Calpol & teething

[francohoops]

Hi
Baby boy is just over 4 months.
Been teething for past 2 months, starting to see the whites of the teeth coming through gums,

Been giving him 4/5ml of Calpol last 4/5 nights. Is it ok to keep doing this?

We don't give it to him in the day only at night, but bottle says consult GP after 3 days.

What should we do? The Calpol works for him, but we don't want to get him hooked, or cause him any harm.

Please help.

F

I think if you're giving it to him for teething then it's ok to carry on. Pretty sure they can't get hooked!

I think the advice to consult GP is for if you're giving it for a fever or other illness, teething isn't an illness it's just a developmental stage. But if you're worried, could you give your HV a ring?

HTH

Your DS will not get hooked on Calpol. It is not addictive (apart from the taste!). The reason for the warning to see the GP after 3 days is simply to make sure that something more serious is not being missed (eg. if you were using it for a cold that hadn't got at all better after 3 days, it is sensible to see the GP to make sure it isn't pneumonia).

So if you are happy that your DS is teething, you should be OK to continue with the Calpol.

I found Nurofen worked better than Calpol for teething. Especially when combined with Bonjela.

But make sure you get the baby version of Bonjela, the adult stuff isn't suitable for under-16s!

We've gone through gallons of paracetamol and I had the same worry so asked my GP. He said it was fine, the warning was to ensure parents consulted their GP so more serious illnesses did not go untreated.

Don't buy Calpol unless you want to waste money - it is just branded paracetamol. Tesco and most other supermarkets do their own much cheaper and in bigger bottles. Pharmacists also often have their own brand and can reassure you it is as effective as Calpol. Ditto for baby nurofen/ibuprofen.

Thanks for your posts