Worried about giving too much Calpol

[Lloydy88]

Hi all,
I'm a little worried about the calpol I'm giving to our 16 week old.
In the last few weeks he's really struggled with teeth and he's shattered but won't sleep because his teeth (we think it's his teeth as he's chewing his gums when crying) are playing him up.
We've given one dose of calpol before bed probably 10 or more times in the last 21 days (3 weeks).
Has anyone else had experience in this? The doctor just said that once a day when he's in pain at night isn't going to harm but I don't want to give too much.
Any advice would be welcome.
Many thanks :)

I don't believe in teething personally. Yeah when you get a little crop all coming through at once, or a molar just about to break a gum but otherwise... nah. It's probably something else! Separation anxiety, awareness of being left, habit-formation and needing a prop to get back to sleep etc.
The reason I say this is that not one single child I know has complained of teething when older - they regularly have teeth popping through right through to teen years and I've never heard an older kid complain.

Having said that I doubt one dose a day every other day is going to do any harm.

Ashton and Palmers (think thats the name)powders. Absolutely magic stuff if calpol isnt cutting it. I was sceptical but they worked on Ds2.

Dd1 teethed awfully. Her gums were lumpy with teethfromaboyt four months. In a particularly 'bad' period we would give calpol about as often as you mention. Then she would go for weeks without any.

Dd2 gets teething rash and a couple of days of chomping on fingers and crying then a tooth pops through. Much easier!

Does he have any other signs of teething? Nappy rash, really sour smelling poo, dribbling more?

I don't think it will do any harm so I wouldn't worry.
But we just found ambasol for teething and it seems to really help better than anything else for my ds

It does sound like teething, as when they teeth they are more prone to becoming poorly which would make them extra needy.

It doesn't sound too much, but do what's best for you.

I found that an amber teething anklet really helped wth my DS, also anbesol (the liquid form from a chemist) was a god send and better than calpol!

Hope all is well. Take care

Ye he is dribbling terrible, has red cheeks and is constantly chewing on his hands, fingers and anything he can touch! :( - Now you say about his poo, it's not runny but recently I've found it harder to change him as it is a very distinctive smell - it does have a sour tinge. There's about 8 white areas on his gums where they are growing through and lumpy gums on top but no teeth yet so probably very like Dd1 thishatisnotmine. :)

Thank you very much all! :) xx

I would try natural options first, he might be teething but tbh babies at that age all chew hands, dribble loads etc teething or. not(two of mine had no teeth until gone one) it can be difficult to tell as at that age they do get unsettled anyway.

My go advised ‘not to bother with all that bonjela and anbesol rubbish’ (actual quote) and said to just give calpol for teething pain (it exists ) like you would for yourself.

The guidelines for not more than 3 days are there to discourage people from self treating ailments that could be something else and delaying doctors advice, yet with teething you know what you’re dealing with so it’s perfectly ok to use for more than the 3 days.

*GP

My eldest had a terrible time with teething! As he's gotten older, I've found that he does seem to experience everything worse than his younger brother and does seem to have a lower pain threshold. He was a very grumpy baby, struggled bad with reflux and teething. Every cold he got really bad. When he had chicken pox this year (he's 5 now) he was totally covered in spots and really ill whereas my youngest had a handful of spots and wasn't bothered.

My point is some babies struggle more with pain and if the calpol helps him, then what's the harm. Surely the opinion of your GP is what you should be listening to rather than random people online anyway.

Like PP have said, a gum gel or homeopathic granuals (I think its nonsense but they seem to like the grittiness) would be a good thing to try. And if he won't use a teething toy try offering a cloth with a damp corner to chew on.

On the plus side with dd1, she had all her teeth well before she was two. And oddly, molars caused her least problems!

Don't go near Amber teething necklaces. Choking risk. And total woo.

Anbesol liquid is only licensed from 5 months but probably won't do much harm. When mine were little it used to contain alcohol:)

Ashton and Palmers makes babies happier cos it is nearly 100% sugar.

Parsons

My daughter pulls on her ears when she's teething like she's got really painful ear-ache.

When DS was a baby, he was unwell from 9 months to 16 months pretty much without a break.

I’d say in those months he had max doses of Calpol and ibuprofen for 5 days at a time, every three weeks (recurrent tonsillitis with fevers over 40). I was really worried about it- every doctor (I spoke to many) said that they had no concerns on that front - and that he was distressed, worryingly hot, and in pain - so there was no other option.

I wouldn’t worry about one Calpol dose.

Erm part of the reason for not giving maximum doses of paracetamol for more than 3 days is that paracetamol is hepatotoxic. It's not the benign medicine people presume. Giving once a day isn't going to cause any harm in most healthy babies but giving the max dose to infants for a long period isn't to be recommended.

Ashton and Palmers did nothing for my baby. I'd say go on with the Calpol.

I remember feeling exactly the same, then all of a sudden the tooth comes through and you have weeks where you won't give any. The fact you're concerned probably shows you're not going to give too much.

My DD suffered terribly with teething (ignore the PP who said it's not a thing- teeth cutting through your gums definitely is a thing and it really bothers some babies!). What helped for us was having a variety of methods we worked through. Cool tethers / Bickie Pegs in the day, bonjella (which I actually think did naff all, but worth a crack) Ashton and parsons powder, calpol / nurofen. When she was a bit older we discovered Anbesol and that was a game changer- especially with canines and molars. When they've got a few more teeth it's easier to work out which one is coming through and use the Anbesol in a targeted way.

I'm not amass ice fan of dishing out Calpol too often, but I think you will be fine. Abesol oil was great for my DS all the way through teething until his molars are coming trough now where we have to give a little bit of Calpol .

@ohnothanks have you not had wisdom teeth? Mine bloody killed on the way through!

I think the difference is that adult teeth come through the already existing space created by the baby teeth.

Anbesol oil and nurofen are the best for teething.

My poor little boy was on alternate Calpol and nurophen every 4 hours for MONTHS. Under the supervision of doctors. He was only 12 weeks.

He's now 7 months and thriving. Speak to your GP for reassurance. But your LO will be fine.

I used brush baby teeth cleaning things that go over your finger then teething gel and calpol when DD seemed more sore. The pressure of rubbing it in helped I think. I kept teething toys in tupperwares boxes in the fridge too.

ohnothanks you don't believe in teething? that is the funniest thing I've heard in weeks, thank you deluded

Anbesol gel all the way. Mine weren't bad teethers so I don't think I ever gave calpol but did use anbesol on occasion. Used it myself once, it's really quite good.

Can you buy the chewy key nuby thingies that you can chill/freeze to chew on during the day