To give him calpol, even if i'm not sure he's got a pain?

[SummerToad]

DS 9 mths has been crying, a lot, for about 3 hours. He never cries, he's a jolly, smiley happy thing. I thought it was just that he was very tired, we've had a busy day, although as a rule he isn't particularly fractious when tired.

I put him to bed at 7, and he's woken twice, really bawling. I can only assume he has a pain of some sort. Is it ok to give him some Calpol although i'm not sure he has got a pain?

He's been bright and cheery all day up until 5 ish

Is this what you do or am i reaching for it too early and i should try something (what?) else first?

If DS has been crying for a long time then I do tend to give calpol, my reasoning being that whether or not he was in pain in the first place, crying for an hour tends to give you one hell of a headache.

My doctor, who is very good and who i trust, told us the same Galena. Give calpol and get some rest x

YANBU, he might not be able to tell you but I'd strongly suggest from what you've said he's in some sort of pian.

btw just crying at night might be suggestive of an ear infection as they're more likely to get the pain when they're lying down.

Ds has been a very upset baby for the last few days and it's horrible when you don't know what the problem is, i really sympathise.

Galena, I'm not sure thats entirely true as use of paracetomol in the under ones has been strongly linked to asthma, eczema and hayfever with risk being dose-dependent i.e. more paracetomol the greater risk of developing these problems.

Not that one should panic over giving one dose of course and I certainly don't want to upset people who do use calpol but I think its important that we acknowledge any risks associated with products we give our children so that we can make informed decisions regarding their use.

the fact that you are worried shows you are not a calpol druggie like some. agree he might be ill/teething. try it

One evening I think is ok, but not more than one without getting it checked out.

With DD1 at a similar age we gave calpol for 2 days and went to see a dr on the third day. She had an ear infection and he was very stern with us about using painkillers without finding out the cause first, since the calpol wasn't going to resolve the problem.

Then of course when DD2 was distressed and I made an appointment straight away (different doctor) the first question was 'Have you given her painkillers?' and when I said no, 'Why not? You shouldn't leave a child in pain!'

Of course I was worried about masking her symptoms after what the other doctor had said!

I hope your little boy has been better today.

Thank you everyone for you concern and support. I did give him some and then he had a cuddle and went to sleep and slept all night and has been fine and bright today. Just one more mystery i will never know the answer to, but he's fine now, Thanks again

39 - don't you just love drs always contradicting each other. No wonder we get confused.

Glad he's back to normal SummerToad