test them on kids that young?

As well as the stories of overdosing by parents already mentioned...

[CantSupinate]

But if you think of Calpol Night/Medised as things that must not be mixed with any other half-way similar medicines, then the overdosing risk is drastically reduced. It's the same as if you had Calpol / Boots own paracetamol suspension in the house. You have to pay attention about not giving those together, too. Maybe only one brand of paracetamol suspension should be sold at all.

Recently I gave DC (age 2 & 5) Medised (per instrux on box, when they had stinking colds) just so they could have a half-decent night's sleep which they badly needed and boy so did I.

[NorrisMcWhirter]

.

[countrylover]

I have used medised recently for DS2 who is ten months. He had a particularly bad cold along with a fever.

I think as long as you are sensible and have half a brain in your head then it's ok to use. Just make sure you don't use it alongside anything else with paracetamol or antihistamines in it.