Calpol help! Hysterical baby

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Please can anyone give me advice.

DS is nearly 5 months, he has a rotten cold and is teething. He's feeling so sorry for himself. Usually so smiley but he just looks crestfallen. When his temp goes up I've tried to give him calpol (and after his injections) he goes absolutely hysterical to the point he makes himself sick. I've tried dripping it in gently, blowing on his face to make him swallow and he starts choking and gets beside himself.

Any advice?

bluebluezoo be careful giving this advice. It is incorrect.
Antipyretics are very useful in reducing fever and risk of febrile convulsions, aside from relieving pain and discomfort. Squirting slowly a flat headed syringe towards where a back molar would be between cheek and gum with head slightly back is definitely the way to give it. 3 DC and time spent working on a children’s ward has shown me this. I’ve yet to fail with this method!
It is absolutely NOT advisable to sedate a child with antihistamine, running the risk of suppressing their cough reflex and making it hard to assess their level of alertness/conscious state.
*disclaimer-GP

Trixibell, doesn’t what you said about reducing fever and avoiding convulsions go against the current NICE guidelines? “You should not use paracetamol or ibuprofen simply to lower your child's temperature or to try to prevent a febrile convulsion (a fit, or seizure, caused by fever) because studies have shown that paracetamol and ibuprofen do not reduce the risk of convulsions.”

Obviously either is great for helping your child feel less generally crappy (although if trying to give it made my child hysterical I’d definitely not force it on them and would look for a different tactic).

Unsuccessful attempts. He was inconsolable... still trying to get him to sleep, I'm shattered 😢

I'm not going to be the bearer of good news here, because my DD couldn't keep calpol down for years! I feel your pain with the vomiting it straight back up because I know that scenario well.

DD used to vomit anyway when her temp got really high, and then it would go down. Bit nerve-wracking for the parents, though!

Hope your DS feels better soon, lots of cuddles and some nose-clearing chest rub (I can't remember the one we used but I'm sure there is a small white tub of stuff for children).

Snufflebabe vapour rub, I just looked it up! I think I got it from Tesco if you have one that opens late near you.

Go to the doctor or pharmacy (expensive if not on prescription) and get suppositories. You literally just pop one up their bottoms.

Does your DS take a bottle? When my baby was tiny and hated the syringe, I found it easier to measure the correct amount into the teat of an up-ended bottle, then screw the actual empty bottle on (just in case of spillage) and give the teat as usual...

N.b. My method is essentially the same as using a medicine dispenser dummy, minus the cost of buying one! Don't add anything to the bottle besides the medicine (it is not recommended to mix medicine with formula/breast milk, because if your baby doesn't finish the bottle he won't get the whole dose).

We had the exact same hysteria,

Used suppositories up the bottom which were so quickly effective, less dosage required so is healthier - it's the norm in Germany and other EU countries for adults by the way !!

Can use Calpol again now

So sorry, just realised you said your baby doesn't take a bottle... (currently struggling with my own DS who has a cold and is teething this evening!).

I put my son's medicines in a nipple

Use a suppository - I’m in Germany and it’s the norm to give them babies over here if you need to give them pain relief or reduce fever.

purplewithred that is a good point, I should correct what I said as it doesn’t read correctly when I looked back. antipyretics aren’t meant to be used with the sole purpose of reducing fever alone as systematic reviews haven’t shown that giving paracetamol after a first febrile convulsion conclusively reduces the risk of another seizure. There are some articles around suggesting current practice in paediatrics still differs from this however. General advice is as per my screenshot.
OP I hope your little one settles soon. My little one is up with a wheezy chest and fever- yes he’s had his paracetamol 😂