can i ask a quick question about calpol without this turning into a massive troll inhabited thread do you think???

[Heathcliffscathy]

as some of you may have noticed, i'm a bit hippy dippy, so along with antibiotics don't like using calpol/medised etc. i see a homeopath with ds and try to use alternative medicines as much as possible.

however, if I think that ds is really in pain, and homeopathic remedy doesn't seem to be doing it, I do use calpol. a fellow mner that i know irl told me she spoke to peadiatrician who told her that if we as adults experienced teething we would go mad with the pain of it, and having had toothache I can well believe this is true. so if i think that ds is in pain from teething, i want to relieve that.

however, i'm concerned by how often and for how long this is: for example, sometimes ds has a spoon of calpol (sometimes two) for 5 or 6 nights on the trot.

recently he has taken to pointing at his mouth and saying 'teeth, sore' (he understands what both of these words mean). he also sometimes asks for 'med' (medicine).

I"m getting paranoid that he just wants calpol (can he be addicted...don't laugh)...but can a 21 month old lie about stuff like that? would they? he may have some back molars coming though, but it's hard to tell, he doesn't have the red cheeks that he has sometimes (altho not always had). anyhow, tonight i tried ashton and parsons powders but he cried when i put him to bed and said 'teeth, sore' and pointed at the calpol (!) so i gave him a spoon.

any advice on this? am i right to be concerned? or just mad?

God! Did you miss the huge trollfest when someone posted a load of crap about 'you can give your baby all the calpol it wants' . Troll turned out to be some teenage boy IIRC!

how did they find that out hmb???? the mind boggles....

Caligula, I did see some posts on another site that directed people to a forum where parents discussed giving their children Calpol milkshakes (a bottle of Calpol and a pint of milk a day...). So yes, it's possible to troll about Calpol!

Sophable, DS is currently getting his third molar - he doesn't teethe easily (his gums have bled in the past and he gets frantic with how sore his mouth is). He won't have Calpol though - loathes it and always has (even at 8 weeks old, he screamed with his mouth shut so I couldn't give it to him after his jabs!).

He either has Disprol (banana flavoured), Medised or Nurofen, but never the full dose per day (except when he's had UTIs when he gets the full dose of everything I can lay my hands on to bring his temperature down from 40.9 degrees!).

I really don't think that one dose of Calpol a night while he's teething is a problem - and there have been times when I've wondered whether DS will ever sleep without it when we've used it several nights on the trot, but he always does. Then he starts cutting another tooth and it starts again! It's just one more thing to worry about

In the end he confessed that it was all part of some cunning school project (yawn). He was IIRC trying to make the point that we shouldn't take advice from an internet forum as it wasn't safe. A theory his rather blew since the world and its mother lept in and told him he was giving dangerous advice!

Bummer! I wonder if he passed his project?

so this is a kind of contradicting thread....sophable if you are a bit hippy dibby and hate using antibiotics and using calpol etc and would rather use homepath treatment then why if homeopathic treatment is not working are you saying if your ds is in really bad pain you would use calpol....sorry but I do not understand....I hope that I you can tell me different...

I give ds an appropriate amount of an adult paracetamol tablet crushed up and dissolved in water - it tastes truly horrible, really bitter and trust me he would only ask for it if in real pain. But has no colour, sweeteners, parabens, preservatives like the kids version.

As for not addictive - no the drug isn't but the other stuff in the syrups are addictive to children.

Is it really bobbybob...had no idea that it was...have been adviced by doctor to give calpol or alternative to my 2 month old when she has her jabs next week...and have been giving to all off mine since they were young and had their jabs...and my eldest is 7 this week......worried now??

Not addictive like crack cocaine addictive - just that it is more addictive than the normal tablets. Still a very small risk - children mostly just like syrupy stuff rather than bitter cloudy water.

When my DS was teething we used various remedies and he did the same. It became the "norm" (horrendous) for him to expect a dose of something before he went to bed. It freaked me out - "OMG he's addicted...". It soon stopped though and he hasn't needed a bedtime dose for months now.

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about your question 'can they lie about something like that' our dd (21 months) when being difficult about going to bed will often stand behind door saying 'poo poo' cos she knows we will have to go in and check her

Addicted in medicine means something more than 'liking' something. It is misleading to say a child can be addicted to the syrup in calpol. they may like and want it , but addiction is something more.

Rather like me saying 'I am addicted to expensive holidays'. I like them, and would like more of them, but I'm not addicted in the medical sense

I hardly give mine medicine but if one of them has to have calpol, the other one will often 'fake' a pain to try and get some (I think they like the taste of it - if it's nurofen, they don't ask!)

I think it's a combination of the lurid pink colour and the sweet taste (whether it's the sugared version or not). I've tried them both and they do taste very like a liquid sweet.

I wouldn't be concerned but I would only give it if he has obvious teething signs (red cheeks, drooling etc.). In his defence though, I think toothache and teething pain is often worse at night so maybe that's what he is expressing.

I'd recommend offering Syrup of Figs as a 'better medicine' for a couple of nights.

That'll sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Seriously, I am veryliberal with the medication but I only give Calpol if dd wakes up in the night and is uncomfortable - that's a real sign she needs some pain relief. If she sleeps through then she's fine and doesn't need it. I think it's a useful guide.

yes, we often do that if we suspect a little bit of faking or a spoon of fish oils!

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Is my son the only child in the world who hates calpol (and all the other medicines we have tried) with a passion? He has to be pinned down and have it squirted into the back of his throat, and then he usually spits it out or throws it up.

I take paracetemol if I have pain so I wouldn't deny it to my child. It is one of the most researched drugs in the world and there is not really much evidence against it at normal doses.

It isn't a lie as such , just that he likes the taste........and knows how to ask for it. Same as when our dd shouts poo poo, it is just because she knows this call will get our attention.

Triceratops, could it be the consistancy that you son can cope with?

I hate taking medicine with a passion as the thick syrupy consistancy make me heave! Even as an adult i find it very hard to swallow medicine. I'd rather have an injection! As an adult I can do it if I have to, but I still heave but can now hold it down.

does he see u putting the caplol on the spoon? if he doesn't associate the bottle with whats on the spoon you could try putting weak blackcurrant on the spoon and see if that does the trick. think someone has already mentioned ribena.

it won't b a lie as such but he could associate tooth ache with calpol

Did read an article about parents resorting to giving Calpol every day. It stated that paracetemol can cause headaches as a withdrawal symptom. Hence, more Calpol to relieve it and a cycle starts.

Thanks HMB, I dont think it is the consistancy as he doesn't like medised either and that is runny. He will be old enough to have calpol melts soon and they seem to be a much less messy way of doing things. My SIL swears by them. I just hope he is not ill between now and then.