any calpol experts out there please?

[DelGirl]

ok, dd has been very very poorly for about a week. It has got to the stage where nurofen and calpol together barely keeps on top of the high temps (we have been to a & e twice)

I've been giving calpol 5ml every 3 hours. Is there any benefit doing this or am I better off or no worse off giving 10ml every 6 hours?

she's 2.7 bt. I just always felt that every 3 hours maybe better or am I kidding myself?

tia

Eh? Am I being a real numpty here? According to my Calprofen, the max dose in 24 hours is 10mls of 100mg/5mls strength. Where does the 15mls come from? Is it different strength medication or something? And you still got 4 doses in 24 hours. [completely confused but willing to accept am being a thicko] .

Niecie, same here, although I was given the schedule by the paeds when ds1 was admitted with a persistent high temp last year.

How old is your bottle Olihan? I have a shiny new bottle (sadly we keep using it up) and there is nothing on there that gives those doses.

The guidleines on Calprofen and Nurofen ( despite being exactly the same med) are different. But I acknowledge your point.

I have just done a quick google - and as far as I can see most dosing schemes are aligned to the nurofen scheme (i.e. 5ml every 6hrs).

If you trust the nurofen literature - you could use the 3.5-4ml 4 times in 24hrs (6hrly) - giving you a slightly higher dose.
However - IF you are finding 2.5ml is effective - there is no reason to increase it.

My 15 ml is from the Nufen bottle
That says 5ml 3 times a day (5*3=15ml).

It is also 100mg/5ml (same strength).

I got 4 doses in 24hy by giving 3.5 or 4ml per dose. Not hte recommended 5ml.

Only a few months tops. I bought it when ds1 broke his arm and that was in..............June, I think.

What does yours say Niecie?

The front of mine says 100mg/5ml oral suspension Ibuprofen.

The doses are:

3-6mo, one 2.5ml dose 3 times a day. Do not use for more than 24hours.

6mo -1yr, one 2.5ml dose 3 times a day.

1yr - 2yr, one 2.5ml dose 3-4 times a day.

3yrs - 7yrs, one 5ml dose 3-4 times a day

8yrs - 12yrs, two 5ml doses 3-4 times a day.

Surely it can't have changed that much?

Sorry it wasn't you that said 15ml was it. Very confused now.

Take no notice of me. I'm the woman who gave DS2 a double dose of cough mixture on Saturday night because I was wondering whether to give him some Calpol as well (bad cold, bit of temperature). Gave him a 10ml instead of 5ml. Thankfully he slept it off and he is probably as big as some 6 yos even though he is 4 which probably helped.

The 15ml guidelines are calculated from NUROFEN branded ibuprofen. Which differs from teh guidlines on Calprofen.

However, most of the sites I found by googling concur with Nurofen (i.e. 5ml up to 3 times a day) - so it seems that it is Calprofen which is teh odd one out - by giving lower dosage guilines.

SlightlyMad, why is it so different? Surely if it's the same strength and medicine then they should give the same doses? I don't understand!

Admittedly it doesn't take much these days but I am now totally confused by how much ibuprofen I can give the dcs. I only bought Calprofen because ds1 hates the orange taste of Nurofen Kids. Gah!

So I can give 15mls of Calprofen in 24 hours if I need to?

Can't believe I am so confused by something that wasn't even my question in the first place.

here is the dosing info for Nurofen.

I have always brought Nurofen, I brought Calprofen once - saw it was half doses so went back to Nurofen so I could give the higher does legititimately!!! TBH my lot won't tough hte strawberry syrups so that was another factor.

BUT it is 100mg/5ml (which you say Calprofen is) so you could do the maths and follow the Nurofen scheme. BUT if you give 5ml you can only give 3 doses (for 1-3yos).

Presumably you can if it is the same strengthy but surely it is better to split it over 4 doses rather than 3 if you are giving more. Makes the schedule work better too.

Maybe Calprofen's usage is matched with Calpols for just this situation.

BUt you could still give more than 2.5ml per dose and do 4 doses.

I guess they have roundded it down to 2.5ml because meds are stadardly measured in teaspoons & half teaspoons.

TBH I have never worried abut it...I have never had the situation where I have had to so doses round hte clock .... or at least I have never bothered to get up to do teh night doses

at the disclaimer.

It's all as clear as mud but it's late so I'm sure it will make more sense in the morning!

I am going to bed now. But I will be around tomorrow afternoon if hte mud needs a bit of a stir .

Seriously though to go back to OP.

Don't halve the dose. and persue more checks.

Bed for me too! Night!

SMSS - to answer your question about the antib's- she's on it for kidney reflux to keep uti's at bay. I suspect that is what she has now though her sample on Friday came back clear. When I spoke to the sister at the hospital today, she said at there were 'some things' (not her actual words) in it but it didn't suggest a uti. But, she did say that it didn't mean dd hasn't got a uti now if that makes sense.

just checked dd and her temp s about 36.6 hoorah, phew. Still not worked out how i'm going to dose her from now on but at least she and I have some respite

totally non medical advice actually not even advice as you will all have sharp intake of breath

the fever is helping to get rid of the virus by helping create more white blood cells

I don't use anything except cool room etc to reduce fever up to about 102 and the immune system will do the job quite quickly BUT the catch is staying awake and watching ALL ALL ALL the time as it's very very scary to allow yourself to go to sleep with untreated feverish kid obviously

also some children vulnerable to febrile fits etc

sorry i expect to be totally shouted down for this but it's worked for all my children, they only get calpol as painkiller not fever supressant

feel free to ignore it and yell at me for being irresponsible..

oh if only tovik. I don't give it when her temp is fine (in a period of illness iyswim)and I suspect that maybe my downfall by not keeping on top of it as I should

I don't know.. it's really difficult thing to admit to, and I don't admit it to many people, but i really really hate calpol. My kids have got over rotten ear infections and other viruses without it, in fact I started doing it because I wanted to clear up a lingering ear infection good and proper after reading about "symptom suppression" etc etc. I guess it's different when your child has a serious illness and eg the immune reaction is altered by antibiotics. It's quite hard telling dh and mil what's i'm doing but i do keep by the kids and monitor them constantly and for your average everyday infection it seems to be ok. But I understand most people would think it pretty unacceptable or unusual.

Tovik I admire your dedication!

I have read that fevers kill viruses too but that the optimum temperature for this is around 38 degrees. Any higher and it is better to controlled it. However I am no expert.

Depends how ill your child is I suppose. If your child has a really high temp. chances are there is also some pain like DS2 in January. He was a bundle of misery. I asked him where it hurt and he said everywhere so the medicine was not just for the temp but for the pain as well.

thanks niecie don't often get that but then i don't often tell people! just don't understand how after tens of thousands of years of evolution our fever/immune system regulator could go so haywire that any fever needs to be suppressed. I don't trust a lot of official / medical advice as it so often comes from researchers working for a corporate that has something to sell (eg fever suppressants). V political view don't even know if that is allowed on mn (perhaps like dinner party don't mention it!) off to bed

You may well be right but, like any mechanism in the body I am sure that temperature regulation can go wrong.

From what I have read the big problem with high temperatures is dehydration. The body is losing fluids at a higher rate than usual and often children can't actually be convinced to drink anything if they feel poorly.

I suppose to an extent I do do what you are suggesting as DS1 particularly fights against taking medicine so I will keep an eye on him rather than get into a row and force him. Mind you he fights against drinking as well so he is just one big worry when he is ill.