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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

582 replies

RagamuffinAndFidget · 19/01/2016 22:47

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?

OP posts:
Original poster
RagamuffinAndFidget · 19/01/2016 23:01

Glittering I didn't tell him to 'go the fuck to sleep'. I was walking him to sleep in the sling at the same time as posting a fairly lighthearted status on Facebook so I don't think he gave a shit.

Pretty that's my thinking too - a light fever isn't necessarily a bad thing. Obviously if they were burning hot and obviously in pain/properly unwell then I'd give them medicine but I really don't get this obsession with chucking Calpol down a kid's throat because they've got a sniffle.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 19/01/2016 23:01

Vicks isn't suitable for children under 2 so shouldn't be used on a 7 month old. What if the cough has given them a sore throat? Wouldn't calpol help with that pain?

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 19/01/2016 23:02

Their not suggesting giving him cal pol because he not sleeping, their suggesting calpol to relive the symptoms of his illness which will low him to sleep!

The cal pol isn't to get him to sleep, him getting to sleep would be a side after of his symptoms easing!

mudandmayhem01 · 19/01/2016 23:03

I think the evidence for the effectiveness of Calpol is shaky and any unnecessary medication is to be avoided. Yanbu

elfycat · 19/01/2016 23:03

Don't you give piriton for not sleeping? (in case they're itchy)

I don't give calpol in the first instance. But if they're not sleeping, non-verbal and distressed (rather than just whining) I would give calpol. More than once DD2 has woken up in the morning with gloop pouring out of her ear and I'm bloody glad she had painkillers in the night. She's over the non-verbal stage now.

TheSecondViola · 19/01/2016 23:04

What do people think Vicks will do on feet? Its for inhaling. Your feet are about as far from your mouth and nose as you can get, there is no benefit to putting it on feet!!

TheCatsMeow · 19/01/2016 23:04

Can't stand the avoid medicine types. Medicine is there for a reason you get no medals for soldiering on and nor do your kids.

dementedpixie · 19/01/2016 23:04

Piriton isn't for children under 1 so again not suitable

IfItsGoodEnough4ShirleyBassey · 19/01/2016 23:05

I think the long term damage of regular small paracetomol doses are frequently understated - it's not risk free.

However when I have a cold myself I neck Lemsip for joint pains/headaches etc, and if I reckon, based on the available evidence, that my child has probably got the same sort of pains then I will administer calpol, giving the minimum amount I can get away with, as infrequently as possible.

Samaritan1 · 19/01/2016 23:05

Snuffle babe is similar to Vicks, but for babies. I use it on my ds chest when he has a cold, but I don't think it does much.

I never have a cold without a sore throat and ds is always reaching for his water cup when he has a cold, I assume for the same reason. I give him Calpol because I don't want him to suffer unnecessarily. I'm sure that's most people's thinking.

VocationalGoat · 19/01/2016 23:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheSecondViola · 19/01/2016 23:06

I think the evidence for the effectiveness of Calpol is shaky

It's parecetemol. Nothing remotely shaky about the evidence for the effectiveness of paracetemol, its about the most widely used medicine in the world.

grumpysquash2 · 19/01/2016 23:06

If they have a fever then ibuprofen or paracetamol is sensible, but still your own choice.

But, I think most adults can remember times when they didn't have a fever or maybe even any obvious external symptoms, but still felt utterly crappy. Or conversely, might have looked flushed and sounded terrible but didn't honestly feel that bad.

So I guess it's hard to judge how good/bad a non verbal child is feeling....I used to give mine ibuprofen if they went to bed and couldn't sleep and kept crying after an hour. TBH, most times it kicked in and they were fast asleep after 30 mins. Obviously I wouldn't give it if they were just making a fuss and/or otherwise completely ok.

It's not a question of dosing them everytime they cry, it's more a question of looking at the reasons why they might be crying and making a best guess.

[if you get it wrong and they didn't actually need it, it won't have harmed]

SuckingEggs · 19/01/2016 23:07

Oh OP, just do what you know is best then. Sometimes, I give a child who can't sleep through cold and fever some calpol as the sleep and relief they get helps them to recover.

Vicks should be on the chest, not the feet btw. Or both. It might be the act of rubbing the feet that soothes? Not sure.

VashtaNerada · 19/01/2016 23:08

If my children are in enough pain to not be able to sleep then of course I give them calpol! Surely it would be wrong not to? It's not at all the same as abusive families who constantly drug their kids up to keep them docile, it's a sensible and proportionate way to ease the pain and to stop the illness escalating.

grumpysquash2 · 19/01/2016 23:09

Just to be clear, I didn't mean I left them to cry for an hour when they were poorly. I meant if they went to sleep and kept half waking and wimpering for a bit, then back to sleep, repeat on roughly a 15 min cycle. That told me that they weren't sleeping well and I would take them medicine and a drink of water then sit and cuddle them for half an hour while the meds kicked in.

Then back to sleep.

SuckingEggs · 19/01/2016 23:10

Btw, calpol does not have a sedative in it.

RookieMonster · 19/01/2016 23:10

My ds had a gum infection that took a while to sort out when he was 20 months or so. I was dosing him with calpol regularly but hated doing it. I try to use natural mehods for pain relief and healing as much as possible, but will of course use OTC medicines when necessary. Usually, with my dc, if they are complaining of headache I have them drink a glass or two of water, wait a bit, and if they are still suffering they can have meds. Often times they are just slightly dehydrated and they don't need anything else.

TheSecondViola · 19/01/2016 23:11

Btw, calpol does not have a sedative in it

No, it does not.

SuckingEggs · 19/01/2016 23:12

That's what I said! Grin

Original poster
RagamuffinAndFidget · 19/01/2016 23:13

Apologies for the potential drip feed but I don't actually think he was awake because he was in pain, so much as because he wasn't able to feed properly. He normally nurses to sleep and has a very snotty nose so he couldn't do that, and then we descended into that over-tired downwards spiral.

VocationalGoat have you never heard of 'Go The Fuck To Sleep'? Look it up on YouTube. Also, I don't think the baby can read yet so he probably won't know or care what I'm posting on Facebook Hmm

OP posts:
mudandmayhem01 · 19/01/2016 23:13

No one doubts that paracetamol is an effective pain relief, but medical advice no longer suggests as standard using it for mild fever in young children.

IfItsGoodEnough4ShirleyBassey · 19/01/2016 23:13

There is indeed some doubt emerging about how worthwhile paracetamol is Viola.

This is a Guardian article with some decent links.

TheSecondViola · 19/01/2016 23:13

Just reiterating!

DisappointedOne · 19/01/2016 23:14

I always think, if I had a bunged up nose and a sore head and throat, would I want the pain to go away? Would I take a lemsip? Yes I probably would, so I give calpol.

I have a cold at the moment and don't use lemsip or cold remedies. I'll take a paracetamol if I have an awful headache, but otherwise use vitamin c, zinc, hot honey and lemon (or squash) and as much sleep/rest as I can get.

With DD I did the Vicks thing out of desperation and it does help. So does elevation, co sleeping and steam (sit in the bathroom while the shower runs). It's extremely rare that I ever give her calpol - has to be a bad ear that stops her sleeping (but she's 5 now and can tell me). She's probably had fewer than 25 doses in her life.