To be more than slightly disturbed by SIL not giving her DS any pain relief?

[TheHouseOnTheLane]

Bit of background....SIL hasn't had her son vaccinated. Not any of the injections has he had.

He's 18 months old now and tonight we had a family dinner and he has apparently been "off colour" all day. I saw him and he was burning hot....SIL says it's his teeth coming through....which it could be of course.

He was a bit limp and unhappy, wouldn't lift his head up and looked very ill to be frank...doing that constant grizzly moan thing they do when in pain...anyway...

SIL gave him some herbal teething stuff in a syrynge and DH said "Oh bit of paracetamol...that will help him" and SIL said "No it's not...I don't give him any paracetamol. He can't have that."

AIBU to think this is bloody awful?

I've got over the issue of the injections because that is entirely her choice and me getting worried or upset won't help that at all....MIL has tried to persuede her to get him his injections but she won't budge.

But this sort of upset me...not only because it would make him feel better but because it would bring his temp down....and 18 months is so small...

I'm also not the only one who could make snarky appeals to 'laypeople', but at least I have the excuse of not being finished with my training if I should happen to make a tit of myself...

People like her have no business having children. Fucking idiot.

YANBU. Stupid woman. What would she do if he ended in hospital..... refuse to allow them to give him Calpol?

That should have been BoffinMum that wasn't the only one in my last post... time to step away.

A friend of mine refuses to use Calpol or teething gel. The way my son screams with teething pain, I can't imagine not giving him anything (often everything!) to try and take the pain away for him. It does make me feel sad; I wouldn't tolerate pain myself, so why should a baby? All very well saying, "Calpol didn't exist and I did alright". It does exist now, and it's okay to use it!

well, teething isn't going to cause pain, or fever, so there would be no point in using teething gel. Paracetamol is not good for children, so I would never reach for that first and foremost for a child with a temperature, unless it was really high. Sounds like he just needed a cuddle and bed.

Teething is unlikely to cause actual 'pain', it's just not that nice, and a high temperature makes you feel a bit rubbish, it isn't painful though.

Teething is painful. My wisdom teeth erupted when I was a teenager, and they drove me round the bend with the soreness. Also, you're correct to think that fever isn't always painful, but it is unpleasant and paracetamol can reduce it (it isn't used solely as a painkiller).

If you don't quite understand certain conditions or medication, speak to a pharmacist for advice.

what made you think he was in pain? Nothing in your description makes leads to that conclusion.

It has been well established that teething in babies causes nothing but teeth. All these myths of pain and fever, and other symptoms are just old wives tales.

Don't be daft, of course teeth coming up causes pain.

It absolute tosh. Its just an myth from ancient Greece. Just like the 4 humours, etc. Goodness knows why anyone still believes this.

I wonder which humour my wisdom teeth pissed off, because they hurt so much I bit through a Biro trying to get some relief.

Teething CAN cause pain and discomfort.

I am with Omelette on anti-vaxxers. It is not just a choice which affects the one child, it affects society. It is idiotic and irresponsible. As for teething, I have impacted wisdom teeth and every time those fuckers burst through my gums it is agony.

charis1 well that's good to know. My son screaming through the night when teething molars must just have even to piss me off.

I don't give medicine if I can help it.

My first line is good nursing- light covers, fluids, rest. Most coughs, colds and fevers can be dealt with like this.

There is evidence that medicating dampens the body's response to illness, and prolongs the course of the illness.

In the o/p's case I'd have been more careful concerned the child wasn't at home or tucked up in bed somewhere, with plenty to drink and a bit of TV to distract.

Here is a paper that questions it. "Studies of larger cohorts show no causal association between teething and infection, fever, or diarrhoea. " apparently.

There is evidence that medicating dampens the body's response to illness, and prolongs the course of the illness

Hmm...... yet oncologists prescribed my daughter Calpol to reduce temperature spikes when she was fighting infections (leukaemia)

"Teething pain, sometimes referred to as “dentitio difficilis”, is the commonest symptom associated with the eruption of the primary dentition.4,10,23-25 Despite a reported prevalence of around 85%, evidence for this condition is weak.4,10,2"

My DC cut their teeth nearly a decade ago, and I certainly assumed it was painful. But I find the alternative view interesting.

My DS had "3 month colic" but I was never convinced it was anything digestive, and I remember reading then some stuff then that questioned that and talked about development.

Dampening the response to illness is rather the point though isn't it?

You would think.