Piriton or Calpol?

[bebemoohatessnot]

dd 15m is fighting the chicken pox and now has a cough. If I give her Piriton she refuses Calpol (as she hates the Piriton). I cannot hold her down properly and give her stuff as it's just me and she's just too squirmy and strong. She likes Calpol and will just snap it down...
So Piriton or Capol?
Or ideas to get her to take both?

Does she have a fever? Otherwise i'm not sure why you would need to give her Calpol. The Piriton will help with the itching. Calpol will not help with her cough.

She has a fever rather regularly (but not all the time) and usually breaks out in a blotchy rash which brings out more spots when she gets it...

I have posted on the other thread, but the GP can prescribe Medised in such cases (the is a paracetemol and antihistamine combo, I believe, tastes like Calpol).

Watch the cough, as pneumonia is a side effect of severe chicken pox.

could you give the calpol and then the piriton?

If she's not itchy I would not bother with the piriton. Or, if she is, try topical creams such as calomine cream or virasorb to see if that helps. I would carry on with the calpol even if she doesnt have fever as it can be so uncomfortable (can remember having cp).
Maybe just piriton at bedtime if she is so anti it? Maybe one day one, next day the other to see what works best?
Sadly Medised is now not recommended for the under 6s ! Sounded a good idea! www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001597.html

I tried giving the Calpol first but she's a wise one and once had the Piriton now refuses the Calpol unless I can prove it's the stuff... i.e. anything that's coming out of a brown bottle and onto a spoon is now suspect and gets pushed away. I just found a baby medicine syringe and will try giving the Piriton this evening with that and keep the spoons for the Calpol to see if that will work.

My other thought was can I put the Piriton in juice? maybe it would dilute the flavor? But then she must drink the whole amount to know she got the dosage...

Could you mix the two together? Alternativley ask the doctor for a suppository? You may be squeamish about them, but when DD refused to take calpol it was one up the bum, no harm done.

I mix the 2 for DS as he hates piriton.

He is older and he has nurofen (7.5ml dose in the plunger) so he has 5ml of nurofen followed by 2.5ml of piriton mixed with 2.5ml nurofen.

Get them used to the drugs cocktails early if you ask me.

Re: Medised. It's not recommended for under 6s anymore as parents were regularly giving it to their children to make them sleep . But a few years ago it was safe for 3months plus. Just don't take DD to the chemist with you.

She's got so many pox on her bum (and bum hole) I'd hate to give her a suppository also. But I could maybe mix the two in the syringe actually. I'll try that actually this evening rather than just the plain Piriton. She's quite miserable today so she needs as many meds to ease her (and me) through this evening...

Mixing it did not work...the solutions are too equal in parts I fear.

Oh yuck, I wouldn't mix them. Piriton is vile. And fwiw it didn't help at all with DD1's chicken pox, she was still just as itchy. Sounds like poor Moo is suffering a lot. But the good news is you must be nearly at the end of new pox appearing now? Once they stop appearing, she'll feel better quickly. Good luck. Keep her cool (if you can in this heat) and give her lots of water to drink - she probably has pox down her throat too and juice might hurt.

Oh and if you really do need an antihistamine, there are other things than Piriton - a friend of mine was prescribed something different by her GP - unfortunately can't remember the name of the stuff.