Do you give your baby calpol for teething?

[Gettingonabitnow]

Hi

My 6 month old DC2 has been teething since she was 2 months old and she is beside herself. By that I mean frantically gnawing and manically going from one teether / arm / toy to another to gnaw. I am giving her Nelsons sachets twice a day but I’m not sure it does much. She doesn’t have a temp. She just seems in the type of discomfort you would imagine someone with toothache to be in.

We didn’t have this really with DC1. Do you give yours calpol when they are like this? To take away the pain that is.

Thanks Hey

[Phoenix76]

It's horrible when they're in pain. I found I didn't need paracetamol once I'd been recommended Ashton & Parsons (although to answer your question I wouldn't hesitate if she needed it). Hope little one feels better soon.

[SquigglePigs]

Definitely. And agree with a pp that baby ibuprofen was even more effective. DD didn't get on with any of the recommended alternatives (cold teethers etc) she just rejected them.

[Somethingsnappy]

OP, is your baby crying with it? You said she's been teething since two months, and is frantic....does that mean the frantic gnawing etc is quite new and she's managed OK before? Or has she been frantic for four months? I wouldn't give calpol etc continuously for months, but if it seems worse suddenly for a short period, I would, especially at night when the pain/discomfort can seem worse. A lot of gnawing and chewing is very normal for babies of that age, even before the teeth start properly coming through. It doesn't necessarily mean they are in pain with it. However, mothers are definitely best placed to recognise the needs of their own babies, sudden changes etc, so if you feel she is is pain, trust your own instincts. I only asked some questions because I wasn't certain from your first post how long the frantic behaviour had been for.

[Haworthia]

Aren’t Nelson’s teething powders homeopathic? In other words, they don’t work?

I would absolutely give paracetamol. Some MNers are so against it and talk about “distracting the baby” instead? Sod that. Tooth/gum pain is awful.

[APurpleSquirrel]

Definitely. A GP told us ibuprofen was better for pain & paracetamol was better for temperatures/inflammation but both will work. If it gets really bad you can alternate them too.

[PeacefulInTheDeep]

Yep, definitely give painkillers! My DD is 4 months and had a really rough couple of days last week where she was miserable, not sleeping, dribbling and chomping whatever she could get in her mouth. A couple of doses of calpol took the edge off and helped her to sleep better.

My DS is 2 and we go straight to ibuprofen when he's teething, as it seems to work better. It gets easier to tell if it's teething or something else as they get older.