'Mixing' Paracetamol and Ibuprofen - Help Needed!

[IDismyname]

I have a French boys staying with us who arrived yesterday who has an ear infection. He's been up all night... and so have I!

He's taking a French paracetamol that is 500mg per dose, and lasts 6 hrs between doses. He's refusing to take ibuprofen as well. As I may not get him to the doctors until the afternoon, can we dose him up alternately with the 2 different drugs?

Its mainly the fact that its 500mg and not 400mg that we'd take in the UK as a full dose, that's concerning me.

Can anyone help?

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are different drugs. They do different things. You can take a "full" dose of both at the same time.

You can take both. It's better to alternate them...take paracetamol, leave it a couple hours, take brufen, later more paracetamol,so on so fourth.

blue2 from memory of DS teething, you may find it better to stagger the paracetamol and ibuprofen, so take paracetamol, take ibuprofen 5 hours later, before the paracetamol wears off, then the paracetamol 5 hours after that. You can, I think, take 4 doses of each in a 24 hour period, so this should see him through.

How old is he?

this gives doses per age (500mg is a dose in the uk).

You can give ibuprofen in between doses of paracetamol.

What age is he?

He's 14, about 5'8" and skinny. I've emailed his Mum who says that ibuprofen is called Advil in France, so maybe he didn't recognise it when I mentioned it. I think he thought I was trying to poison him

Thank you for all your replies - much appreciated!

At 14 he can take the usual adult doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen.

So 2 x 500mg paracetamol 4 times a day at least 4hrs apart, and 400mg ibuprofen up to 3 times a day at least 4 hrs apart but preferably at least 6 hrs apart. Ibuprofen not on an empty stomach.

Alternating them is a good idea so it doesn't all wera off at once, but can be taken together if wished.