More exact paracetamol dosing for children to be introduced

[Milliways]

Read an article today that the "6-12" year age banding is to be split into 3 bands (6-8, 8-10 & 10-12) with new guidelines for the amount of liquid paracetamol doses.

here

Hurrah! about bloody time too!

Why don't they just do it by weight, as they do it in France? Some 6 yo can weigh more than 9yos

Actually - I wish they would split by weight or something. I see my DD who is a lot taller & bigger (but not overweight) next to one of her friends who is tiny. But they both fit into the same age category.
Again DD with some of her other friends who are even taller and bigger and the same age.
I cannot believe that the same dose is appropiate for all of these children.

winnybella - because they think parents are too stupid to know their children's weight.

Belgo - I don't actually know my childrens weight because I do not need to at the moment. It is irrelevant for clothes sizes and if DS has grown out of the need for a car seat.
If I needed to know this for medicine dosage, I would weigh them!

May be some organs are not as developed and unable to process the drugs, regardless of weight?

theItgirl - as soon as I typed that I realised I don't know my children's exact weights What I mean is that they think parents are too stupid to be able to follow a weight related dosing scheme.

here are some comments on that article that talk about weight dosage in preference to age.

They should come with a syringe and be dosed according to weight.

Both both of mine were prem so I've always modified calpol dosages. It makes much more sense to do it on size than age.. The difference is size in my 6 year olds class is astonishing!

They should have weight guidelines my dd was in hosp recently and they gave her 20 mls of calpol when on the bottle it would have been 10 as it was same bottle of medicine I have at home

Just gt back from Spain where DS was in need of doctor. Given prescription as I'd almost run out.
The quantity of drug to liquid was totally different AND done by his weight so he had 1 ml of the medicine but the % in the suspension (liquid?!?) was much higher.
It was SOoooo much easier to force get down his throat

Thanks Milli, that really useful!

Maydaychild - the problem with having a higher concentration of the medicine is that it is easier to accidentally overdose.

In Belgium we have weight related dose, but I still use Calpol, which are more conservative in their doses.

There is an issue (albeit only small so far) with using weight related doses in the obese child. I have been involved in the care of a 70kg 8 year old, a 50kg 5 year old and a colleague was recently involved with a 120kg 12 year old.

Ok, with the 12 year old an adult dose would be fine but it would not be appropriate for the other 2 regardless of actual body weight. Calculating a dose based closer to ideal body weight is better but then you have to expect parents to know their child's ideal weight.

For safety in over the counter medicines I can see why an age related limit also makes sense.

Good point belgo
He had tonsillitis wouldn't swallow and couldnt keep anything down which is why I thought the paracetemal so marvellous.
Doc may have prescribed it because of those symptoms.
Has anyone heard of this different % of suspension paracetemal in UK?

MayDay. I believe the % are standard no matter what. 120mg - 5ml for infant suspension and 250mg - 5 ml over 6.

Do the new doses mean I have been overdosing my kids all this time? I have regularly given my now 8yo 10mls when he has been really ill.

My DCs have more than average amount of febrile convulsions and carrying on after the age of 6. Every time we went to hospital they gave calpol and ibroprufen by weight and we carried on doing it at home. Hospital did the calculation for us. DS was on an adult dose of both at the age of 10. He was not obese just as tall as a 12 yr old and weight in proportion.

fertility, the current recommended dose for a 6 - 12 year old on NON six plus calpol (IE, NORMAL CALPOL) is between 10 and 20 mls. If anything, you're underdosing according to what the new guidelines will be, as they'll have set it for a scrawny 6 year old, not a chunky 11 year old.