TOO MUCH CALPOL

[huggybear]

i posted a comment a while ago on someone s thread about a friend who gave her dd 3 tablespoons of calpol to get her to sleep and people posted back that it was dangerous (as they should and i agree) but the problem is, is that shes still doing it! she lets her swig from the bottle and gives her 20mil ect. her dd is only 2 years old. ive told her over and over again that shes going to harm her daughter but she says "shes used to it" or "it wont do her any harm" and more recently shes actually handed her dd the bottle and said "lets make auntie xxx cross" ffs

i need advice of what to say/do because even if she seems fine after taking the calpol it could be doing her long term damage! ive seen her do it 3 times in the last week

People with paracetamol o/d are actually rushed to the top of the transplant list if needed as they are so ill. They do die. This needs to be stopped HB.

No hb - any liver damage she may have done would not be your fault at all, and she may not have harmed her so far, depending on how much calpol she lets her dd have daily! But you can do something positive for her now and I should tell her you are going to help her. She may not like it, (or you for a while), but she is endangering her little one and that has to stop somehow. Tell her that you will be there too to support her and that it's because of your friendship that you are doing this for her.
Be asured though, that despite what you might feel, this is not your fault and you have tried to help and advise her and now are prepared to possibly do something which has great consequences for you (ie possible loss of good friendship), in order to help her and her dd.
I really do feel for you in this situation though - it's a very tough one.

Sorry, I know I am harping on about this, but if an adult was on here saying they had taken more than 3 times the reccomended dose of paracetamol I would be telling them to go to A and E to get their blood levels checked. In a child the liver is still developing and growing and is therefore at even more risk of damage. I know you are worried about your friend here HB, and I think you are an angel for caring so, but please please do something.

awww areo - you've made me cry

I'm so sorry hb - I didn't mean to make you cry. It's very clear you care for this friend deeply and you want things to be better for her. She's had a rough ride and is probably just trying to cope, but, what she's doing is dangerous and she will, I'm sure (if not sooner, then later), appreciate your concern for her and her dd and see that you had no choice but to help.
Sorry again for making you cry though - I feel very concerned now too.

its only cause im a big wimp!!

but at the end of the day, im only doing whats best and will be able to sleep better at night for having done so. if i let it lie and something happened to her dd i would never get over it.

here it says that frequent use of paracetamol actually increases the chance of a fatal overdose:

Paracetamol: Nausea, vomiting and anorexia. Liver damage which may be fatal, may only appear after a few days. Acute intoxication may cause kidney failure.
Prompt treatment is essential. In the event of an overdosage, consult a doctor immediately, or take the person to a hospital directly. A delay in starting treatment may mean that antidote is given too late to be effective. Evidence of liver damage is often delayed until after the time for effective treatment has lapsed.
Susceptibility to paracetamol toxicity is increased in patients who have taken repeated high doses (greater than 5-10 g/day) of paracetamol for several days, in chronic alcoholism, chronic liver disease, AIDS, malnutrition, and with the use of drugs that induce liver microsomal oxidation such as barbiturates, isoniazid, rifampicin, phenytoin and carbamazapine.
Symptoms of paracetamol overdosage in the first 24 hours include pallor, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and possibly abdominal pain. Mild symptoms during the first two days of acute poisoning, do not reflect the potential seriousness of the overdosage.
Liver damage may become apparent 12 to 48 hours, or later after ingestion, initially by elevation of the serum transaminase and lactic dehydrogenase activity, increased serum bilirubin concentration and prolongation of the prothrombin time. Liver damage may lead to encephalopathy, coma and death.
Acute renal failure with acute tubular necrosis may develop even in the absence of severe liver damage. Abnormalities of glucose metabolism and metabolic acidosis may occur. Cardiac arrhythmias have been reported.

I don't think you have any choice. You need to tell someone.

Message withdrawn

I'll come back to this later - have to go for a while now. Hope you can find the strength and courage to help your friend appropriately.

Why do you want a friend who is poisoning her child? I'm not trying to be mean..I just don't understand. If it was me, I would make the appropriate people aware of the situation and then not see her anymore.

im going to cut and paste some of this thread and print it off and along with the stuff im going to find about the effects of calpol overdoses im going to go a talk to her. let her know how worried i am and if shes worried about her dd sleeping (and its things like that that are pushing her over the edge at the mo)show her the althernatives such as the stuff mentioned on here. i have to give her the chance to wake up to the fact that she could kill her daughter. i also want her to take her dd to the hospital to be checked - she can just say dd nicked the bottle or something. i have known her long enough to know when she is really listening to me and understanding. if she doesnt want to know then i will contact other acencies for advice.

does this sound fair? is it enough?

Message withdrawn

Please please ring Social Services and do it today. Make them realise the situation is very urgent and that the child is in immediate danger. My cousin died of an accidental paracetamol overdose and it was an awful, slow and painful death. Her mum had to sit there knowing she was going to die and not being able to do anything. Just think how you will feel you do nothing and this happens to your friend's DD. Isn't it worth risking everything to prevent it?

How're you going hb. That sounds fair, yes, but you need to act quickly on it if you haven't already.

O-M-G - I haven't read this before but this is so dangerous I cannot tell you. I know it's hard but she is going to kill this child - it's sooooo dangerous to OD on paracetamol. She's either going to die or end up with liver failure requiring a transplant.

Please do something

Sorry, that sounded really harsh - it just shocked me so much, sorry. You've had lots of good advice here. This is a little girls life - it must be an absolute nightmare for you but you have to try to get through to your friend. I suppose if you can't and she just isn't having any of it - having shown her all the facts around it you could tell her you'd have no option but to tell someone for the sake of her little girl.

tell us the HV's number and the friends name and one of us will report it!

seriously, enough people have already posted this on here but paracetamol od is VERY SERIOUS and very easy to do.
there was a lady on tv a while ago who used to take 4 paracetamol each evening (can't remember why), and nearly died of an OD because of it building up due to the prolonged use of it.

I also know someone who died from taking 8 paracetamol.

please do something

OMG this makes me want to cry.

Not read the replies, but please tell your friend that my husband once had a secretary whose husband died from taking an accidental od of paracetomal. He took the recommended dose of paracetomal tablets then took a lemsip without realising it, so only double the dose killed him

Please please tell her not to do this. She will cause her dd untold damage if not kill her.

TBH if it was me I would ring social services and get her taken into care. Bugger the consequences for your friendship, this woman is not fit to have a child in her care at the moment.

SL, 8 paracetamol is 4 times the recommended dose of paracetamol. This girl has recieved 3.5 times the recommended dose, and regularly recieving at least twice the recommended dose. I do think you need to forget about your friendship for the sake of her poor daughter here, as harsh as it sounds. She has to be the priority. I'm probably really getting on your nerves here now, sorry. I am a nurse, I have some understanding of O/D and the effects of it, and I am so shocked at how a mother could do this.

CD, I agree.

huggybear I will call them if you can't just cat me

can you not get her on mn?

Please HB - you must act now. Please. You really have no alternative. This little girl needs your help. Have you seen your friend today? She needs help too because she thinks this is ok and it's not, but your first priority is the little one who cannot protect herself from this potentially lethal treatment.
If you can't do it yourself, then please CAT the details to someone who has offered to make the appropriate call for you - it's a little girls life which could be at risk. She needs someone to speak up for her and it can only be done with your help.