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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

teething - not keen on giving calpol

52 replies

DuelingFanjo · 05/09/2011 07:50

But should I? DS has two teeth through at eight months. He wakes a lot in the night but can normally be settled with teething gel, powder or breast. Everyone suggests calpol. Is it cruel for me to not give him any?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Tee2072 · 05/09/2011 07:51

Why are you not keen?If you gave him some at bedtime he may not wake at all.

HumphreyCobbler · 05/09/2011 07:52

if he settles with the other stuff I wouldn't bother.

I had one child that didn't need calpol at all whilst teething and one child who needed it. I would stick to what you are doing if it works for you.

SheCutOffTheirTails · 05/09/2011 07:58

Make your decision based on what he needs, not what you are keen on.

If you had persistent, pointless pain that you knew the exact cause of, would you take a painkiller?

Are you really going to let a baby suffer needlessly because of this lack of keenness?

I presume you must have a very good reason for your antipathy to paracetamol.

Original poster

DuelingFanjo · 05/09/2011 08:00

I'm not keen because I have read so much negative stuff about it. I don't want to dose him up just for my sake but would do if there's a real benefit for him and no other alternatives. I am finding it a bit hard to know what to say as everyone I talk to just says 'calpol' and I am not sure if they are thinking of me (lack of sleep) or him (pain) or just defaulting to calpol as that's what everyone does. He has only had it once in 8 months when he had a temerature and a cold.

OP posts:

levantine · 05/09/2011 08:02

I think if he is in pain you should give it to him.

Original poster

DuelingFanjo · 05/09/2011 08:03

yes, if I had toothache I would take something. That's why I am worried and asking really. I am worried I am hurting him by not wanting to give Calpol. There are other painkillers - we have baby Neurofen stuff, would that work as well. I have read that it's not got the same bad reputation as calpol.

OP posts:

awkwardsituation101 · 05/09/2011 08:03

After BF DD and then weaning her onto 'good' stuff only it did seem strange to give her bright pink, sugary, false strawberry smelling, gloopy calpol! But I was glad that I did!

If the other approaches are working fair enough but it is essentially a painkiller and if your DC is in pain then to deny a painkiller could be a bit harsh.......

Original poster

DuelingFanjo · 05/09/2011 08:05

ok, thank you. I might ask my mum what she did with me when I was a child as we didn't have Calpol. I will give it to him if he's bad tonight (or a substitute) as I really don't want to be denying him pain relief.

OP posts:

busybee1983 · 05/09/2011 08:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Magnumwhite · 05/09/2011 08:09

If you are going to use pain relief I always found Ibuprofen much more effective than Calpol anyway for my ds.
of course you don't want to overuse drugs in a baby. no one does.
If you can settle him with teething granules (my ds loved them) which contact Chamomila, or dentinox/bonjela (not very effective for my ds) then all the better. But if he still seems uncomfortable why not give pain relief in a responsible way? Dental pain can be grim and it can vary from quiet/grumbling, to acute and stabbing.

Paschaelina · 05/09/2011 08:09

Nurofen is better for teething as it's anti-inflammatory.

Magnumwhite · 05/09/2011 08:10

contain Chamomila not contact. Doh!

SheCutOffTheirTails · 05/09/2011 08:15

Well of course you shouldn't ever dose a child for your sake.

And if gels and breastfeeding are settling him, then he doesn't need it.

But the times when they don't - then, if your choice is leaving him to cry in pain or giving him a painkiller, I think it is mean to withhold it.

Don't dose him for your sake, but don't not-dose him for your sake either (because you want to be the kind of mother who doesn't use it).

IME the single best thing for getting through teething is sleep. So it's easier for a child who sleeps well and doesn't wake frequently than a child who wakes several times a night, because they sleep through the pain.

This has a knock-on effect the next day because tiredness makes the child less well able to cope the next day.

So if he's waking but easily getting back to sleep with cuddles, bfing, gel, then great, if he's in too much pain to get back to sleep then give him calpol, I would also give calpol if the pain is causing him to wake more frequently than usual.

Sleep is really good for babies, not just for their parents.

GoingLoopy · 05/09/2011 08:18

Homeopathic chamomile is great for settling them and arnica reduces the inflammation. We found this as effective as calpol.

SheCutOffTheirTails · 05/09/2011 08:20

You'd use Nurofen in preference to paracetamol because you've heard bad things about Calpol?

