DS maybe drank calpol, have been to a and e. Feel absolutely wracked with guilt. Anyone else had this?

[Overthinker89]

Hiya,
Has anyone else had this experience?please be gentle I am already berating myself beyond belief and have put all medicines away in a locked box. On Monday night DS 2 (12.5kg) possibly (quite unlikely) drank some calpol. I'd just given him his evening dose and set it back on the table and he asked for his water cup. Without thinking I went into the next room to grab his water cup (I was gone very briefly!!just dashed next door) when I got back I realised I'd left the lid of the calpol. Now, there was no evidence he had drunk any but of course I was very briefly out of the room. It seemed to be in the same place but my brain is doing the what if, what if, thing. I told 111 and we went to a and e, we did an estimate of how much, went for worst case scenario and we were sent to monitor from home without a blood test. They were lovely and said it happens all the time but obviously I'm really upset with myself.

Mainly looking to hear if your little ones have managed to drink a fair bit of calpol and if all was fine. I keep replaying it in my head and thinking what if he had more than I thought. Bottle is the infant strength 120mg per 5ml and there is 100ml in the bottle. Anyone else had this if so how much did their DD drink and was it okay?

I know I've made a mistake so don't worry, lesson well and truly learned!

P.s posted something similar in talk as I wasn't sure where best to put it (new to this Mumsnet stuff)

If it makes you feel better by dd when she was two swallowed a couple of aqua beads. I was going out of my mind and whacked with guilt :(

It really does. There’s no evidence at all that he had any and I don’t think a toddler could drink out of the modern bottles.
I would suggest a GP appointment but for OP, not for the child.

Did you ask your DS if he had drunk any? I find at 2 they’re more likely to own up to what they’ve done than when they get older 😂
but honestly don’t beat yourself up, you sound like a very caring mum.

Yes same happened to me I wasn’t sure how must had been taken. Hospital weren’t worried and I had trailed kids to a&e in a panic . Looking back i overreacted! Try not worry, as everyone is saying it happens all the time.

Im surprised you went to A+E when it sounds as if none was drunk

No spills or drips anywhere?
Bottle difficult to drink out of?
No signs the child was under the influence of the product?
No signs the child had ingested more than you gave
No signs the bottle had been moved?

DS drank a whole bottle, he took the lid off age 3. They weren’t worried .

@Overthinker89

youve been to A & E, they've told you he's fine.

He's TWO, now come on, what two year old would have been that fast to neck some calpol and put it back without a sticky mess?

Give your brain a break.

Aww these things happen don't beat yourself up. My daughter somehow managed to do the same thing at the age of 3...I can't remember exactly how as I'd been at work at the time and my husband was in charge! Didn't know how much she'd had. We took her to A&E and they gave her something to make her vomit. It didn't happen straight away, and I have a memory of sitting watching her play, waiting for it to happen. She was fine afterwards. She's 35 now with a daughter of her own. Im sure your boy will be fine

This happened to me when my daughter was around the same age. Found her with a half empty calpol bottle and repeatedly asked her if she'd drunk any and how much and she kept giving different answers so rushed her to A&E. They weighed her and told me that she'd need to have drunk 2 full bottles to have done any damage which I found very reassuring but of course made sure it never happened again. Apparently they make the active dose much lower than the body can actually tolerate for this exact reason.

I know two kids who did. Really scary. After that I always bought the packet of sachets when DC was young.

Best wishes OP. It doesn’t sound likely as others have said and you reacted fast.

I think it is a manufacturer issue and it should be sold in sachets and not bottles for very young kids.

Ditto! Just said to keep an eye on him. He also ate some mushrooms growing in the lawn once.
He’s 6’2” now, so survived 😆

You sound really anxious? If the bottle hasn't moved and there were no obvious signs he'd drunk it I would have just got on with my day.

My mum used to keep it in the door of the fridge and I helped myself to the entire bottle. I lived to tell the tale, but I think it gave me the shits.

Neighbours on both sides of me have been in the same situation. It's a learning curve x

Here’s an idea that worked for me.. I went to Bnq and bought 2 cheap toolboxes.. 1 for adult meds, 1 for children. they have latch locks..too tricky for little children and you can slot a combination lock in the holes to lock it further..Be mindful to buy the one that has that facility where there’s a hole in the top lid that fits over the little hole in the bottom lid. I was trying to emulate making a drug trolley in hospital so this was the nearest I could get. My daughter at the time still had a swig of the vitamin d bottle that I left on the kitchen table.

My sister drank half a bottle when she was a little kid. Absolutely no side effects. Perfectly fine. Don’t think we even went to A&E (though it was the 90s and my parents were… relaxed… about those sorts of things.)

What on earth makes you think he actually drank any??

OP with kindness, your anxiety over this seems excessive. You would certainly have known it if a 2 year old had tried to drink calpol, especially if you were only out of the room very briefly. Please try to let this go.

Hey lovely folk of Mumsnet, just wanted to say thank you to everyone for replying. I love the solidarity shared on Mumsnet. As a few people have gently said I seem to of reacted quite anxiously. You're right. I'm a single parent so often feel a really heightened sense of responsibility like the buck stops with me and if something happens to him ultimately it's me who should of stopped it as I'm his Mummy. I also had perinatal OCD which is usually much better now but manifests in my brain constantly saying "what if, what if" then assuming the worst. I've sought CBT and therapy and usually manage it well but this was obviously a big anxiety flare up as I felt very negligent for having left the lid off. If be way more compassionate with others if they had made this mistake than I am with myself which is something I know I need to work on. Thanks for responding though lovelies. Also @Primroses1 when you say "I know two kids who did" do you mean you know two kids who did drink the bottle?

It was an open top Tesco equivalent of calpol the infant strength not the one you stick a syringe in for those who mentioned that :)

I worked for NHS Direct (pre 111). We often got this call (along with kids eating sudocrem and adults drinking kettle descaler). We would do the maths, but I can't remember a time when any action was needed. It's a reminder children are constantly growing and more able, so to put items out of reach

Something like washing pods are much more dangerous.