I don't want to use Calpol but do I have a choice?

[London7]

Hi

I have had to use Calpol a couple of times when my baby had a temperature. All over-the-counter baby medicines for relieving fever and pain contain lots of E-numbers and I don't want to expose my baby to them. Does anybody know of a more natural alternative? Believe it or not, my GP, health visitor or even pharmacist said they had no idea!

Here,here!! Totally agree!!

That should be the only good thing of course!!

Am i the only one who licks the spoon after giving calpol to their little one? [shame]

my DS's don't get on with calpol and I can't give it at all to DS2.
When I had DD she has developed breathing crisis when her system is under pressure and these can be triggered by foods.
As a consequence she has never had it and that included her being very seriously ill in hosp for three days.
I just keep her cool which works ( so far).
In hosp I thought they would challenge it but were actually very keen to help her this way. She was stripped down with a fan in her room.
The Cons paed told me that cooling works as well as anything else more than half the time but that he gets tired of explaining that to parents so they just assume calpol as a first response.

I don't think you are being precious.
Do your best for your family but make sure you keep your childs best interests first. If your child is in real pain rather than uncomfortable and feverish then I would still consider .
Interesting DS1 stopped getting calpol and as a 15 year old has never had any pain relief that i can think of for about 7 years. I think his bodys pain response is better without.
Certainly since i stopped using anything I weirdly get fewer headaches etc that i used to when reaching for the neurofen.

Tis odd

disprol/own-brand much cheaper, and usually less crap (espesh colour-seriously, why??).

I think if there is a genuine reason for not giving your child pain relief then fair enough-you dont want to cause any more distress! However, surely the average child will benefit and if used sensibly, it will cause no harm. Happy,healthy child, happy parent!

Calpol is liquid paracetamol for kids. Alternatives include disprol/own-brands, which as Umlellala says are much cheaper. If you can get your kids to take them you will save yourself a fortune over the years as well as avoiding the fake strawberry yuk. Ds1 would only ever take Calpol, cause he associated the taste with comfort, by the time I discovered alternatives. Your gp can prescribe a paracetamol suspension too - mine did, but warned me that it didn't taste the same as calpol, so lots of mums wouldn't use it!

Ibuprofen/neurofen is great (also expensive) but should be avoided if children are asthmatic I believe.

Def try and get it on prescription - then it's free. It's medicine, it's not supposed to taste nice - Me and dd (2.5) say YUK in a big melodramatic voice after each mouthful!!

(For a temperature though and no other signs of illness you can just see if they'll cool down with a fab/fewer clothes first of course)

Sure
couldn't agree more!
do what suits you and your child.
But if a parent feels more comfortable trying to reasonably avoid that then that is valid too.

And - without being too argumentative...
why should my choices be anything to do with whether any one else regards my choice as 'genuine' or not

If I would just prefer to avoid with my child and if it works and they are comfortable then why not?

I'm kind of with you Pagwatch, dd hardly gets medicine for just a temperature - espesh cos I feel like she had loads of medised in those dark, teething days . And tbh I rarely even think of taking paracetamol for me. But then dd doesn't get ill v often and if she is in pain - then yes, I will give her a small dose which seems to work.

I don't give my dcs calpol or any other pain /fever relief.

Touchy!! Idealistic! Sick of this!

ROLF that others are being touchy .

Calpol or paracetamol Syrup is the only one licenced to give to babies under 6 months.

Have always used the Generic form of any medicine,and would never deprive my children of "comfort" when they are ill,same as I would have a Paracetamol if I had pain or discomfort.

But why does other peoples' preference make you 'sick of this'? And why does my general preference to avoid it if I can make me 'idealistic'.
You just seemed to get all shouty because others don't do what you do and I am genuinely not sure why.

I asked a genuine question because if I have no problem with others using calpol why should they have any kind of a problem with me trying not to if it is reasonable to do so?
I am not posting aggressively and not sure why all the exclaimation marks.
It is a genuine question?

I am happy if you use calpol - why are you so angry and indignant that I try to avoid it?

Each Parent does the best for their child when they are ill,we all have different Pov and therefore no one "formula" is right or wrong IMO.

The right one is the one that your child responds to the quickest,and is comforted by.

I am just responding to your ealier post 11.32am.pagwatch. I just worry that children can be in pain and are denied relief because of their parents principles.

sawyer. Ibuprofen is now liscenced from 3m (and has been for quite a while)

Never ever would deny my child anything for serious pain.
My children come first.
My DS2 had to have calpol once when he broke his collar bone. I had to balance the effect it has on him , which is very unpleasant, with the pain.
It was a no brainer.

I understand your concerns - honestly do !

But people are mostly talking about avoiding pain relief if they can. Not about refusing to give their children anything regardless of the circumstances.

In all my posts I have made a differential between a child in real pain and have talked about only avoiding when reasonable to do so.
In the post you refer to I talk about parents trying reasonably to avoid and that they should if it works and if the child is comfortable - not as a point of principal

I think we have just misunderstood each other

OK, truce, agree to disagree![sorry, I like using !!!] Better go and make lunch now, got a bit engrossed!!

Its pink because paracetamol suspensions turn brown in time. Disprol gets darker as it ages.

Does anyone know what Disprol and/or the other suggested alterantive contain?
Am also on the hunt for an alternative to calpol, am happy to give Disprol/Medinol/own brand if I can find out which contains the fewest dodgy additives/sweeteners/colours etc.
Have asked several pharmicists and looked on-line but hard to find clear info and cannot face having to scrutinise all the various boxes in Boots with my 1 year old yelling in my ear...

Disprol
Hydrogenated Glucose Syrup, Glycerol, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Methyl Hydroxybenzoate, Propyl Hydroxybenzoate, Citric Acid, Saccharin Sodium (sweetener), Banana Flavour, Riboflavine Sodium Phosphate (colour) and Water

Calpol
Sucrose, Sorbitol Liquid (Non Crystallising) - sweetener, Glycerol - sweetener, Xanthan Gum, Dispersible Cellulose, Polysorbate 80, Acesulfame Potassium - sweetener ,Propyl Parahydroxybenzoate (E216) ,Ethyl Parahydroxybenzoate (E214), Strawberry Flavour 500018E, Methyl Hydroxybenzoate (E218), Carmoisine (E122), Purified Water

Am I the only one who thinks that it's a good idea NOT to give children the idea that at the first twinge you reach for medicine? If my children are really ill or really in pain then of course I dole out the painkillers, but if they are just feeling a bit crap thensurely it's better to help them develop strategies to deal with it? Or to realize that they can cope with it and that it will pass? I'm not talking broken bones here - of course I'm not. But normal aches and pains - surely it's better to "get on with it" rather than reaching for the paracetamol? Or do I sound too old fashioned for words?

I had to stop giving my autistic son a bright yellow antibiotic solution as it had such appalling effects on him - very distressing. He has a sensitive system and colours make him extremely hyper, anxious, manic etc - which is upsetting for him as well as me. Oh, yes, I'm just being 'precious' I feel very angry that medicines for children are packed with toxic chemicals. There is no medical reason for this.