do you automatically reach for the paracetamol when your older kids have a headache??

[stoppinattwo]

Im talking 12 years plus

My friends DD is staying with us for a few days and when my friend dropped her off I saw her giving DD a paracetamol (500mg ones)
which imo are quite strong.

She ogt up this mornign and first thing she asked for was a paracetamol as she had a headache....i asked her to give it half an hour and have a big glass of water and just lie quiet. Didnt give her paracetamol...however now she says the headache is still there and could she have one..She has been ratehr quiet this morning but not hot or any other symptoms of anything.

I just dont like dishing out paracetamol too quickly.

If mine get a headache btw i dont tend to give them anything.....just water and a lie down

Do you take a paracetamol if you had a headache?

I remember feeling really funny about giving DD calpol and my mum pointing out that if I had a cold and felt like shit I would want some paracetamol, so why should DD have to suffer through it?

Mine take paracetamol when they have a headache-why not? The occasional paracetamol is not going to harm them-you would presumably
have given Calpol when they were younger!

Why on Earth do you leave children to suffer?

Paracetamol's been around for donks.

It's not crack, you know?

What if they can't lie down because they have to do something else? Do you just tell them to get on with it?

My eldest will be 10 in August, and if she has a headache I've no hesitation in giving her some Calpol and putting her to bed. What do you think's wrong with it?

LOL at a lie down for a headache. I'd be in my bed every month for about a week before my period if I had a lie down everytimes I had a headache!

Mine are more likely to ask for my 4Head. Occasionally they'll ask for something stronger, but 4Head seems to do it for them most of the time.

Quite expat! I would rather they took a tablet and carried on with their lives, than give them the impression that they needed to lie down every time they had a headache.

I never dish out medicene straight away, purely because the body has it's own way with dealing with pains so it might go away by itself.

Also taking painkillers too much can lead to dependency, but if any of my Dc's are in pain, that doesn't disappear quite quickly of course I'll give them something for it.

Pain ain't nice.

All these threads about manflu and people taking to their beds every time they have a sniffle.

This is where that idea originates.

Paracetamol is a painkiller. Headaches are painful. I do take paracetamol when I get a headache.

actually, that;s not true, what I tend to do it swear, carry on, go to bed wrung out and then lie there thinking "I should have taken a painkiller. I'm lying down now. I'm not getting up again."

If the person starts asking for a paracetemol every day, and the headache doesn't go away, then I'd take them to the GP to try to figure out the cause of the persistent headache.

But it's hardly a dangerous chemical when used in moderation.

Like I said, I get PMT headaches for a few days in the run up to my period.

This girl may have the same thing.

It's not something a lie down and a glass of water is going to fix out.

I hope she's able to pick up some paracetemol in a chemists shop instead of suffering needlessly for days on end.

I'm wary of giving mine paracetemol if I can rule out anything else that might be causing it like dehydration or hunger for example. My DD, 15, doesn't drink enough fluids so I always say have a drink first if she says she's got a headache. Especially as she's most likely to complain when she's just come in from school. Although if they're obviously feeling really crap or it's period pains then I don't hesitate.

I have memories of my Mum's morning routine of a pot of tea and two Anadin without fail and in the evening too. I think it was out of habit more than anything. Although I don't blame her for doing it if it made her feel better. If I get a headache I don't automatically take a painkiller I'd usually wait for a bit to see if it goes off first (unless it's one of those that accompany a period which are v painful).

This is not your child. If you're really worried about giving her something you should contact her mum and ask if it's OK. Otherwise - you saw her mum giving her paracetomol, so you know it's OK from her parents' pov. Don't leave the poor girl suffering. Blimey, I have headaches every single day and would get nothing done - wouldn't ever get up - if I didn't take a pill. What you do with your own kids is your business, but this girl is used to getting a pill for a headache and will hate you for making her suffer.

Her mum won't appreciate it much either.

LOL at Crack.... It's paracetamol!! No harm, no side effects, eases any discomfort, even safe when pregnant.

Yes, I reach for the parecetamol at the first sign of any type of pain with my 3 dc's. It's not fair for them to be in pain. If they are fibbing, well it's not going to harm them occassionaly IMO.

barnstaple....am glad you know her mum and can speak on her behalf

I have spoken to her mother and am happy to give her paracetamol.

I was not making any child suffer and would not make any child suffer but i too have a mother who would quite happily pop pills all day or headaches that probably transpired because she hadnt had any paracetamol.

Expat...I know its not crack either - there really is no need for sarcasm, I was asking a question and you dont need to be clever at my expense.A lot of headaches are due to dehydration and I didnt think that it would do any harm to let her have a glass of water first.

I dont tend to take paracetamol straight away no.

And Im not suggesting go for a lie down every time you have a headache....ffs, if we want to be a society of pill poppers then fine, if you want your kids to turn to the medicine cabinet every time they say they have a headache...jesus my DD would tell me she has a head ache every day if each time i gave her some of that delicious calpol- she absolutely loves it. I have found that if my kids tell me they have a headache then I give them a huge glass of water, tell them to chill out (ok so i used the lie down phrase before) for 5 and see if they want to go and play, head ache is soon forgotten. Now then IF then they continue to complain I will do something about it. I dont think that makes me a cruel mother who will willingly leave a child in pain, really?

