I thinking this is the worst named kids medicine ever and should be re named ?

[Theas18]

Bloody CALPROFEN

There seems to be universal understanding amongst average (not mumsnetters I'm sure) that it contains both ibuprofen and paracetamol (aka "calpol"). It Does not, It is just ibuprofen medicine.

Ami being unseasonable in thinking it's catchy and memorable but really not a very safe or wise name?

I've never had and issue, but then I'm a pharmacist! It's a way of the company protecting it's market share. I will agree that it causes some confusion though (which is why in my opinion medicines should only be available from pharmacies).

I don't think it is unsafe or unwise. YABU

I think it could cause confusion, but it's about Brand awareness.

Peronally I never shell out on branded paracetamol or ibuprofen, but i have come across people do genuinely believe there is something special about branded medicines, and don't necessarily know what's in, Panadol, say.

Reading age is not just about decoding, it's about comprehension of what you read

YABU. Pretty obvious to me. Calpol is paracetamol and Calprofen is ibuprofen.

I'm not sure why people are being so arsey to the OP

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are the drugs.

Calpol & Nurofen or Calprofen are the brand names. It worries me people don't know the difference and that they are 2 totally different drugs.

As a rule of thumb tihngs ending "fen" are/can be ibuprofen based & those ending in "ol" paracetamol but always best to read the ingredients list.

I always knew my DD was a clever clogs! Her reading age is 13.2years .

BTW WRT the thread I am sticking with the bog standard Calpol.

Actually the best worst named child s medicine is liquid melotonin (sometimes prescribed for children sleep issues or ASD)

It's called...

Kidnaps

YABU I don't see how it is confusing at all

Certain drugs end in the same letters to make it easier to identify, paracetamol based end in mol (I know I'm stating the obvious there ) so calprofen doesn't sound like it has paracetamol in at all

All the bottles state what the active ingredient is. Most children would understand 'active' and 'ingredient'. The worst outcome in the case you describe, would be a parent mistakenly thinking the child was getting two medicines, but in fact only getting one. Not a crisis.

I think the 'profen' element is actually beyond the manufacturers control. The MHRA (medicines regulator) have rules on the naming of meds. So they would deem 'calpol ibuprofen' to be more dangerous and misleading and therefore not allow it.

Thinkaboutit

Good point

But it's the pol bit that says paracetamol - the cal bit is like the brand isn't it?

I opened this thread imagining OP had found a kids' medicine called something like Dr Gary Glitter's Patent Tonsil Soother or Now Then, Now Then, How's About A Lovely Spoonful of This, Boys and Girls? Imagine my disappointment.

I'm kind of on OPs side.
My youngest has CalCough at the moment.

My initial thought was that it might be a cough medicine with paracetamol, because of the calpol connection. So I can see why people might initially think that.

But I did check the bottle and it was very quickly apparent that there was no paracetamol in it.

I also agree with those who have said its not actually dangerous because the only risk of parental confusion is an under dosing rather than over dosing of the child.

I never make assumptions about medication I'm giving to my kids. I read the fucking label, then all is clear. I'd go so far as to suggest that anyone who spoons medicine into their kids with only a hazy assumption of what it is, probably shouldn't be left in sole charge of them.

Oh I am so disappointed.

I thought it was going to be something really outrageous like KidzSmack or KidzFags summat.

Boooooo OP!

YADNBU and I think the posters proclaiming that they never get confused and always read the bottle are missing the point. If you post on Mumsnet, you can read well and speak good English. Many of my patients can do neither. I have people who get confused about what is in Calpol/Calprofen all the time (obviously I use the generic names when prescribing but people have often bought the brands before they see me). I find it really frightening - paracetamol is a fantastic drug at the correct dose but extremely dangerous if you take even a small overdose.

The worst outcome in the case you describe, would be a parent mistakenly thinking the child was getting two medicines, but in fact only getting one.

Wrong. The worst outcome is a child getting double the dose of paracetamol and dying of liver failure. A double dose, especially over a few days, is often fatal. The worry is that the parent will be confused about whether Calpol contains paracetamol or ibuprofen, so end up giving the child both brand-name Calpol and generic paracetamol. This is not a remote possibility - every year, a number of people die because they have accidentally taken more than one drug containing paracetamol at the same time. Trust me, it's not a good way to go.

It's slightly disappointing that this thread has turned into a lot of boasting about how clever you all are and how you would never make a mistake and rubbishing the OP who is in fact making an excellent point.

AnyoneforTurps - the OP says that people will think Calprofen is both ibuprofen and paracetamol, and the worst case scenario in that case is simply that they don't get both.

Giving Calpol and paracetamol is a separate issue.

Blu thanks for educating me!

Isn't it more that "calpol" is ubiquitous with "children's paracetamol" and the other calpol-produced products, calcough, calprofen, calgel and whatever else they make are more recent? I would never have heard of them before having children whereas "calpol" is a household name. "Pol" doesn't even particularly sound like "paracetamol" so without knowing about the other products, I wouldn't have seen the name divided like that.

So it's quite likely that people hear the "cal" associate it with "calpol" and therefore think that "cal" plus "profen" means calpol (paracetamol) and ibuprofen.

Even their website is calpol.co.uk - "calpol" is the brand name, not "cal".

'calpol ibuprofen' would make me think it had paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Do any medicines have both?

Calprofen would make me wonder what's in it, I would read the packaging and then know. I would then think, it was a sensible name.