Codeine + paracetamol but still in a lot of pain

[Cruggs]

DH has a terrible toothache with pain that is radiating into his head. He says it's the worst pain he's ever been in. He has seen a dentist today and has antibiotics and has also been given Dihydrocodeine.

The dentist said he can take paracetamol with that and he has had some but is still in tons of pain. Can he take anything else to make him more comfortable before the antibiotics kick in? Ibuprofen?

Sadly from my experience with toothache, ibuprofen isn't going to make much of a difference.

The one and only thing that really does work for me is clove oil!

Yes, ibuprofen is different entirely and is fine with codeine and paracetamol. Also aspirin if he’s ok to take it (no stomach ulcers or blood clotting issues).
DH had a bad toothache session once and the aspirin seemed to make the most difference. But it’s fine to take the max in doses of them all was what I found at the time. Maybe double check with a pharmacist first if you can.

You can take ibuprofen.

Traditional tooth ache remedies like clove oil may also help. My Dad swears by whisky rubbed into the gum.

Toothache is awful.

Oh and an ice pack is worth a try too.

Agree @CurtainARama if it is so bad that the gunman is infected some ice wrapped in a kitchen towel can be such a relief.

Oh and, again, sorry, make sure he takes as much antibiotic as possible eg if he’s on 4x a day he could take one in the middle of the night the first night as I’m sure he’ll be awake.

Take the paracetamol and ibruprofen every 2 hours alternately, rather than both together every 4 hours

Orajel was a god send for me

Hot water bottle for his face will help.

Anything that will numb the area (anbesol is brilliant an available OTC) will help a bit.

As will sleeping through as much of the pain as possible. Poor bloke, tootheace is bloody awful.

I have an image in my head now of this poor bloke using:
Clove oil
Anbesoil
Ibuprofen
Paracetamol
Codeine
Orajel
Antibiotic
Aspirin
Whiskey

...and being completely knocked out maybe just the whiskey might be a good idea? No need to rub it in to gums. Just swig at 90 second intervals!

Hope he feels better soon op.

I have had the same thing - get him purple listerine and tell him to swish it around for a minute - nothing helped me not even co dydramol but listerine worked like a charm

Also normal ibruprofen didn't help but the strong nurofen express worked great

No hot water bottle! Ice for toothache.

"Take the paracetamol and ibruprofen every 2 hours alternately"

Yes to staggering them. No to taking them this frequently. Paracetamol is 4 doses in 24 hours, ibuprofen is 3 doses..

You can take them as close together as every 4 hours, but you need to stagger them so you're covered over a 24 hour period (so ibuprofen every 8 hours, paracetamol every 6. Obviously adjust to fit around sleep)

Alternate the ibuprofen, paracetamol and dihydracodeine depending on what he can take and when. For example (PLEASE CHECK DOSES!!)

10pm - paracetamol and ibuprofen
Midnight - dihydracodeine
6am - dihydracodeine
8am - paracetamol
10am - dihydracodeine
Midday - paracetamol and ibuprofen
Etc

Set his alarm to take meds late at night / early in the morning, because if he allows the pain medication to totally wear off, he has to wait for it to kick back in again before he'll feel the effects properly.

If he never allows it to completely wear off, he'll not be in as much pain.

Pop a glass of water and the pills he needs to take next to the bed, and just take them and go back to sleep.

I speak from years of experience with massive dental infections. He has my sympathies.

... It's really easy to forget what you've taken when you're in pain.

Write down every single dose. Have a list, and keep it near the meds.

Perhaps make an appointment with a doctor and ask for some extra pain relief? Naproxen is very very effective. You can actually get that over the counter sold as Feminax Ultra, just don't tell him about that part.

Thank you. Some great advice on here. It comes in waves he says. The last wave had him biting down on a flannel. Feeling very sorry for him, especially as he's not a man flu type bloke. He only says something is wrong when it's really wrong.