Some doctors recommend not giving Nurofen to babies under 1.

I would use paracetamol first.

pinkytheshrinky · 05/09/2011 08:30

Agree with SheCutOffTheirTails - I would always use paracetamol first but have also used nurofen occasionally with my lot.

Can I just say that I do feel you may be over thinking this one a little. You are clearly a sensible person and not going to over do things so really I cannot see the problem (but i am relaxed to the point of benign neglect!!!!)

gillybean2 · 05/09/2011 08:40

ds does not respond to nurofen and having heard negative things about it I would pick Calpol over it every time.

Why would you choose to leave your child in pain when you wouldn't do so for yourself? Give the minimum recommended does (it comes with a measuring syringe for babies). And speak to your pharmacist/gp if you are unsure which option is most suitable for your dc.

Original poster

DuelingFanjo · 05/09/2011 08:48

many thanks shecutofftheirtails, I didn't know that about the neurofen stuff. he has only had that once too. also have the prescribed paracetamol stuff from the doctor. He does settle easily with gels and powders and boob but I am getting woken hourly some nights and it's me who really needs a sleep. I just feel a bit like I would be giving him medicine for my sake but I do take the point that I need my sleep too.

I don't leave him in pain but I am frustrated by the lack of sleep.

I don't take painkillers often myself but of course wouldn't deny my son relief from pain. He was on antiBiotic for the first 9 days of his life so I do know that medicines help.

thanks for all the advice.

OP posts:

ChunkyPickle · 05/09/2011 08:53

Don't get hung up on brand names, just read the ingredients and give either Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) or Ibuprofen depending on the recommendations for the age and type of pain the baby has.

I've given mine infant tylenol (paracetamol) 3 times now - each time when he had a high temperature (his only teething symptom luckily) and it works like magic. From irritated, upset, hot baby to his normal self in 20 minutes. I have no doubt that it was the right thing to do.

mejon · 05/09/2011 10:35

I understand your concern about the constant advice to give Calpol as it seems some people give it willy-nilly for the most spurious of reasons. However relief from teething gel/powders is only temporary as his hourly wakings show so in those circumstances I would give painkillers. DD2 is starting to have gip with her gums and I've given her the odd dose of ibuprofen or paracetamol as she's clearly in pain and distressed but I'll only give it when needed and not as a matter of course 'just in case'.

adamantmine · 06/09/2011 19:20

My DS started teething 3 months with an awful 2hr long shriek. calpol a frequent helper - until he turned 1, when a friend gave me an amber necklace for him. My entirely sceptical partner had to admit there's something to it when, within 24hrs, our son calmed right down and rarely needed calpol again. He continued to dribble for England, but the pain was gone, virtually for good. Molars, no problem.

Apparently amber contains some kind of analgesic which is faintly released when warmed by the skin (I did do some research online to confirm this).

The main fear with this is that one's child chokes on the necklace, but if it's short, sits above the collar bone, this seems a highly unlikely scenario. And necklaces for little ones are made with a knot between each bead so that if it breaks, there aren't a heap of little beads strewn about ready for an alternative way to choke to death.

I recommend it highly as it worked brilliantly for my DS...

happygilmore · 06/09/2011 19:46

I think you're over-thinking this - if he needs pain relief, give him it, if not, don't.

DD got pretty much all of her teeth through in a month, I think if we had witheld calpol it would have been cruel. She has a bad cold just now and not herself at all, when we have given her some medicine you can see what a different child she is after 15 mins (and she's too young to understand that it should make her better).

Paracetamol does have risks but it is one of the safest painkillers there is (for both adults and children).

girliefriend · 06/09/2011 19:54

I think you are def over thinking things, if the baby is miserable and not settling and you know they are teething or ill then give them some medicine. It is cruel not to really.

memphis83 · 06/09/2011 19:54

I agree with adamantmine I hav e been a bit at the amber necklaces but after 13 months of trouble and only 4 teeth I bought him one and he has slept better in the last week than he has in months, he is calmer and a lot happier and we have gone from pain relief every 4 hours to at the most once a day if not at all, we also use the powders.
The own brand 'calpol' doesnt have the amount of e number in like in the real calpol, from reading stuff online this is the main concern.

peggotty · 06/09/2011 19:54

Dear god, my ds was having neurofen nightly for a week or more at a time when he was teething a couple if years ago and on the really bad days, calpol as well. he was absolutely miserable with teething and so was I! I did it for both of us

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