How much calpol/ neurofen do you use?

[Jolay100]

DS is 10 months. He's always been difficult to settle: colic, reflux cows milk and soya intolerant. Teeth coming in are the end of the world etc. whenever he's upset and not settling/ sleeping I go through a mental checklist... Too hot, too cold, hungry, tired, dirty.... Sore? I try and fix each of them in turn so hopefully we all get some sleep. On average I resort to calpol etc once a week but sometimes for example if he's teething he needs it regularly for two or three days. As a result at nearly 10 months we have gone through 3 bottles of calpol and 2 of neurofen.... This seems a lot to me, so I wondered how much other people use?

Not much but I've had an easy baby/child. We usually throw about a third of every bottle away when it gets out of date.

This winter I have went through tonnes of the stuff ! Both DCs were tag teaming illness all winter . I was having a moan at one of the many Dr appointments I had one of them at , so the nice locum Dr gave me a massive prescriptions with a good few bottles of each ! I was so grateful

With hindsight (my boy is 3.5) I would have used a lot more than I did!! A Nct friend was having her second and seemed to have it out all the time. I think we worried.

Once you know their personality I would use Calpol for everytime they are not like normal.

We have had a bit of a bad time with teething. We probably had a week where I have one dose each day of either calpol or calbuprofen before bed, then there was a bit of a break and another week of the same. I was worried that this was too much but I think with teething they need it.
Getting through 5 bottle in 10 months means that you are using half a bottle a month, with a dose being 2.5mls at that age it is a hell of a lot of doses and too much IMO. I would be careful that it isn't just becoming part of the routine. I can understand the wanting to just give calpol as you don't want him to be in pain, it must be hard if he has been colicky

Since Christmas dd has managed scarlet fever, chicken pox, tonsillitis and a heavy cold. I should have taken out shares

Shit loads! I've those bloody syringes coming out of my ears.
Lots of winter colds and hellish teething!

Not that much really, although feels like a lot sometimes. We've gone through about 3.5 bottles in 3.5years. Always give it if I think she needs it but more as a last resort - a boob used to solve most problems when she was little, and I don't give it just for a temp unless she's feeling grotty.

loads here too! DS started nursery in Jan and has pretty much been ill ever since with colds, cough, virus and teething in between. I try and switch between the two so he isnt having too much of one but do find neurofen is more effective.

Not really any. We usually throw them away as out of date before we actually get through it. I have two children age nearly 4 and 5. I usually only give for a high temp of over 38.5, I usually wait an hour though to see if it goes down naturally and usually it does

As adults we get through very little medicine also though.

Very little with dd. She didn't have it all in her first year and then occasionally for earaches when older. She is 7 and hasn't had it for a long time. Can't remember the last time. DS had pneumonia at 5 months so had calpol then. Plus a perforated eardrum and tonsillitis a while ago. No other usage iirc. Certainly never used a whole bottle. He is 3.

I think as long as it's used only when necessary then it will always vary. Each child has different needs. I give it for the same reason as I take it. Pain and discomfort. Possibly there is some over use nowadays as people routinely use it for fever which isn't recommended. Otherwise, it serves such a useful purpose.

not that much.
never for 'just' a fever. fever is good, if it's not too high.
but for pain and feeling awful, of course. though I try home remedies first.

We use loads here. Ds1 has had something every week or so since Xmas- tonsillitis, ear infection, molars...
Ds2 has recently had jabs, cold with high temp, teething, bronchiolitis.
Never noticed a use by date so better check but we probably don't have a bottle long enough. We used a whole bottle in less than a week at new year.

My dd is nearly 15 months and we've not got through a whole bottle yet. I think we've just been lucky, she's only had one slight temperature and all other illnesses have been coughs or colds. It probably helps that every time I try to give it to her she spits most of out so I try absolutely everything else to settle her first. If she'd had the type of things your son had we would probably have used more though!

We use a fair bit, my son suffers awfully with teething. He will scream, scream and scream some more! Calpol really helps with his teething powder.

Loads

DD is just one. We had hardly used any medicine until two weeks ago when she got the cold from hell and 3 teeth at once! We used a lot then.

Oh dear. I always thought we were light users, but judging by this I guess we're more in the heavy using category! DS is 14mo and on bottle 3...

Heaps until she finished teething. She found it very painful.

I did check with Dr numerous times and he was fine with dosage (daily at bedtime when a tooth was coming through).

Loads here when teething. I tried so hard to be sparing then i realised i was making us both miserable so now i medicate and we all sleep,and are happier.

My DD is a year and for the last 4 nights between the hours of 7pm and 5am he has usually had two doses of Nurofen and one dose of Calpol because he's teething and it's really, really difficult for him.

Other than that we haven't really used it much. Usually if he's really grizzly and absolutely nothing settles him, or if he has a temperature.

I have a 10, 8 and 2 yr old, we've had since Christmas, chicken pox x 3 (all involving fevers of 40 degrees and over) now DS3 has croup, we have had broken bones, colds, viruses, ear infections, Scarlett fever.

I'm currently sat looking at my medicine cupboard and the top shelf is just dedicated to various forms of child friendly pain relief and fever reducers, I have spent a lot of money in chemists.

It goes in phases in our house, we can go a couple of months of nothing then 1 of kids gets something and shares it with the rest. 5 kids = flipping loads of the stuff

My DS is coming up for 10 months and we go through quite a bit too. I'm allergic to lidocaine which is in teething gels, so he can't use them, and he hates the powders. He's had a really hard time with norovirus, teething, a heavy cold and conjunctivitis in the past couple of weeks, so we've given calpol or nurafen when we felt he needed it. I mentioned to his dr that I felt bad giving him so much and age said not to worry, so I didn't.

First year, probably a couple of bottles for teething, second year (coincided with starting nursery) about 20 bottles of both (always popped one in with every shop!), third year (immune system seemed to cope better after the initial influx of nursery bugs) 3-4 bottles. I think there are just phases where they're more poorly and need more.

Our GP said 'stay within the dosage but just keep spooning it in if he needs it', so I followed that advice!

Ds is 17 months and I must be on my 10th bottle of paracetamol and 4th or 5th of ibuprofen. That is a complete guesstimate - it may be more. Mind you I stopped counting at 15 colds/ infections and every tooth is the end if the world. Hoping being sick a lot at this age means he will have a strong constitution later on!!
Don't forget to get it all free under the minor ailments scheme.