Make your own Calpol?!?

[Liv83]

I need calpol at the moment for my 14 month old baby.
He has a slight temperature and the shops are completely empty due to the coronavirus worry. I expressed my frustration that people had bulk bought for 'just in case' and I need some right now for my unwell baby.
Someone I know just had a go at me telling me to not be so stupid and to "make my own Calpol as it's only paracetamol."
That sounds like the most terrifying idea! How on earth would you know the exact amount to use etc and I understood that crunching up paracetamol tablets was dangerous as they are designed to release slowly.
I was under the impression that medicine manufacture was a scientific art! Maybe I'm wrong!!!

Obviously don't do this for a 14 month old and don't try and dissolve/crush any full tablets in anything to try and calculate doses for older children.

But - if the correct dose for an older child is half a regular tablet and you have the tablets with the line to mark the half dose, it would be ok to cut the tablet in two and crush one HALF tablet in a spoon of jam and give that.

Might be a silly suggestion but have you tried the supermarkets own branded liquid paracetamol m it doesn't have to be calpol

Might be a silly suggestion but have you tried the supermarkets own branded liquid paracetamol m it doesn't have to be calpol

I assume when people use the word calpol they are usually just referring to any old childrens paracetamol. I know I never buy branded medications if I can help it but I always call liquid paracetamol calpol, antacids are always rennies etc. Its just a habit. Although I do accept that some people believe the branded ones are more effective or stronger looking at you DSIL buying panadol that's over 10x more expensive than bog standard paracetamol

That's what I thought but shockingly my sil told me yesterday she thought calpol was the only paracetamol for kids that existed... so you never know!

Calpol should contain 250mg paracetamol in 5ml of liquid, that’s if you shake it correctly to mix it. Inevitably the last bit in the bottle will likely contain more. Yet here you all are, screaming at your screens at the thought of someone making their own.
Except the infant formula (which the op would need) is actually 120mg per 5ml. You do realise that paracetamol is quite a dangerous drug in overdose. And the amount to overdose can be quite small.