Adminstering medicine- weird comment from nurse

[Samraves]

Hi,

Maybe it is me for asking a strange question..

After dd's jabs yesterday the nurse said I should give dd some calpol if she was feeling sore, to just give half a tea spoon. I asked (perhaps stupidly) did I need to sterilise the tea spoon? She looked at me as though I were mad and said 'you dont sterilise your breasts do you?'

Well- obviously not. But I do sterilise bottles and pump. I have heard you should sterilise dummies too. However clearly we dont sterilise toys which they also put in their mouths. What is the difference between dummies and toys? And in the end I washed the spoon and ran boiling water over it as a compromise.

What does everyone else do?

i don´t know the logic behind it but I sterilised bottles/ dummies until he started putting things in his mouth then by exactly the same reasoning as you I stopped sterilising. With ds2 who is due shortly i am sure i will be even less vigilant about sterilising.

The reason for sterilising bottles and dummies is to make sure we kill the milk bacteria iirc

I would wash toys if they got milk spilt on them too.

You may sterilise the bottles and dummies but the milk you give is not sterile; neither is the calpol. The plastic spoon in the calpol box only needs to be thoroughly washed.

I recall some celeb (I think it was Jemima Khan) wrote quite an amusing piece on this. She was talking about weaning and was wondering whether she needed to sterilise the pans before cooking the carrots to puree!

To be honest it's an understandable question! I sterilised dummies and bottles until about 9 or 10 months (after I found DD eating a shoe) and then they went in the dishwasher on a hot wash after that. Medicine spoons the same.

Toys I wipe down with dettol every so often. I kind of believe kids need to build up some immunity to bacteria so try not to keep them in a bubble but obviously just keep stuff reasonably clean.

You would think nurses would know enough about new mothers to answer any questions nicely rather than acting like we're all bonkers.

I wouldn't put it in a steriliser, I'd just put it in a cup of freshly boiled water for a few minutes. Can't hurt can it :)

Did she say it nicely though, or was she dismissive/scornful?

I think Jemima Khan had her babies in Pakistan, so maybe there it was necessary to sterilise a lot more then it is here.

Sterilizing is more to do with bacteria feeding off left-over milk, but actually sterilizing at all isn't strictly necessary and a good wash with hot soapy water is fine.

Thanks :) glad you don't all think I am bonkers!

I don't have a dishwasher so think a dip in boiling water at this age is prob a good idea. Makes sense that sterilising is more about milk bacteria...

I will be trying not to turn into a paranoid mum...

I do find myself getting paranoid if people start playing with dd's hands when I know they haven't washed them recently because I don't yet wash dd with soap and she is forever putting her hands in her mouth. I need to lighten up I guess!

I think sterilising is mostly needed bc formula is a great breeding ground for bacteria. Some people say don't even bother sterilising kit for expressed milk - just make sure it's cleaned well.