to wonder why people give so much medicine to their kids?

[RagamuffinAndFidget]

I am totally open to being told IABU here, am just looking for opinions really.

DS3 (7mo) has a cough and a cold. I posted a 'go the fuck to sleep' type status on Facebook earlier and had lots of comments from friends telling me to give Calpol/Nurofen. For a cold? Really? Also some comments suggesting Vicks on his feet, which seems more sensible..

Do people really give Calpol every time their child has the sniffles? Is there actually a point to it, or is it just the done thing to dose a child up every time they cry now? Don't get me wrong, I do give my children medicine if they have a very high temperature or are in pain, but I try not to give it often, and I wouldn't give it for a cough/lack of sleep.

Is it just me?

The Cats because some people like to feel superior to others...I'll never get it. I have one in work who won't self medicate and then moans about her symptoms or barrates others for making a lemsip. She moaned to me one and I said "i don't care about your pain, if you want do anything to rectify it, it's your problem not mine and I don't want to hear about it" I ended up in a HR meeting haha oh well.

bubbles I'm on about moving that would cause damage, so obviously don't take a painkiller and start heavy lifting

Ginger I don't get it either, medicine is there for a reason. I take everything available because I don't enjoy feeling unwell. Why suffer when there's no need

You say "and then medicine isn't needed" as though medicine is a bad thing.

That's not at all what I said. Drugs have their place. Absolutely. But there are lots of other remedies that I'll try first. Perhaps my faith in humans to exist for so long is misplaced.

Disappointed but why are natural remedies better than medicine in your view? It makes no sense

"Medicines only a last resort when the woo fails?"
You obviously don't frequent woo threads....

The Cats I know, I'm too busy to be able to sit round and wish myself better. I'll pop what I can when I can and just get on with life. There's only me and a toddler, I've no ability to sit round with my head over a bowl of steam orlather myself in vapour rub. Headache be gone, I've got uni work to do, tea to make, a 30min gym class to squeeze in And a 30hour week to work. No where on my schedule is time to ease pain I just need it gone.

And with my child it's case by case. If he's teething and I've given ambesol, teething powder and he is still gripping his jaw and screaming I'll give him some ibuprofen. He sleeps I sleep win win. I'm by no means a perfect parent, and sometimes I'll admitted I've probably taken the easier solution but I need what's left of my sanity

Disappointed but why are natural remedies better than medicine in your view? It makes no sense

It's not that it's better. But I suppose the side effects are practically nil with the things I'm talking about. If I need drugs, I take drugs. I just prefer to use a home remedy if there's one available. They're often as effective.

(Less money for big pharma is a happy side effect I suppose. :))

Don't think "natural" means nil side effects!!

Some herbal remedies can have serious drug interaction problems

You can be highly allergic to henna, that's "natural" and believe me the side affect is not nice

Thecatsmeow- DS asks for medicine if he's teething "mouth hurts make it better medicine mummy" I'm not going to say no to that

Don't think "natural" means nil side effects!!

That's why I said the things I'm talking about

Honey and lemon - low risk
Hot water bottle - low risk
Fresh air - low risk
Rest/sleep - low risk

I don't think everything natural is safe. Nor have I implied that.

It's not that it's better. But I suppose the side effects are practically nil with the things I'm talking about. If I need drugs, I take drugs. I just prefer to use a home remedy if there's one available. They're often as effective.

But in reality a lot of medicines don't have many side effects if any. Each to their own but I'd rather use something that's proven

Ginger I agree

abbs I was quoting someone else I don't think there's anything wrong with it

I disagree wholeheartedly with everything you have written cats meow.

You keep saying that calpol doesn't do your body any harm so you can take it willy-nilly - but it certainly doesn't do your body any good.

I try to put as few unnatural things in my body as possible.

I also agree with disappointed one above - if you dose up a child so much to mask their symptons, you can't really tell how bad it is. Then they run around all day, when actually they should be sleeping their illness off.

Oh oops, sorry! my brains mush we all have a cold here

You keep saying that calpol doesn't do your body any harm so you can take it willy-nilly - but it certainly doesn't do your body any good.

Evidence?

I try to put as few unnatural things in my body as possible

There is no evidence that any of this natural bollocks is better

And you're more likely to sleep it off if you're not feeling crap!

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/warning-dangers-hildren-too-much-calpol-paediatrician-parents-a6753446.html

Try this link Cat about the danger of to much Calpol.

I call Godwins Law on "Big Pharma" !

(anyone using the phrase can automatically be ignored)

Erm Wtf? Godwin's law refers to a specific thing. You cantappropriate it for other stuff!

bloody hell I don't think I have ever been on the same side as the woo merchants before!

I just don't want my children growing up thinking that your first resort should be medication.

Of course you can. It's not a new thing to do so. Things change, dude.

You don't see many adults sporting an amber bracelet

I do think though if you made an "adult" amber bracelet people would though lol

Calpol use surely is only a concern where its being used regularly as a pacifier, when there are only very light minor symptoms and no temperature.

I think the problem with this blanket thinking of "I don't want medication being the first choice" is when confronted with possible serious illness or mental health issues when antidepressants and drug treatment is the only way to help, you've set a precedent of "well I never take tablets, my mother always said there was no point, so I'm not starting now"

Sometimes medication is the first and only option and if we go around teaching our children it's not needed we run the risk of causing future problems.

Don't forget many children's only and for st encounter with medicine is for pain relief so if we in still the ideology it's pointless we could be causing more psychological harm than good. Teaching your child medicine is the last resort can sometimes be counter productive, and the opposite teaching them its needed all the time has its negative issues also, a fine balance is what needed, but there is no need for anyone to fetch their high horse for a walk because they soldier through and chew chai leaves rather than taking appropriate medication!

Ginger, you're doing a great job of distorting what people are saying on this thread to suit your own agenda. No one is saying 'there's no point' in taking medication.

Well I suppose I'm doing something great today so I'll take it as a compliment in place of the shot day I'm having, cheers

That article in the independent is talking about overdosing on calpol which won't happen if you are careful and about giving it just for mild temperatures which I don't think anyone is saying they do.