How much medised is too much?

[Scoobi6]

dd (10 mo) has been having trouble with her teeth for a while. She is dribbly, bitey, snuffly and has runny nappies, and I can see the white bumps on her gums so I'm sure its teeth. The last one took around 3 weeks to come through, and we gave her a dose of medised before bed about 4 times a week. When we didn't, she woke frequently and was pretty unhappy.

Then we had about 4 days break, good sleep, and now two are coming through at once! I've given her medised before bed pretty much every night for two weeks, and feel bad about it. I don't want her to get dependent on it for settling at night or anything, and I don't want to do her any harm. But when I don't give it, she wakes up miserable and I end up feeling cruel. One dose of medised and she crashes out for 11 hours and wakes up happy.

Any advice? TIA.

Hmm i don't think it should be something you should get dependant on if you can help it. My sister uses this for my nephew on occasion, and it always makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason?
Try and cut it down to once or twice a week if possible. Hopefully once the teeth have popped through properly, you'll all have a better nights sleep.

I'm generally very cautious about Medised use but if it's genuine teething then I don't see that it's a huge problem... the dosage is so low that you're not going to do her health any harm.

If you're worried about her becoming too dependent on it to settle then perhaps you could just give every other night, that way you know you'll all get a good night's rest after a crap one!

You will get wild variations of opinions on here - some people saying give it and some saying not.

Have a chat with your pharmacist or GP to make your decision.

Thanks for responding.

Elf, I feel uncomfortable about using it too and can't really pin down why. But I hate to think of her uncomfortable or in pain, when I can do something about it. Something that is probably not going to do her any harm in the long run. Every other night is a good idea, MegB, might give that a try.

I give nurofen before bed if I suspect teething, and give it time to work before he goes down. Nurofen is non drowsy, so he can't become dependant on it for sleep, and he can have another does if he wakes up later, or if it's too soon he can have calpol instead.

Could you give her Calpol instead? It should kill the pain, but won't make her reliant on the drowsy properties of Medised.

Just a thought...

Great minds Colditz!!!

I only tend to use medised if they have colds to stop the snotty noses more than anything. If teething agree nurofen tends to work better anyway as a pain relief.

The really active ingreadiant in medised is paracetamol, and the same dose of that is present in calpol. Medised also contains an antihistimine, which has a sedative side effect.

I was VERY free and easy about giving it - intil I took 4 teaspoons of it myself. Now, I am damned hefty, no 8 stone weakling here, and fairly muscular to boot - but 4 teaspoons, which is only double the dose for a one year old, put me down! It's bloody strong stuff, I got more of an effect from that small dose I had than I did from 5mg of diazepam.

I am a LOT more cautious with it now I know how strong it is.