Sugar-free, aspartame-full paracetamol suspensions?

[duchesse]

Just why? In the absence of obvious health problems such as diabetes, why the heck would chemists try to foist aspartame on tiny humans? How often are they actually given it for the sugar in the full-fat versions even to represent a serious health or dental risk? And why, when I ask for the full-fat version, do chemists raise that eyebrow at me?

DD reacts to aspartame, comes up in a rash, fever, vomits, won't settle to sleep. It drives me potty that so many things have aspartame in them. Horrible nasty stuff.

I am pissed of you can't get full fat 6+ - makes me cross

I'd choose sugar over aspartame every time.

I pick sugar over chemicals anytime.

But by that token, how often are they given the aspartame version for it to represent a serious health risk?

Although I agree no eyebrows should be raised if the sugar version is requested.

The body has evolved to cope with sugar. Aspartame not so much.

Sugar in moderation.

YANBU.

I pick sugar too. You anbu!

I wouldn't want a sugar-laden version because we sometimes want to give DS a dose of paracetamol with his last milk feed before bed, or perhaps during the night if he's ill/teething. We wouldn't want to wake him up by cleaning his teeth afterwards, and I'd hate to think of his teeth marinating in sugar for hours.

Yanbu but it is u to call things with sugar full fat.

But Casper, wouldn't you be brushing your DS's teeth after his last milk feed anyway?

We decided that the sugar version was preferable to the sugar free for DS.
YANBU.

i'd definitely pick sugar over artificial sweetners too.

it drives me mad that even cordial touts itself as sugar free and is full of crap chemicals. you're going to dilute it by 10parts to 1 you'll probably get a ml of sugar!

there hasn't been sufficient research into artificial sweetners to persuade me they're healthy and harmless. I avoid them wherever I can for my own consumption and will certainly do so for dd.

Calpol 6plus IS available as a sugar option. I have just been emailing Calpol about this exact topic and questioning why they put aspartame in their Fastmelts. They replied saying because the doses are so small they are 'allowed' to use aspartame as it's been deemed 'safe'. (I can post their full reply if anyone is interested.) Of course they have completely missed the point of WHY it is necessary to replace a tiny amount of sugar with artificial composites. To gain a bit of sweetness to make it palatable why can't they add dried fruit powder, for example?

I always bought Calpol which was NOT sugar free. No such option with Nurofen, unfortunately. But, to repeat, you can buy Calpol 6plus containing sucrose which is sugar.

I get very bristly and cross about artificial sweeteners in things for children.

Oh, and you are definitely NBU.

I don't understand why they can't make a paracetomol suspension that hasn't been sweetened at all.

surely kids have to be a certain age before they even notice it's bitter?
and you can administer it with a syringe to stop them spitting it back up.

Do any of the supermarkets/own brand variants have sugar? I've only tried tesco's and they seem to be only artificial. I loathe aspartame but generic versions are so much cheaper...

Thing is, it's actually much cheaper to manufacture with artificial sweeteners, than real sugar. Then they try to fob us off with the tooth decay stuff so that we only trust sugar free things...kerching!

I now only buy the sugar filled calpol for infants and just scale the amounts up.

DS was prescribed penicillin & amoxycillin. When I asked a the pharmacy for NOT sugar free one, he looked at me oddly & said, we don't have any... everybody wants sugar-free medicine.

The neurofen thing bothers me too.

I always buy the sugar versions. Aspartame is too nasty to put in my baby.

Grockle, I'd noticed that as well, although thankfully the DC have hardly ever had to have ABs. But there are people who really cannot take sweeteners, so I guess there MUST be a sugar version available, even if it's on special prescription. It makes me .

I've just had an issue over the flavouring of Calpol, and most other paracetamol suspensions - they are all flavoured, mostly strawberry and my DD3 won't take it. I was given a large bottle of colour free and flavour free paracetamol last year on prescription, she would take this but has now ran out. Have spent ages with the pharmacist trying to find something colour and flavour free but can't! The colour in Calpol seem to send my children hyper!

What's wrong with aspartame? I give the sugar-free version for the same reason as someone upthread - DS has it after his last milk feed just before he goes off to sleep. I wouldn't risk waking him to clean his teeth!

I stocked up with Dafalgan when I was in France last time. It's pale brown in colour, sugary rather than aspartamy and tastes of caramel. Well worth bringing some back, I thought! I had to get that particular brand though as the French leading name equivalent of Calpol only comes in sugar-free.

Jaques, what's wrong with aspartame? Here's a good place to find some reasons.

There is nothing "officially" wrong with aspartame. Check out the food standards agency website for perspective on safe amounts. Always look at peer reviewed studies and proper evidence based research when making the decision. If you go loopy on it fine, but some people go loopy on Kiwis or Tomatoes.