Am I using Calpol too sparingly?

[Hidingtonothing]

DD(10) has a cold, no sign of throat/ear/chest infection just usual cold symptoms. She was fairly miserable yesterday, very bunged up and a bit headachy but nothing worrying and no temperature. She had two doses of Calpol yesterday, both times because her headache was bothering her.

I'm now being berated by a family member for not giving her 4-6 hourly doses all day whether she seemed like she needed it or not. I'm not wrong am I? You give Calpol to relieve pain and/or bring down temperature is my understanding and if she wasn't in pain and had no temp what good would it do? DD is much better today, she generally shakes colds off quickly so I was pretty sure she would be but apparently I should still be dosing her with Calpol through today and maybe even tomorrow I'm trying to take no notice but just wanted some other opinions as family member is making me question myself.

I think you’re doing it right.

I don’t even give it to being down a temp unless it is very high (39 plus and that’s because ds has a habit of having temps which end up 40 plus and with us being in hospital)

I treat the symptoms

Definitely agree with you op.

Im in a zero plastic Facebook group and I can't believe how many of the Calpol syringes people have even for their tiny children - they must be dosing them up daily!!

YANBU. I'm a firm believer of using Calpol only when really necessary. I can count on one hand the number of times I've given it to 5yo DS.

I'm the same way with myself, I rarely take painkillers. I think relying on them too much builds up a tolerance and then you end up needing stronger and stronger ones.

Nope you have it right OP.

I agree. If they take a turn for the worse, I want something in reserve..If you give every 4-6 you might use up doses

That's my take too, it's really all you can do for a cold. It's pissed me off that she (the family member) seems to be implying I'm not looking after DD properly when the exact opposite is true. DD has all the symptom relieving stuff (Vicks, cough sweets etc) and I'm bringing her whatever she fancies to eat and drink on demand while she languishes on the sofa, exactly as my mum did for me as a child. Feel better now I've vented, thanks, will try very hard to ignore from now on

Depends. Paracetamol is most effective as a painkiller if taken regularly - for that reason, it's prescribed for surgical aftercare, etc, even if we don't recognise it as a particularly strong painkiller.

But, for someone who has a headache, its fine to just take it when you need it. The thing with cold viruses is that they do cause pain and can make you feel quite miserable, so for myself I'd probably take the full dose for a couple of days. Why be in pain when you don't need to be?

I am a bit of a hypocrite here so in reality I am going to sit on the fence . I tend to give Ds calpol as you do however for myself as soon as I get a cold I take cold capsules .

You are right. You don't even need to give it to reduce a fever. It's for pain/discomfort and should be used only for this unless otherwise directed.

DS currently has a cold and fever but he's happy and looked after. If he complains of pain or discomfort, he can have medicine but he doesn't need it and is old enough to tell me how he is feeling.

I don't get the point of being In pain for no reason what need is there to be a martyr

Not a single person has suggested leaving anybody in pain, let alone martyrdom.

I distinctly remember guzzling Calpol from the bottle as a child (back when it was full of sugar and very delicious) anytime I had the slightest sniffle. Irrelevant I suppose, but this post reminded me

She's 10 so old enough to tell me if she's in pain, she hasn't been apart from the headaches which prompted the Calpol she has had. If she had a broken bone or something which caused constant/frequent predictable pain I would dose regularly to maintain pain relief but I honestly can't see the point in maintenance dosing for a cold.

If she's headachy then I'd say she needs it.

If I have a headache then I will take something, so it's unfair to expect a child to suffer.

Given you had to give her a second dose anyway, I might have given her that dose 4-6 hrs after the first. The worst that would have happened is you might have needed to give a third dose.

Wouldn’t give it just for a fever.

Just to clarify she had a dose in the morning because she said her head was hurting, then in the afternoon I asked how her head was and she said fine so she had no more til bedtime, when she said the headache had come back again. She has no headache today, just a bunged up nose and Calpol seems pretty pointless for that.

You are right and your family member is wrong. Either way it's none of their business anyway.

The fact is than a 10 year old child can tell you when they are in pain. What's difficult is when it's a younger child and they can't tell you. They might be unhappy but it's often harder to tell why and whether they need pain relief. In those situations I have probably been guilty of sometimes giving DS paracetamol when he hasn't needed it, and occasionally withholding it when he has. We do what we can.