Urgent need ideas for help

[Belleende]

Help on holiday in Croyde Devon, no car. 3 year old awake and really complaining of ear ache, and of course the Tesco shopping arrived with no calpol (just two lots of adult paracetamol). There are no chemists open in the area, so cant even send a taxi from a local chemist. She is really distressed. Any clever ideas?

For an average 3 year old, if I was desperate, I would give a quarter of a tablet of paracetamol in a spoon of yoghurt, telling them to swallow not chew, followed by a drink of (not cold) water or milk. No more than 4 doses in 24hrs. I must stress I am not a medic, just a reasonably experienced mum. However, I think the best course of action is to get qualified advice over the phone now from a pharmacist or doctor via 111. I also second the advice of putting something warm (not hot) on her ear, such as a towel or flannel from a radiator, or a wrung out flannel from warm water - you'll need to keep redoing it, as it will cool quite quickly. Or a cuddle from you, with the painful ear next to you, so it gets your body heat. At worst, a hat or earmuffs should help a bit if you've packed them - hopefully so, in that area, at this time of the year. When out, keep her out of the wind.

I'm pretty sure that the recommended dose is 180mg at that age but you must first Google it from reputable sites such as NICE/NHS or ring the medics, as I said.