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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:
TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 15:05

it's still a chemical product and a drug

Water is a chemical product. Everything is a chemical. Why the fear of chemicals?

I was referring to Vicks on feet/ginger for infection/home remedies are often woo. No problem using them along side medicine but to rely on them is a bit Hmm

SmillasSenseOfSnow · 21/01/2016 16:14

I don't know about anyone else but I've started using willow bark instead of aspirin. Keeps me away from those nasty chemicals.

NewLife4Me · 21/01/2016 16:23

I used to give for temperature after trying other methods and pain but not as soon as the pain started.
My worry is them becoming immune to the benefits as they go through life.
Have a friend who took paracetamol every time they had a headache, whereas I tend to leave it until i can't stand the pain anymore.
Now, paracetamol does nothing for her and if she experiences pain has to have stronger pain killers prescribed.
I wouldn't want to do this to my children.

My dd quite often requires painkillers for dysmenorrhea and no way would I or school leave her in pain. We do both try and make her leave it until she really needs it though. Then she alternates paracetamol and ibuprofen as directed by her gp

honkinghaddock · 21/01/2016 16:54

That doesn't happen with paracetamol. Your friends headaches must have got worse.

honkinghaddock · 21/01/2016 16:58

The only danger of taking it for mild pain is the greater risk of exceeding the maximum safe dose because of taking it too many times in one day.

UnDeuxTroisCatsSank · 21/01/2016 17:21

newlife
No medical evidence for building up immunity to Paracetamol!

Adeleslostbeehive · 21/01/2016 19:35

Most people take Paracetemol every time they have a headache! That's what it's for!

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 19:35

I think NewLifecmeabs tolerance rather than immunity.

SingingSamosa · 21/01/2016 19:58

Most people take Paracetemol every time they have a headache! That's what it's for!

I don't! If I have a headache it's generally sinus related and so I do a sinus rinse and only take paracetamol if I know it's going to be one that's going to prevent me going to sleep, or actually wake me up in the night. When I take things like ibuprofen (which I shouldn't because I have IBD) or paracetamol, or one of the stronger ones from the GP, the relief from the pain in my body from my IBD and arthritis is extraordinary. But I don't want to start popping pain killers every day because that just leads down a terrible path, leading to stronger and stronger pain killers. So I enjoy the effect that milder pain killers have when I give in and take them. Long term use of paracetamol can lead to liver and kidney damage...it's a very common drug but it's not without its risks.

TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 20:06

Paracetamol has minimal risks.

I have had to take tramadol, diazepam, oramorph, dihydrocodeine, diclofenac, amongst others.

No nasty side effects and I've been taking some for a long time.

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 20:12

Riiiight....So because you haven't had any side effects (yet) they don't exist?

TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 20:24

Not saying that at all bumbley just that getting bad side effects is a lot less common than some make out

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 20:33

You should look up under reporting of ADRs...

TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 20:34

bumbley why are you so determined to find drugs unsafe?

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 20:38

I'm not. Just thought you might want to inform yourself about under reporting of ADRs if you're posting that bad side effects from drugs are uncommon.

TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 20:47

Even with them being under reported they're still not as common as people seem to think

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 20:52

Sigh...

Not surprisingly, adverse drug reactions are common. "Not surprisingly, adverse drug reactions are common. Most adverse drug reactions are relatively mild, and many disappear when the drug is stopped or the dose is changed. Some gradually subside as the body adjusts to the drug. Other adverse drug reactions are more serious and last longer. About 3 to 7% of all hospital admissions in the United States are for treatment of adverse drug reactions. Adverse drug reactions occur during 10 to 20% of hospital admissions, and about 10 to 20% of these reactions are severe."

And that's with under reporting.

Something else for you to ignore because it doesn't agree with your opinion.

bumbleymummy · 21/01/2016 21:00

I could keep going. It is a recognised issue so your idea that 'it isn't that common' is incorrect.

Disclaimer! Just to be clear, I am not saying that drugs are bad or that no one should ever take any medication(before cat tries to twist this into that). This is purely to address cat's point about reactions not being common.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 21/01/2016 21:11

Cats - I get where you're coming from in that paracetamol is very safe if used correctly, and useful in pain relief. Also, I completely agree that much alt med is woo.

However
a) adverse effects of medicines are very common. Just look at any SPC. Many of them are more tolerable than the disease being treated, but many are not and it's the patient's choice about whether use of the medicine or discontinuation is most beneficial. Medicines are great. Look at what we can treat these days. But let's not pretend they are without unwanted effects.

b) many alternative remedies e.g. Menthol inhalation, lemon and honey etc. are useful for their physical (not pharmacological) effects. No, they don't cure a cold and they don't shorten the duration, but they do relieve symptoms temporarily and make some cold sufferers "feel better" for a while.

Having said that I wouldn't hesitate to give paracetamol to a child with a cold who was a bit grouchy.

TheCatsMeow · 21/01/2016 21:14

I specifically said bad side effects bumbley and then you go to talk about mild ones

bumbleymummy · 22/01/2016 09:01

No, they're not only talking about mild ones.

Meh, I knew there was no point. You only see what you want to see. Waste of time.

Adeleslostbeehive · 22/01/2016 19:58

Well if you don't take them for a headache singing samosa that must mean nothing no one does!

Side effects of Paracetemol, with all due respect, are CLEARLY rare. Think how many are sold?! I have just asked my sister who has worked as a senior nurse in a&he for 15 years and she said the only Paracetemol related problems she has seen are overdose related. Not used as intended. We'd all know
Someone who had side effects if they were common. Everyone has Paracetemol in their house except singing samosa

Sister has however, seen 2 water overdoses, both related to extreme diets. One died

SingingSamosa · 22/01/2016 23:39

I never said I never took it - I said I didn't take it all the time.

I said the main reason I didn't take paracetamol regularly was because I don't want to end up on stronger and stronger painkillers as my body builds up a tolerance to paracetamol. I can, and do give my children calpol - when they NEED it.

Also, your sister is an A&E nurse - she wouldn't see chronic patients, only acute ones, so she wouldn't see the people whose livers or kidneys have damage from long-term use of paracetamol. It does happen. Not one but two members of my family were seen in hospital due to damage caused by it, and not through overdose. I'm talking about long term damage, not short term side effects.

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