Calpol & Nurofen help!

[CeCe45]

6 month old has virus and temperature, been seen by Doctor who advised to use Calpol and Nurofen. Even when explained by doctor I still cannot get my head around how to give birth safely & when. Can anyone advise rather than me wasting a 111 call?? This is what I’ve given so far-

21:30 last night Calpol
5am today Nurofen
1pm today Nurofen
18:30 Calpol

what next?! Can I just alternate Calpol then 4 hrs later Nurofen?

Yes, alternate every 4 hours, if awake and needing it.

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-children/taking-paracetamol-for-children-with-other-medicines-and-herbal-supplements/

hopefully this helps

Nurofen is generally 3 doses in a 24 hour period so make sure you dont give more than that

Yes and this ! it needs be be spaced more than 4 hours apart… I think it’s 6 or something

Ah it’s tricky at first!
basically start each 24 period new.
so you’ve given:
21:30 last night Calpol
5am today Nurofen
1pm today Nurofen
18:30 Calpol

in every 24 hour period you can give 4 x calpol doses and 3 x nurofen. So yes, roughly every 4 hours but slightly less.
So (if needed) you could have squeezed in another calpol either overnight or between your morning and lunch time nurofen doses. Generally speaking they wear off after 4 hours which is when you might notice your little one going downhill. Some parents find either calpol or nurofen works better for fever :
discomfort than the other so tend to “save” a dose for the nighttime.

hope your LO feels better soon 💞

Calpol 4 doses over 24 hours period but not within 4 hours of each other

nurofen 3 doses over 25 hour period but not within 6 hours of each other.

Nurofen is no more than three doses in 24 hours.

The paracetamol is four doses in 24 hours.

You should aim to alternate medications two hourly. But count the doses of both.

There would be fewer doses of the ibuprofen in the 24 hr period.

Nurofen for a 6 month old is: 2.5ml 3 to 4 times in 24hrs (other ages tend to be only 3 times in 24hrs so check when they get older)

Calpol for 6 months old is: 5ml upto 4 times in 24hrs

If baby is really struggling you can alternate dose every 3 hours (we have only done this when they are really not well). So 6am calpol, 9am nurofen, 12pm calpol, 3pm nurofen etc

If they seem to be alright but still needing meds we stretch it out to 4-6 hours and alternate.

Yeah basically what PP said. My only advice is to always write it down - looks like you sre but visible to everyone if you have a partner in the house too (always have paper on my dinner table when doing this) and you may work out that one is more effective than the other. Personally I save the nurofen for bedtime and halfway through the day - but you'll work out what works best for your little one - hope they are better soon x

Thank you everyone, makes sense me reading it rather than being told it.

So I’d be best doing Nurofen before bed at 22:30 that will be 3 doses today & then could give calpol at 2:30am if needed? Then 4 hours after that my 24 hrs is reset - sorry to sound so incompetent, just confuses me & it’s obviously important to get it right x

No. The idea with alternating is to give one or the other every two hours.

If you gave a dose every 2 hours as suggested, you would be overdosing massively. You are correct @CeCe45

If its any help, in hospital in paeds our 24
hour period runs from 8am- 8am. So that can be a helpful place to start. In the time you can give 4 x calpol (with 4 hours between doses) and 3 x Nurofen (with 6 hours between doses)
so a standard chart would look like:

8am Calpol
11am nurofen
3pm calpol
7pm nurofen
11pm calpol
2am nurofen
6am calpol

new day starts 8am