Overuse of paracetamol

[gnu]

Our nearly 6 month old girl has now caught her third cold of the last month and is streaming. We gave her a couple of 5ml doses of medised to help her settle to sleep yesterday and last night and had done this during the previous colds as well, perhaps 2 doses a day for around 4 or 5 days until it eases off a little (just in time for her to catch her next one!)

I wonder, though, if there is any problem in using paracetamol as frequently as this. Her constant holds mean that she is having medised on the majority of days lately. Is this a problem?

[Marina]

It's perfectly safe gnu, provided you are definitely not exceeding the maximum daily dosage for a child her age.
Paracetamol in appropriate doses is the safest pain relief for young children IMO.
It is also very common for older babies to get lots of colds and snuffles - I remember this phase well, ugh.
If you feel that there may be an underlying chest or throat infection behind your dd's run of colds then it might be worth getting her checked with the GP, but they are unlikely to prescribe antibiotics unless they are sure it is a bacterial infection and not a series of cold viruses.
Are you also raising the head of her cot slightly and using Baby Vicks or Olbas Oil or Karvol capsules to help decongest her at night? We found all those things did help them a little.

[gnu]

Yes, we have used Olbas Oil in a bowl of steaming water and a little on a tissue too.

We had also tried elevating the head of her mattress but, after an early morning accompanied by strange shuffling sounds, went in at 6.30 to find her lying horizontally across the cot, half way down, grinning at us

Very sweet but we didn't raise the cot head again!

(Of course, I mean 'constant colds' not 'constant holds' in my last message)

[curlew]

Is she really feverish with the colds, or does she seem to be really distressed? If not - why not try baby vicks or some eucalyptus oil in a vaporizer and see how she gets on. There's also a baby bath with a eucalyptusy stuff in it - can't remember what it's called but the chemist whill know - that we found very helpful.

[gnu]

She doesn't have a temparature at all so I think its just another cold. Its more of the full monty this time though, red cheeks on Sunday followed by red eyes, streaming nose, constant sneezing, slight physical weakness etc. She wouldn't go down yesterday for her first nap at 9am (she was screaming - perhaps the first time she hasn't gone down at this time). So instead of waiting until her 12.30 nap we gave her some medised, fed her at 11am in the dark of her room (like bedtime) and put her straight down. This seemed to work OK.