doses of calpol and nurofen versus their generic counterparts....

[KickArseQueen]

Ok so my dc's have been ill recently. The usual stuff, virus with high temp, moving on to throat/ ear infections.

I have 4 dcs so consequently we have been through quite a bit of calpol and nurofen and I realised that the doses for different ages are different depending on the brand.

Surely there should be a definitive dose as they are the same strength??

Also when ds1 was taken in to hospital after a febrile covulsion the ambulance guys, the nurse and the paediatric consultant all told me that children should always be given the max dose for their age group. I know several other people who have been toldthe same. The gp has informed me a year later that children should always be given the minimum dose for their age group! and even that 5 mls of calpol is the max dose for a 3 year old.

Has anyone else noticed this or feel its just plain confusing???

Then you add in the double strength calpol for over sixes.....

they should be the same dose...nurofen and ibuprofen syrup and calpol 120 and 240 mg should be the same as paracetamol suspension 120mg and 240 mg

i believe this is the recommended quidelines for paracetamol
In general, children's dosages are based on a single dose of 10mg paracetamol per kilogram bodyweight, which can be repeated 4-6 hourly, not exceeding four doses per 24 hours.

The dose of the active ingredient will always be the same (as pointed out above). How many spoonsful you need to give to deliver this dose could I suppose vary (have to say I never noticed this). The important thing is always to read the label and follow the instructions for the brand you have on the go at the time.

www.pharmweb.net/pwmirror/pwy/paracetamol/pharmwebpicdosage.html these are the guidelines i believe

Paracetamol doses don't tend to vary by brand. The strength of the medicine is standardised - ibuprofen always 100mg/5ml and paracetamol 120 or 240mg/5ml.

But the max dose on the label for ibuprofen medicines does vary by brand - eg some own brands might say 2.5ml up to 4 x daily, another might say 5ml up to 3 times daily.

The total max doses tends to be roughly the same though.

When I took DS to hospital, their dosage calculated by weight turned out to be slightly less than the dose I was giving him, according to the packet instructions. The labels will always advise a safe dose for the child though, as they are designed to be given at home by non medical people.

So they do vary a bit, but as long as you follow the directions, you be ok

I'm a nurse, and I always give the max dose allowed to my DCs. I don't give it very often though.

KAQ - the infant paracetamol, when my DS had a very high temp and was 13 months old, I happily gave him 10ml each dose. 5ml for 3 year olds would be fine if you were using 6 plus, but sounds mean of that GP TBH!

I mean, if you couldn't give 10ml doses to a 1year old, the packet wouldn't say that you can The packets are meant to be fairly numpty proof straightforward to interpret.

Paracetamol is 120mg/5ml for 3months up, and 250mg/5ml for the 6+, not 240 like I put earlier not numpty proof tis late

Both DCs have febrile convulsions and we were given dosage by weight. DS was on adult doses from the age of 10 rather than 12 because of his size.

The hospital worked out the calculation for me but it is 15mg of paracetamal per kg in weight of child and 10mg of ibroprufen per kg.

The 2 months + suspension is 120mg per 5ml
an average 3 year is say 15kg therefore can have 15 x 15mg which is 225mg which is just under two 5 ml spoons, much easier to do by syringe where you can measure more accurately.

6+ is 250mg per 5 mil so you need just under half as much.

Hope this makes sense

sorry festive, i pressed the 4 instead of 5. it is 250mg

Hiya, well having 4 dcs of differing ages and frequently running low on sleep when they are ill I always check the dosage on the bottle before I give it to them :)

I had (dp has recycled the nurofen bottle ) 2 ibuprofens here with conflicting doses - one saying more than the other for the same age.

I also have 2 bottles of paracetamol here both 120mg/5ml. On the face of it I can give my 15 month old ds2 10mls of calpol and yet the other bottle was prescribed for my 3 year old ds1 and states he is only allowed 5 ml.

I even went back to the Mrs Raven on the desk and queried the dose because the gp had prescribed 2 bottles of calpol, one for my ds (120/5ml) and 1 for dd1 (250/5ml)and I actually wondered if he had gotten a bit confused. The Mrs Raven checked with the gp and informed me that was the absolute maximum allowable dose for a 3 yr old, any more than 5mls would be an over dose. I commented that on the side of the bottle it stated 5-10 mls for his age group and she said that was irrelevant. I'm guessing he weighs about 20 kg, but the gp hadn't checked his weigh or asked.

My ds1 has previously had a febrile convulsion when he was 20 months old and I was told to give him 10 mls for every temperature to get it down and that if 10 mls wouldn't get it down to get him to the gp asap because once he starts to spike his temp is uncontrollable.

So I have 1 group of proffesionals saying give full dose and another saying give minimum.

I guess I would just like a definative answer :)

I think I will be getting my younger 2 weighed tomorrow and start dosing them as per their body weight ;)

Thanks for your insights :)

"In general, children's dosages are based on a single dose of 10mg paracetamol per kilogram bodyweight, which can be repeated 4-6 hourly, not exceeding four doses per 24 hours."

Sooo, just check me on my math

10mg x 20kg = 200

10mls = 240mg

1ml = 24mg

200 divided by 24 = 8.3333

so if ds1 is 20 kg then he should have 8.3mls

I'm crap at maths

It's only 10gm per kg for small babies for paracetamol over that its 15mg

ok,

15mg x 20kg =300

300 divided by 24 = 12.5

so 12.5 mls???

Weigh tomorow I think! just to make sure!

paracetamol calculator here

Thats fantastic bruffin, thankyou!

Clinic was closed today so I'll try again tommorrow, bloody snow!

I noticed that on tesco's own calpol thingy, the dosage table went from oldest to youngest and on calpol it goes from youngest to oldest. Have you double checked?

LOL! yes I have double and triple checked The thought of starting a thread and then going "oops my mistake" would be a bit embarrassing!

A doctor friend of mine gave me an invaluable tip years ago. Write it down. If you are having a round the clock, two kids poorly situation, make notes of timings, doses and temperatures. This prevents confusion when /if a hospital trip is required and all you need to do is hand over your bit of paper.
This worked well for us when one awful night we had to take DS to hospital with a raging ear infection. They knew instantly from my scrappy old envelop jottings what and how much and why I had had given him medication.

:) Yes we do that too,

Last week I had 4 dc ill plus me. dd1, had been prescribed anti bs 3 times a day, a nose cream 4 times a day, and nose drops twice a day, dd2 Ds1 was prescribed anti bs 4 times a day (but would only take them when sleeping) I was prescribed antibs 4 times a day.

All 4 dcs and me were running temps and so had nurofen/ paracetamol added to the list.

If I didn't write things down - which child, how much, and when then I wouldn't have a clue!
But you are absolutley right, if you are having to medicate your children its well worth writing down what they have had.

:)