Calpol!

[Poliosmolio123]

Why does everyone always jump to using Calpol straight away and it's always the first bit of advice they give?

Baby sad, ah must give them calpol
Baby teething Calpol!
Baby has a temperature raised by 0.2 of a degree, oh they need calpol
Baby not sleeping - give them Calpol!

Like, is it only me who just doesn't like the stuff or want to medicate my child willy nilly?

Its the first thing any of my family members do or say and it makes me feel like a shitty parent for not wanting to give it to them! Obviously I would if I was advised by a HC professional.

Is this totally unreasonable?

YABU - I use Calpol all the time
YANBU - I don't use it all the time

Don't get me started about anbesol.

I would love to use it but my baby screams her head off when I try. She hates it!!

Have you tried other brands/flavours? How old is she? If she takes bottles you could try popping the teat in her mouth and dispensing the syringe that way (if that makes sense), or suppositories, but they're wildly expensive.

It depends. I have one baby (3 months old) with a brain injury and I do use infant paracetamol a lot more than I would in a baby who doesn't have a brain injury. The other baby I foster (8 months old) seldom gets pain relief because he is one of the happiest, sunniest babies I have ever met but when he is unsettled it usually indicates something is not well in his world, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I have given him pain relief.

I think you know if it's needed. DS1 didn't really suffer with teething and would only have calpol if he was ill. DS2 seems to really struggle with it and we do get to the point of going oh just give him medicine just in case. He has also been teething pretty much solidly for over a year now so if you had a snapshot view you might think oh he's just sad or sleepless, but it's generally clear when he's miserable from Bein in pain.

Ok sorry @Poliosmolio123 but this....

I'm not trying to judge, but, everyone around me uses it at any given situation, I'm wondering if I am may be not using it enough!

Is a total lie.

That's not what you think at all, you're saying that now because you've started a thread judging people for using calpol, and instead everyone has judged you for not using it if your child is clearly in pain, so now you're backtracking. If you're going to start a thread like this then at least own it

If consoling my child in every other possible way doesn't work then I'm not just going to leave it to chance to see whether or not he's being whingey or is in actual physical discomfort and pain.

Children are poor communicators. Babies especially so.

It's not harming your child if you use it as instructed. 4 times over 24 hours, consult doctor if pain is ongoing.

But also people may use it as a prophylactic if they know their child is teething, or has cut themselves, or does ache, or is sore because it's cruel to just expect your child to suffer while you see if they get to grips with it themselves. It's probably more damaging that just giving them a dose of Calpol.

And what would you like the medal to say?

Well done OP. What prize would you like for being the worlds best insufferable twat parent?

I give my DD calpol whenever she seems ill, and if that was three times a week as you say then I would probably use it three times a week. Fortunately it isn't, but maybe you just know people whose children are often sick.

My dB is a paediatrician and every time I ring him his first question is how was she after calpol? And I have to admit I didn't try that and he'd go nuts asking if I had a child that I was at the point of ringing a hpc to ask for advice why I hadn't already tried a pain killer.

I think that these two articles sum the UK situation very nicely:

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/calpol-heroin-childhood-warning-doctor-14698975

and the secodn one is actually better - it accurately states that it's the Parents who are addicts:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/04/why-parents-are-addicted-to-calpol

we give it to babies who are too young to tell us what is wrong with them in the hope it will soothe them

Sadly the problem starts with inept GPs who tell you "just give them Calpol" foe bloody everything from "as prevention because they MAY get fever" to "IDK therefore Calpol".

@turnthebiglightoff Did I touch a nerve? Is that why you resort to name calling?

@ZooKeeper19 I'm in two minds after this thread! Obviously I just don't give a crap about my child enough to give her Calpol at every whim or every cry. Lots of upset parents here, lots of name calling.

I'm guilty of this. After 13 hours of screeching I gave in and used the luscious pink liquid

I use it when I think my children are in pain. Can usually tell. Definitely don't give it willy nilly, but yeah I have no problem giving it to my child if I feel it will help.

Every parent knows their own chuld, so they know when they are poorly and need calpol. And by giving it and a hour later seeing the difference you know you made the right call.

I have loads of friends with babies and I don't know any who use it willy nilly.

My daughter hates taking it so i only give it when needed. She has just had her injections.

Also I dont use anbesol but what is wrong with using it if it helps your baby?.

I'm guilty of this. After 13 hours of screeching I gave in and used the luscious pink liquid

If your child was screeching for 13 hours and the Calpol worked, then the screeching was about pain 🤷🏻‍♀️

Obviously I just don't give a crap about my child enough to give her Calpol at every whim or every cry

Your choice of language is really interesting. Whether you know it or not, you’re showing that you feel Calpol is in some way wrong.

I use calpol when the DC are in pain or have a temperature. The same way I use paracetamol myself. If I wanted them to sleep I didn't give them calpol, obviously, a bit of diazepam crushed into their juice was much more effective.

To be honest OP, calling an HCP before trying a common garden painkiller is really odd.

@Iwalkinmyclothing you know it

At the moment, DS's last canine is coming through. If we don't give him Nurofen before bed, he wakes at about 10 screaming his head off. If we do, he sleeps 12 solid hours. Oh no, what a horrible parent I am.

I'm more of the opinion that if I have something that helps it's cruel to withold it. It can be an excellent way of diagnosing something; DS was grumpy, with no signs of teething, the Calpol worked, so I took him to the GP and was given antibiotics for an ear infection.

Calpol is the lesser of the evils. Now 10 year old ended up in ICU two years ago with a gastric bleed after months on twice-daily naproxen for arthritis pain, despite prophylactic omeprazole. She now isn’t allowed any form of NSAIDs (ibuprofen etc.) she has pretty regular paracetamol but averaging over a week one dose a day, not anywhere near the max. I only give Calpol to youngest as and when needed, which is rare because she hasn’t got health issues but I wouldn’t leave her to struggle unnecessarily.

Yanbu Some people do tend to jump to it a bit quickly for things not even related to pain eg ‘a bit tired/long day’ etc.

NICE guidelines don’t recommend using it purely to bring down a fever - only if the child is in discomfort - but some people will give it even if the child is happily playing/eating/drinking simply because their temperature is a bit higher than normal.

@poliosmolio123 for someone who isn't judging you are coming off as very defensive, I haven't seen anyone say you don't care about your child - I have seen people saying that they do in fact give their child calpol and that it isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I've seen people saying that they don't - to use your phrase 'give it willy nilly'. That phrase actually makes it sound as though parents are giving it for no reason, which is untrue, and as others have pointed out it is often the first question a medical profession will ask in regards to a poorly child. In fact my doctor once told me off because I had run out of calpol, telling me that it was something I should always keep in my house which just goes to show you really can't please everyone. We all have our own ways of parenting and a bit of calpol as and when a parent feels their child needs it will not harm them (obviously continuously overdosing a child is another matter entirely but that's not what anyone on this thread is suggesting), nor will waiting to see if further symptoms develop harm your child if that is what you choose to do. I will say though, that delaying the pain relief could potentially prolong the childs suffering - but you as the parent are the best person to make that call depending on what you believe to be the right course of action.

Do you only take paracetamol if your doctor tells you to? Most people use it as required, with no ill effects. I don't understand why you are so worried about a bit of calpol- the people I know who use it most liberally are all medical.