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Original poster

Possibly urgent. Kids have been swilling calpol. What to do.

65 replies

spidermama · 29/03/2006 19:34

I've just found the bottle of Calpol for 6 plus open. They climbed up into the cupboard and managed to open the so-called child proof lid.

It was about three quarters full. Now it's about 1/4 full (so half a bottle has gone) and they've admitted it was my four year old and my 7 year old who've had it.

Do I need to do anything? Is this dangerous?

TIA.

OP posts:
kid · 29/03/2006 19:52

Good point FastasleepQueenLentilWeaver

Flip · 29/03/2006 19:56

My friends little girl drank almost a full bottle of baby calpol and they kept her in over night on hourly obs.

When ds2 aged barely two broke his leg he was doped up every four hours day and night with the max calpol which was 7.5ml @ 250mg(six plus) and 5ml Ibruprofen. We had to continue that for a further five days after he left hospital so was on quite a high dose for a week.

But if it were my child, I would go to A&E and be looked at like a paranoid mum than take any chances. I almost didn't go when he broke his leg and wanted to see how he was. I was berated for not getting an ambulance and before I'd finished booking him in he was on a bed with a morphine tap.

SnowBoo · 29/03/2006 19:56

I would take them to A & E. Er on the side of caution IMO. Better to make a fuss over nothing than to leave something to chance.

jmum6 · 29/03/2006 20:11

Go to A&E- now!!!

edam · 29/03/2006 20:24

Hope the fact you haven't posted for a while means you've gone to A&E. And hope the kids are OK.

WideWebWitch · 29/03/2006 20:26

God, I hope they're ok. Poor you, if it's any consolation my friend's 4yo drank a load of Calpol once and was fine.

NannyL · 29/03/2006 20:29

YES do something

overdosing of paracetamol can cause liver failure days / weeks later (Ie never try to kill your self with paracetamol cause yo wont die straight away but will die later... when in a better frame of mind)

Call NHS direct or go to A&E

vitomum · 29/03/2006 20:45

I'm just back from a day at A&E. the 2.5 year old next to us was being admitted after drinking 1/2 bottle of the 6 years plus calpol. His mum was advised that he would be there a few days as the impact of paracetamol can take a few days. best to get professional advice.

pooka · 29/03/2006 20:53

Hope that all is well Spidermama. How scary for you. Making mental note to hide all bottles specially as dd LOVES calpol.

Original poster
spidermama · 29/03/2006 21:57

Hi. Thanks all. We're back from A&E. All's fine. They weighed him and looked at how much was left in the bottle, did some sums, checked he hadn't had any yesterday or the day before, said he mustn#t have any tomorrow or the next day, and told me off for not having a locking medicine cabinet. Blush
It turns out my 7 year old got the bottle down, opened the 'child proof' lid and had a swig leaving it open for her brother to try.

Thanks for the help. Sadly he had a fab time in hospital. We were straight in, really nice nurse, then he had a great time having all the toys in the kids room to himself while she checked with the tox dept. I almost wished they'd made him drink a nasty drink as a deterent.

I can't believe I'm back in time for Desperate Housewives. Hooray.

OP posts:
Senoracod · 29/03/2006 21:58

hooray! i told oyu about ds3 swigging from a wooden sppon ffs but only anitboitic?

cue similar lecture form junior doctor

the SHAME

Senoracod · 29/03/2006 21:58

did you say " fgs its deperate hosueives?"

Original poster
spidermama · 29/03/2006 22:05

I was thinking it. I knew I'd have to let go of Apprentice, so I consider this a reprieve.

OP posts:
Chapsmum · 29/03/2006 22:05

great spider am glad it worked out well for you, have had some nasty experiences with kids and adults accidentaly oding on calpol and realy is better to be cautious.

Hope DHW is good

WideWebWitch · 29/03/2006 22:06

Phew, glad it's all ok.

kid · 29/03/2006 22:07

Really glad to hear your are back and all is well.

LadySherlockofLGJ · 29/03/2006 23:00

Told ya Wink

Flip · 30/03/2006 07:33

Really pleased that everything was okay. Despite the telling off you must feel better for knowing your kids can go to sleep tonight and you don't need to check on them every few minutes. You did the right thing.

Chapsmum · 30/03/2006 10:03

how are the monkeys today, did they sleep soundly???

Original poster
spidermama · 30/03/2006 21:29

When I came home from A&E last night they said 'If anything changes - like your judgement of how much they've taken, or if he's sick, come back'.

He was sick in the morning and the account from my dd of how much had been consumed did change. So I had to go again. I'm on my own here atm with the four kids and no car (dh has car hundreds of miles away). I had to first do ds's insulin then make sure he and the others had a good breakfast, get them off to school and then walk to the hospital with ds3 in the pushchair and my massive 14 month old in the back pack.

At the hospital my 14 month old thrashed about refusing to be held then ran around trying to get into forbidden rooms etc ... God it was horrible!

After an hour or so of waiting (severe parenting low, digging deep - you all know these moments) a friend came and relieved me of the baby so I could concentrate on ds3. He had blood taken and sent to the lab.

It's all been tested and it's fine. He was probably sick because he has got a cough (as of last night) and so have I.

Oh and the baby has chickenpox as of today.

Not that I'm fishing for sympathy.
(smiles bravely wiping snot from nose with sleeve).

OP posts:
Carmenere · 30/03/2006 21:31

Bloody hell Spidermama, buckets of sympathy from me!!

morningpaper · 30/03/2006 21:31

spidermama! You POOR POOR thing. It sounds awful. Big teletubbies hug from me.

Whizzz · 30/03/2006 21:31

Poor you Spider - glad all was OK with the Calpol though.
Everyone get a lockable medicine cabinet now !

DumbledoresGirl · 30/03/2006 21:32

It never rains but it pours SM!

Original poster
spidermama · 30/03/2006 21:34

Echo the lockable medicine cabinet whizz. Child-proof bottles are not child-poof at all.

OP posts: