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Original poster

Paracetamol at secondary school

83 replies

LemonChiffon · 14/11/2025 09:08

Do you think it's ok for students at secondary school to have a pack of paracetamol in their bags, and take some if needed? My daughter has been taking some into school to manage period pain. She's very sensible and good at taking pills. But do you think this is allowed? They sometimes search their bags apparently. I tried to look through the schools policies but I couldn't find anything specifically about this. I could ask them of course!

OP posts:
WorriedMillie · 15/11/2025 12:34

I give DD a single dose at a time to keep in her school bag

Mustbeoriginal38 · 15/11/2025 15:36

This is the policy at my son’s school. Pretty much the standard for the local authority schools in the county.

Paracetamol at secondary school
KurtCobainLover · 15/11/2025 15:40

DD has a packet in her bag as she gets quite bad period pains and headaches. I put some in her bag after being called a few times to bring a packet up for her.

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IfItsPink · 15/11/2025 17:20

ittakes2 · 14/11/2025 09:12

It’s unlikely a school would permit this. One being in theory if it drops out of her bag a smaller child could be taking them.

But I would cut out the tablets she might need in a day and send her in with this in her jacket pocket or bag. I did this with my kids. I would not ask the school though as likely to say no go to med centre to ask for tablets there.

Lots of schools do. At DD’s school, one blister pack is allowed - therefore it is clear what the tablet is. If it’s loose, it could be anything.

Earlgreyhottish · 15/11/2025 17:56

petermaddog · 15/11/2025 12:26


Ibuprofen and paracetamol work in different ways on the body. Shutterstock
Read more: Why does my back get so sore when I'm sick? The connection between immunity and pain
Is one drug better than the other?
Because they each provide pain relief in different ways, paracetamol can be better at treating some types of pain, while ibuprofen is better at treating other types. But be wary of packaging that claims a medication is useful for targeting pain associated with a specific condition as these claims are not true.
Because it reduces inflammation, the Australian Therapeutic Guidelines state ibuprofen is the better choice for pain associated with osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, period pain, some types of headache, and for pain that comes from having an operation. Paracetamol does not reduce inflammation but it is a better choice when fever is associated with the pain, like when you have a cold or flu

Ibruprofen can be risky to take for some asthmatics, just so people know.

Croakymccroakyvoice · 16/11/2025 09:57

Mine is allowed to take in what they need for the day only. I think that's year 9 and above though. Before that it has to be administered by the school.

Atina321 · 16/11/2025 14:52

Allisgoodtoday · 14/11/2025 09:34

Schools usually have a tablets policy to cover items such as paracetamol. The reason is that another child, who isn't so sensible, may go through their bag and get hold of them/take them. Or something may happen to your child (eg. a sports field injury or similar) and a medical professional may administer painkillers, not knowing your child has already taken their own medication earlier, resulting in an overdose.

Therefore I wouldn't discuss this with the school at all, and talk to your daughter very carefully about the risks.

If she is sensible and really needs the tablets, I would very carefully wrap a couple of tablets for one day's dose (or use a little screw top tablet container) which she can keep in a zipped pocket or similar, so that they can't possibly go amiss.

You mention about emergency situations and possible overdose. Wouldn’t this be the case if the emergency services attended a random accident? They wouldn’t know what a person who is unconscious and just been hit by a car has taken that day? I am sure they deal with it all the time. You would have to more than double up on a dose of paracetamol to cause lasting damage.

MargaretThursday · 16/11/2025 17:49

It's a bit different in someone in an emergency situation firstly will be being monitored by medical staff, but also that they will do what they need to to save life, so on average it will be better for them to assume they haven't taken it than they have.
A child taking a double dose (or more) for a headache is not the same.

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