And Expat...I really would be surprised at the chemist who would sell a 12YO girl a box of Paracetamol...maybe they would, but do you seriously think I would leave her to go and do that??

I actually agree with you stoppin.

I wouold also have given her a drink and sent her away first and then if she complained again, then i'd have given it to her.

Headaches can go of their own accord, depending on how bad it is.

The only one of my children who gets calpol as soon as they mention a headache is Ds, because he gets migraines.

Pain is such an individual and subjective thing.........

In the specific situation you were asking for advice/thoughts on I think I would give the paracetamol, mainly on the basis that this appears to be what the mum would do, and as thers have said paracetamol isn't a strong or addictive analgesic, and most people tolerate is extremely well.

I personally find headaches extremely difficult to deal with, and now having learnt that other methods of coping do not work well I take analgesia pretty much as soon as I get one, otherwise 99 out of 100 I get a migraine. I get headaches pretty regularly and I think they are my achilles heel, its been this way since I was in my early teens. On the other hand I can tolerate other types of pain really well.

Suppose what I am saying is I don't think there is any 'merit' in toughing pain out if there is no need, I think that can send equally unhealthy messages to young people, Its about finding a balance I guess.

thanks apm, cracker of nuts oh yes and lurkin....v constructive the thing is I did see her giving her DD paracetamol(but I would expect any child to have had some form of paracetamol form their parent at some point in their life but that doesnt mean I wouldnt check that it was a good idea). I have since this morning found out she suffers with migrane occasionally so another time I ouwldnt bat an eyelid...i would give her them straight away...I also have had migranes, particularly in my teens so can sympathise.

tis about finding a happy balance I agree, but i certainly wouldnt advocate handing them out without thinking of the individual cicumstances.

It just makes me sad that mnetters say stupid things like "its not crack you know" Like im some kind of fecking half wit!!!!and "her mother wont appreciate it"

thoughtless comments, not very constructive, I am a good person and have been trusted to look after my very good friend daughter this week while she prepares for an operation, give me some credit ffs before you all jump in.

I don't think the OP's question was OTT at all. Before I take a pill for a headache I make sure it isn't because I'm hungry, dehydrated etc. and do the same for my dd. That isn't 'leaving her to suffer' it is checking that there isn't anything else causing the headache that should be sorted out first and also making sure she knows that pain happens for a reason sometimes - your body is often telling you something - simply masking it might not help in the long run.

If I have a headache first thing it is usually because I didn't drink enough water the night before, a big glass of water and I'm usually right as rain after my shower. However I also get tension headaches that creep up my neck and nothing will shift those other than ibuprofen.

I'm not anti-pills but try to reserve them for when that is the only thing that will help. I was at college with a girl who became dependent on over the counter painkillers and literally couldn't function unless she knew she had access to them, and it was quite scary how quickly that happened and the effect it had on her.

Well I must be a shite parent as DD (4.5) often tells me she has a headache and I tell her to drink some water and lie down!

The lying down part is really to tell if she is poorly or not. I have no idea how bad the headache is, or even if she has one.

If she still complains about it after a while I will give her calpol but even that seems to be a game to her.

The OP is not about 4-year-olds who like the taste of Calpol.

Stoppin, you specifically worded your post to pertain to children 12+.

Then you stated that you don't like dishing out paracetamol and that you consider the dose the girl was getting strong.

And that you treat headaches with lying down and water.

Then you get bent out of shape when others point out that it's not a dangerous substance and that doing that is somehow trying to be clever or sad and that people who disagree in such a manner are not constructive and thoughtless.

Not everyone agrees with you. That's the nature of this forum, it's not here to just tell you what you want to hear.

'And Expat...I really would be surprised at the chemist who would sell a 12YO girl a box of Paracetamol...maybe they would, but do you seriously think I would leave her to go and do that??'

12-year-olds are not stupid. If a chemist won't sell it to them, it's not hard to convince someone older at school to buy it for them. Hell, some of them already do this with alcohol.

And if the girl already feels that you're cadgey about giving her paracetemol, well, yes, she may feel she can't come to you for it and needs to get hold of it elsewhere.

When kids feel they can't talk to a particular adult, they don't. They go elsewhere. They don't confide in many adults the way people do when they get older.

Yeah, sure, with your own kids, it's easier to judge, maybe it's dehydration, hunger, etc.

But this isn't your kid, and it may not be the type of headache she's comfortable talking to everyone about - like period or PMT headaches.

she wasnt confiding,,,she was telling me she had a headache, you were sarcastic with me for..............I "got bent out of shape " as you put it because you made out i was being cruel.

I wasnt being cagey about giving her paracetamol...You seem to know more about this girl than I do, you making an awful lot of assumtions about her wanting to confide in me, she had a head ache, she asked for paracetamol, she had just got up this morning, I asked her to try a glass of water and maybe go back to bed for a bit first (that was where the lie down bit came from)

Oh believe me if it was pmt she would tell me, she had a head ache.....stop making this into some drama!!! I asked if people handed out paracetamol easily to thier older kids and told my situation....now my friend has entrusted me with her daughter for this week she expects me to treat her DD as I would my own and I have.

I suggest you go and have a large glass of water and a lie down