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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:
MiniCooperLover · 20/01/2016 07:15

Why are you being so aggressive Balloonslayer? What does it matter to you how people deal with their own children ?? I've said it works for my son, that's the end of it. Stop trying to make out we are all stupid just because we may do something you disagree with.

PunkrockerGirl · 20/01/2016 07:16

Intravenous Paracetamol is the dog's bollocks

Jw35 · 20/01/2016 07:16

Yes Mini they do

Sirzy · 20/01/2016 07:19

Can I just jump into the Vicks argument to ask people to be very careful using it on asthmatics as anything like that can be a trigger for asthma in a lot of people.

And on that note I better leave the thread as Ds takes 7 different medicines each day!

tobysmum77 · 20/01/2016 07:22

Yabu for posting on Facebook about dc being ill.

HermioneJeanGranger · 20/01/2016 07:26

Why would you want your small child to feel rotten with a cold when you could give them something to make them feel better? Confused

Colds make me feel tired, run-down and irritable, but taking some lemsip or tablets at the onset makes me feel much better and less grumpy. Why would you not want to help your child feel better? OK, it doesn't cure their cold but it will make them feel a lot better.

MiaowTheCat · 20/01/2016 07:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BertrandRussell · 20/01/2016 07:30

" I read putting it on their feet helps it soak into the bloodstream quicker and works more effectively?"
This really, really isn't how Vicks works. Please don't believe anything else on whatever website you've been reading......

firesidechat · 20/01/2016 07:36

Vicks is wonderful stuff - rubbed on the chest and neck! I use it myself when I'm congested.

Can't you get a child friendly version of it that you can use on young children. Not on their feet though.

MiniCooperLover · 20/01/2016 07:37

Snuffle babe is good for under 3s

mamadoc · 20/01/2016 07:41

I'm a dr. I am a believer in pharmacology. Calpol is paracetamol which is an anti-inflammatory. If you have a bad cold and your nose is streaming with snot, you have a temp, headache, muscle ache, sore throat those are due to an inflammatory reaction to the cold virus so QED you take an anti-inflammatory and feel better. It doesn't cure the cold but it provides relief from symptoms which is a good in itself.

Same applies for my DC. They can't tell me how they are feeling but if they look ill why would I withhold something that can help them.

It is not a sedative. Of course you shouldn't give it just for lack of sleep but if I think the lack of sleep is due to inflammation or pain I will give it.

Paracetamol is pretty harmless in the correct dose so I have a low threshold to give it. Neurofen I am more cautious with as it is largely safe but can affect kidneys so I reserve that for where I've already tried calpol and it didn't work.

I am not a believer in homeopathy, Amber, arnica, cough syrup or anything else with no scientific evidence of benefit so I don't give these to DC or use them myself

Kr1stina · 20/01/2016 07:47

I'm a bit like you, OP. I don't take anything when I'm ill either. There's no cure for a cold confused plus I hate paracetamol!

I think most people take these meds to relieve the symptoms of a cold, they know they can't cure it .

TattyDevine · 20/01/2016 07:48

I use Paracetamol or Nurofen with my children where I would use it for myself.

I never use it for myself as a sleep aid as such, because it isn't one, and won't work as one.

If pain is distracting enough to stop sleep, then in a roundabout way pain relief might aid sleep though.

Really bad tooth pain (i.e teething - though mine barely suffered with teething, as far as I know anyway) - sore throat - hard to know if they have a really bad tonsillitis type pain or just a scratchy throat, so if unsettled I may give them the benefit of the doubt and try it - as it's medicine, not poison). If they seem to just be congested, some kind of menthol eucalyptus as appropriate to their age - personally I'm a fan of using it somewhere near your nose or head not on feet which appear to be at the other end of the body.

Anybody who uses it just because they are not sleeping is a bit dim and unlikely to see any results. But I don't really know anybody like that.

