Medicine every day?

[JaffaO]

Hi All

I am going anon for this, as I know the person in question uses parenting boards, and so I don't want her to recognise me.

DH brother and his partner, have a baby boy, who is approx 11 months old. We were told at the weekend by MIL that baby's mammy gives him 2 x 5ml calpol every single day, and has done for the past number of months - I would hazard 4-6 months at least.

DH brother seems to know this is wrong, hence why he spoke to his mother about it. He claims he has asked her to stop giving it several times, but each time she brushed it off. He spoke again with her at the weekend, and told her once and for all to stop, and she agreed. However I have my doubts as to whether she actually will. To me she is medicating him, so that she can avoid a screaming child, on the off chance that he teethes or something.

The baby is a very good baby, has his moments like they all do, but is very good humoured and sleeps brilliantly - always has, so there really is no need for that.

I am concerned and angry about this, for two reasons. Firstly, I don't know what damage, if any, prolonged and daily use of Calpol could have. Secondly, I don't think she is to be trusted to stop. I think she has it in her head that she needs to give this to him, just in case any pain starts. She is a difficult character to say the least, and it could be a case that she can only cope with him when he is placid, and can't even bare thoughts of a cranky child.

But then again, I could be over-reacting and should tae her at her word that she has stopped, and don't give it a second thought.

I would be interested to hear every elses opionion......

Sounds very dangerous to me! Calpol is not for everyday use in fact it should not be given for more than hnree says without seeking advice from a dr. Paracetamol can harm the liver and she is risking building up a tolerance rendering it useless when the poor baby reAlly needs it. I'd be very scarex for the baby tbh :(

Three days. Dam phone

Thats really bad......Paracetamol taken over a long period of time is dangerous, she needs to stop it now. Whats the point giving it to him if he doesnt need it....it wont stop him getting ill.

Your brother needs to put his foot down and hide the calpol.

I can't imagine it's a good thing to be giving medicine every day for no reason.

It may do no harm but equally it might act to mask symptoms if the child is suffering an illness at some point and make diagnosis difficlut.

Would she take paracetamol herself everyday, just on the off chance she gets a headache? No thought not. She is being really stupid and putting her DS at risk. YANBU. But your BIL needs to get her to stop, I can't see what you can do about it.

It is probably not too good for the baby's liver actually.

Could you maybe ask a HV for advice and print off some literature or something to give your MIL?

This can cause liver failure I think. Didn't a young woman die from taking paracetamol every day recently. Sorry, I don't want to sound all dramatic but I think this can be really dangerous. You need to get some advice, maybe NHS direct.

how is the mother of the child op? is she struggling to cope? is the baby a sickly babe thats frequently ill? seems like she has got into a pattern of doing this so that in her mind she is prepared if the baby becomes ill,almost like a coping mechanism, but i ageree with others it isnt right and can be harmful in the long run, maybe speak to her dh again.

Does she have any MH issues? She may be suffering from depression and scard she won't be able to cope if her baby is ill.

Obiviously totally screwed up but it sounds like something a bit odd is going on here.

I think someone need to go with her and the baby to the gp to discuss what is going on.

It needs stopping, can't be good for the child.

I can't help but worry as to why the mum is doing this? is she struggling to cope/scared the baby will get ill? I think that is what needs ascertaining so that everyone can be helped

Mmm. Obviously this is not a good idea if there is no medical need. But I think the risk of liver damage is minimal. My DS1 suffered from persistent recurrent ear infections. They started at about 12 months and from then until he got the gromits was about 4 months. He was in constant pain, with high temps for the majority of this time. During this period he almost certainly would have been having this amount of calpol on a daily basis.
Obviously this was done under medical advice as he was regularly at the GP, paeditrician and ENT consultant. There was no suggestion that the amount of medication would cause long term permanent damage. And i did specifically ask anout continuing to use the calpol and nurofen. They all actually encouraged me to do so to help manage his discomfort. My DSs liver would not be any more capable of dealing with the meds than your DNs just because he had a medical reason for it.
The reason for not giving these meds for longer than three days before consulting a GP is not fear of side effects but concern that parents are treating symptoms of an underlying condition that may need extra attention. For example a chest infection which could develop into something worse if symptoms like temp are masked by calpol.
At the recommended dosage I think it is unlikely that calpol will cause liver damage, it should be easily metabolised, but it is still unwise to use it preemptivly as your SIL is. He may get used to having it and therefore find inevitable teething pain even harder to cope with. It will mask any real infections he develops and she may not pick up on them. Doesn't it also make some kids sleepy? So she could be artificially altering his sleep patterns.

