How much Calpol and Ibuprofen

[Mazarati]

Hi there, my baby boy is almost 10 months old and has been teething pretty much non stop for months. All four top and bottom are now through, and the four outer ones came through all at once just recently which was a bit of a nightmare for the poor sod. I thought this would be it for a while, and now he seems to be in even more discomfort, chewing and dribbling like mad and very irritable. Could his molars be starting to come through already???

But my main question is pain relief... we've been giving him calpol once a day at night before bed for a few weeks and in the final stages of the last batch, ibuprofen for three nights. We've since had a freak out at the amount of calpol regularly given (everyday, once a day for a few weeks). We have now stopped all pain relief for fear of overdosing. But the poor mite, now has even more teething, a rotten cold and diarrhoea with some nappy rash. Yikes!!! What can we do? Any suggestions much appreciated :)

You can give it according to the packet instructions. I think calpol no more than 4 times in 24 hours and ibuprofen I think is similar. You can’t overdose unless you take too much. Some children have to take it every day for various reasons.

But my main question is pain relief... we've been giving him calpol once a day at night

Did you not read the information in/on the box

I wouldnt give pain relief every day as a routine. You should only give it when necessary. It isnt actually much use in teething, but great if there is a raised temperature. No use for a cold or diarrhoea. It isnt exactly an overdose but his kidneys and liver have to process it so I tend to avoid it where possible unless child is febrile. Local teething stuff is worse than useless. Teething is a strange phenomenon and its easy to thing he has beed teething for 10 months, but really not likely. The discomfort is only for a few days as the tooth emerges.

Ibuprofen always worked better for us than Calpol for teething. That and lots of things to bite.

Also it is an urban myth to say chewing and dribbling are a sign of teething. They may increase, but chewing and dribbling is a developmental thing that will happen with or without teeth emerging, may last months or even years

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/can-i-give-my-child-paracetamol-and-ibuprofen-at-the-same-time/

Sorry my post wasn't clear.

I just wanted to say that yes it was naive on our part not to read the instructions that thoroughly... but we got the impression from nurses/doctors/pharmacists that it was harmless to give and is the solution to most problems... and implied we'd need a lot of it. First time parents - we didn't think to question it

Still not clear

Click on picture.

Paracetamol should not be given for more than 3 days without speaking to doctor or pharmacist.

My daughter had a terrible run last winter, teething & constant illness/temperatures. At one point we were under the care of a consultant for breathing issues and he said they can take the recommended dose of calpol every day for months & months if they need too. So long as you don’t overdose, it’s not harmful at all. Some very ill children do take calpol daily for years for chronic pain caused by their illness. After that, I stopped worrying. If she needed calpol, we gave it (within the dose guidelines)

Ibuprofen however should be used more cautiously, there is link from continued to use to stomach ulcers & other issues. By continued use, the consultant said daily for months on end. A few days isn’t going to harm.

Don’t worry OP, if your kid needs some pain relief, give it. It won’t last forever. Teething now seems like a distant memory!

*the consult your doctor after 3 days bit is related to them checking why your child has been in pain for 3 days.. if you know it’s teething and nothing else that might need treating with say antibiotics or investigating further, you don’t need to waste an appointment!

At one point we were under the care of a consultant for breathing issues and he said they can take the recommended dose of calpol every day for months & months if they need too

But you were under consultant care. You can't just dish out this advice to anyone. The box states no more than 3 days without speaking to a doctor or pharmacist for a reason. Every case is different and what your consultant told you isn't necessarily the correct information for OP DC.

the consult your doctor after 3 days bit is related to them checking why your child has been in pain for 3 days.. if you know it’s teething and nothing else that might need treating with say antibiotics or investigating further, you don’t need to waste an appointment!

No. It doesn't state 3 days unless you know otherwise. I can't quite figure out why you would think it's ok to tell people to ignore this advice?