giving calpol too often?

[mollysmum82]

DD is 17 months old and still sometimes wakes a few times at night. I worried it might be teething one night so I gave her calpol and she slept all the rest of the night. This was so unusual for her! I've recently tried to night wean DD and cuddle her in her cot instead now when she wakes. But sometimes when she really won't settle and it takes over an hour I give her calpol and this sends her straight off to sleep. I feel so guilty about this and I feel like such a horrendous mum because she isn't showing signs of teething in the day so I feel like I'm drugging her just to get some sleep.

Do you think she is genuinely in pain and this is why the calpol helps her sleep? Is it dangerous to give calpol once a night?

Please don't shout at me!

Calpol is just paracetamol, it doesn't contain anything to make people sleep. So, she's either sleeping because the Calpol has stopped the thing which was hurting and keeping her awake. Or possibly, she's learning to connect Calpol and sleepiness if you are giving it to her quite often - people can learn to associate things together even if it doesn't actually work. How often are you giving her it, and how longs has it been going on? If it's most nights, or for a while now, then you maybe need to try other things. But if its just occasionally, and you've tried to settle her other ways, then I don't think you need to worry.

I don't think that giving the calpol once a night will be doing any real harm, but on the other hand if she needs it because she is really experiencing pain then she probably should be seen by the gp just to rule out anything specific, or just to give you some reassurance!!

Suppose it all depdends on how long you have been giving it nightly??

Also, I have occasionally given my DS calpol when 'unsure' what is keeping him awake but now that he is a older he does if I am honest link 'the pink medicine' with being poorly or being made a big fuss off, it hasnt caused any huge problems but I dont want DS to grow up believing that medicine is comfort or a substitute for other ways of helping.

I was like this with Ds. If he woke I assumed it was his teeth and give him calpol. Then when he's teeth hadn't come through for a while I started to panic I'd been giving him too much!

If he wakes up now I go in and lay him back down and tell him to go back to sleep. 9/10 times he does, other times I have got him up for half and hour. If he cries in that time I'll then get the calpol and some milk.

He is 18 months now

Giving Calpol every day is obviously not advised. It's metabolised by liver and there's no reason to overload baby's immature digestive system by giving a medecine every night.Paracetamol is not a totally innocous drug people seem to believe it to be. In fact, even keeping to the recommended doses can cause damage to the liver (rarely, but even so).
Also I believe a heavy use of paracetamol has been linked to higher incidence of asthma.

So, once in a while is fine, every day-definitely no.

Thanks for the reassurance ladies, it good to know others have been there too.

Winnybella, thanks for the info. Its not been every day luckily, and its only when I've eliminated other causes of waking. Its more I was thinking would it be dangerous if it ended up being every day? But I will take her to the GP before it gets to that stage.

Thanks again x

I think any GP would tell you that giving paracetamol few times a week, every week is not a good thing to do. Why don't you call and ask? I really think it should be limited to only when they really need it ie fever or in obvious discomfort from teething etc.