Calpol + teething

[BertieBotts]

I'm sure this is a totally stupid question but I've forgotten what I did with my first

DS2 (16mo) is teething badly at the moment. It's obvious he is, because you can see the start of his first molars poking through, and he's pulling at his mouth and chewing everything. His gum in one particular area looks swollen and red.

We've been giving calpol at bedtime, and overnight if he wakes up upset as well. I've just clocked on the bottle the warning not to take for longer than 3 days without consulting a doctor. But that must just relate to fever, surely? Or are you actually meant to take them to the doctor if teething pain lasts more than 3 days? I would guess this is dat 4 or 5 we are going into. One night was so bad we had to give ibuprofen as well as he was in pain again before the calpol should have worn off.

I feel like if I take him to the docs they will just laugh at me, but now I've seen it it's making me wonder.

I asked the GP about this and they said the reason the warning is there is to stop people using calpol to mask symptoms of an ongoing issue/illness without seeking medical advice. DS has a virus of some sort at the time and they were happy for me to give regular calpol until he was better.

As an aside I've always found that nurofen works better for teething pain, might be worth a go!

OK, that makes sense :) Thanks.

I will try ibuprofen first but I'll be cautious with it as I've heard there are actually potential dangers from taking that one more than 3 days in a row.

Ibuprofen can irritate the stomach but as long as you give it after a drink if milk or food it’s fine.