We were the same as you BlueFergie. My son was on daily calpol and nurofen on the advice of Doctor for recurrent ear and throat infections. He was on this for approx 6 months. Ultimately he had his tonsils and adennoids removed and grommits put in. So i dont think daily use will do harm. However, that said, what is her reason for this and is she giving it without consent of a doctor or for any specific purpose? That is odd and i would have severe misgivings for that. Did something spark her to use it that she now thinks if she stops it something will happen?

I don't want to post her personal issues on line, but yes, there are mental health problems present. They go beyond PND and are quite serious I guess.

I think she is doing it, as in her head she thinks she will stop the baby encountering any pain, so he won't scream and she won't get stressed.

She is very anal about it. Gives both daily doses are set times of the day and he must get them on time.

I take on board what you are all saying - that it probably wouldn't cause long term damage (aside from maybe an unhealthy resistance to paracetamol), but there is something with this entire situation, which doesn't sit well for me, and makes me extremely uncomfortable.

I am not exactly mum of the year myself, and I am all for making my life easier, and I have been known on many occasions to use sweets, treats, TV to give me an hour or so peace. However there is just something about what she is doing (or used to do, if you take her at her word) which makes the hair on the back of my head stand on end.

YANBU Maybe her husband should speak to their health visitor/doctor and ask them to speak to her about it.

If she has known mental health problems then please encourage her or her partner to talk to her care team about this.

You are right to be concerned op.

Calpol is Paracetamol and is very damaging if used over such a long time. Imagine the tiny liver and kidneys that baby has.

It's such a pet hate of mine. I hear so many mums at baby groups going on about how they just give Calpol for any small unsettlement. I think a lot of babies in the UK are overmedicated.

I might be lucky but DD is almost 6 months and has never had a drop of Calpol in her live. People look at me strange when I say this.

That woman sounds like an idiot whgo can't cope with being a mum!!!

And also as also mentioned above it's dangerous in the sense that it could mask early symptoms of something more serious. Pain and fever is the bodies way of showing something is wrong and while we give it to relieve the pain we are also aware something is wrong in the first place and are extra vigilant. There could also be risk of becoming allergic :(

I just had this conversation recently with a friend whose DP's ex gives his DC rescue remedy every night to help them sleep. They don't need it btw.
Rescue remedy in itself is harmless. Paracetamol is not harmless, but probably won't do any lasting harm. However the psychological damage could be profound. These parents are setting their DCs up to believe that they can't function without a substance. That taking substances is normal and necessary. This is exactly the type of early message that leads to drug dependence later in life. I'm not being dramatic, it is a message that children often learn from their parents and over medicating children can contribute to that message. It is incredibly damaging behaviour.

awful its waaaaaay over used,a girl who had baby week or so younger than my ds2 and older child,baby sadly died of sids and when such happens police are called they found bottles of milk & the older childs breaker had calpol in it,turned out the mother was doing this everyday and the older child was taken in to care.

Repeated use of paracetamol EVEN AT THE RECOMMENDED DOSE can cause liver failure in a % of people. That's why it says on the bottle/packet no to use for more than a few days without medical advice (that way they could be alert to the early signs of liver damage).

In babies it has been linked to deaths, and that's why they have just halved the recommended dose.

Some people use calpol to keep their kids quiet - it sound like this woman is doing exactly that. Is it 10ml calpol every day before bed? That is double the current recommended dose BTW. This is very dangerous as she may start giving additional doses.

There is some medical research out there that suggests that over use of paracetamol may the risk of asthma and eczema

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(08)61445-2/abstract

She really needs to stop this as she could cause her child knock on health problems.

may increase

The 10 ml is via 2 x 5ml

One middle of the day, the second going to bed I believe.

So I don't think she is exceeding the doses now (although could have been when he was smaller IYKWIM). However it is the cumulative effect which was troubling me.

Although as I have said, it is the situation as a whole which I find most troubling, as in, what else might she do to avoid her baby crying or getting on her nerves?

I could be wrong, but..... Paracetamol and the like can be majorly irritant to the stomach. This may not be a problem for older babies and toddlers, but for one not walking, I wonder if it could damage the stomach lining? It can certainly happen if tablets are taken and not washed down, or patient is lying down a lot, but I am not sure about calpol as it s liquid. This baby sounds younger than those mentioned up thread with ent issues, so may not be able to tolerate the paracetamol in the same way.