Go the fuck to sleep is a perfectly reasonable status on Facebook if you are feeling that you wish they would go the fuck to sleep, in my opinion. I posted a similar one at 11:30pm on Christmas Eve when my 8 and 6 year olds were still not asleep and I wanted to do santa stuff and get myself off to bed. Various friends piled in with their own anecdotes of how their children are also not yet asleep, which made me feel better and like I was not the only one, which is what Facebook can be really good for if you choose your friends wisely. Like a remote huddle. Nowt wrong with that.

taybert · 20/01/2016 07:52

People give calpol too help their child sleep in case they area in pain. Babies can't tell you if something hurts and even toddlers can't always reliably report pain. If my child usually slept then was unsettled and crying one night then it's reasonable to assume that something has changed. After checking obvious things I might give painkillers in case he was teething, sore throat etc. Seemed sensible to me but clearly I'm a loon!

annandale · 20/01/2016 07:55

I'm not a doctor but I am an HCP and I work at times in a head and neck cancer unit. I've seen people go through radiotherapy on paracetamol alone (not many of them) so I know it is a good painkiller. I also know that pain is a bugger and disrupts lots of other body systems, while rest is a great healer, so if my child needs rest and can't get it due to symptoms I can help with, then I will.

Silvercatowner · 20/01/2016 07:58

Do people really think Vicks enters the bloodstream? Seriously? If it did (and it really shouldn't) then it absolutely wouldn't be sold OTC. There is no mechanism for it to directly enter the bloodstream (have you tried it on a mucous membrane??!), skin is a useful organ in preventing this sort of rather dangerous thing happening.

Badders123 · 20/01/2016 07:58

Wow.
You win.
You're the best parent.
Jesus.
FYI I give pain relief as I would if I were ill myself or when instructed to by a dr.
If I had a cold and cough I would take painkillers before bed.
I think most people would?
Just because it's a baby they dont get the same care?
What an odd thread.

TweeterandtheMonkeyman · 20/01/2016 08:13

My two beg me for Calpol ( take after their mother where pharmaceuticals are concerned Grin) - no "ramming down their throats" needed!
What are the long term effects of regular doses of Calpol does anyone know??
Oh and Piriton is the dogs bollocks for a persistent night cough (recommended by my GP)

NeedACleverNN · 20/01/2016 08:14

Yabu. Ds (10.5 months) has got his first cold. If I hadn't given him any calpol I doubt he would have slept last night or eaten this morning.

He looks miserable and I think the calpol is helping him slightly.

He must have had a headache or something as soon as the calpol wore off he was crying again

dementedpixie · 20/01/2016 08:25

For a snotty blocked nose you can use saline nasal spray and it is suitable for babies too.

SoupDragon · 20/01/2016 08:26

skin is a useful organ in preventing this sort of rather dangerous thing happening.

And yet patches help with HRT, stopping smoking, pain... It's not An unlikely mistake to make.

(No, I don't for one second think that Vicks works by entering the bloodstream. As I child I had a contact allergy to it so my mum put it on my vest instead - it still worked.)

HippyPottyMouth · 20/01/2016 08:30

As others have said, I give medication to my daughter if I would take it myself for the same symptoms. In appropriate doses, it is safe. If I have a cold and feel shitty, I take Sudafed. I can't give that to a toddler, so Calpol and snuffle babe is the next best thing. If she stops crying and goes to sleep, chances are she was awake because she was suffering and the paracetamol has done its job. It wouldn't put her to sleep on its own, it addresses the problem that was keeping her awake.

Adeleslostbeehive · 20/01/2016 08:33

We use ibruprofen/ calpol for teething here. It's awful to see them clutching their jaw in pain. That's what it's for!

That said I do think babies seem to be pretty highly medicated. I think so many people (ime grandparents absolutely guilty of this!) want to give "something" to make them feel better.
I am almost at the end of my Patience with MIL who instructs me Ds needs to be at the GP every time she visits. DS is teething. It's not a reason to see the GP. She also says DS needs antibiotics for colds and coughs.
SILs baby has been on 2 courses of antibiotics in her first 6 months- both times the Dr hasn't wanted to prescribe them but SIL has persuaded them somehow. That's a real problem, antibiotic resistance.

We use sugar free calpol- better for their teeth/ gums than sugared. There is no other difference

bumbleymummy · 20/01/2016 08:38

YANBU! It seems to be go-to thing everything a child has a sniffle or a long day.

If I have a cold and feel a bit miserable I don't take paracetamol for it. I take lemon/honey and go to bed for a while. I do know some adults who take paracetamol for everything too so I guess it's not that surprising that some people give it to their children for everything too.

bumbleymummy · 20/01/2016 08:40

Oh, and I bloody hate lemsip. It tastes disgusting and makes me want to vomit.

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