Urgent - can I give Calpol and Nurofen at the same time?

[shattered200]

My baby (13 months) is struggling terribly with teething tonight. I’ve given 0.5ml of Calpol but can I give the recommended dose of Nurofen as well? Or do I have to wait a few hours now?

I’ve also dabbed Anbesol on the gums but don’t know where the pain is coming from and I think I may have got the wrong gum. Now have to wait another 3 hours to use it again!

I was advised to space out by 2 hours and alternate between them

I never followed anbesol dosage instructions strictly . I smeared a load of it all over every area of the gums whenever needed.

Is this definitely safe?!

I always gave them together if extreme pain ie ear ache/ teeth pain my GP was aware and said it was fine if not all the time.

The benefits of staggering are so they have constant pain relief.

Nurofen in every 8 hours (3 times a day, night count too)

Paracetamol every 6 hours ( 4 times a day again nights count too)

Hope he settles.

Your link says:

If you give them one of these medicines and they're still distressed before the next dose is due, you could try the other medicine instead

Try nurofen if they don't seem to be getting relief from calpol

@shattered200

I never followed anbesol dosage instructions strictly . I smeared a load of it all over every area of the gums whenever needed.

Is this definitely safe?!

Yes I smeared it all over

If you read the guidelines you just posted it does say...

If you give them one of these medicines and they're still distressed before the next dose is due, you could try the other medicine instead.

I hope he improves soon.

Has he got something to chew on too? We found Calpol alternated with Nurofen plus Anbesol plus Matchstick Monkey toy usually sorted it

@shattered200

I never followed anbesol dosage instructions strictly . I smeared a load of it all over every area of the gums whenever needed.

Is this definitely safe?!

I'm not a medical professional but it's what it's intended for. Pain relief. It's not like it's being spoon fed , I wouldn't do that but a good coating of it all over the gums never had any ill effects on mine as babies.

I’ve always given paracetamol and ibuprofen together if a young child needs pain relief.
I think the dosage does depend on the drug, but I think it’s 4 doses every 24 hours for both.
I would prefer to dose with a 2 hours differential but it is not really necessary.

The dentist and the doctor told me I could stagger the calpol and the nurofen. I found the nurofen worked much better for teething than calpol though - DD has suffered terribly with teething.
However, I would recommend calling 111 to check, because although that advise worked for me DD is a high centile baby and both the doctor and the dentist told me this in person and I don't want to give you anecdotal advice.
I'm so sorry you're struggling OP - teething is just so so hard and there is so little you can do to help them. ❤️

Advice is not at the same time, but I personally would as a one off in that situation. Can be better long game to stagger it though! Good luck

You are not recommended to give both. They need to have 4 hours between each, although I didn't know this when my first was young as you are allowed to take them together as an adult! So my first did have them together.

You can give both at the same time but often it’s usually better to alternate them so there’s always something in baby’s system.

I've just checked on the Calpol Website and it says 5ml.I'd check the instructions again and see if you can give him more.

Also

I have given paracetamol and ibuprofen at the same time when teething or illness has been particularly bad.
Sometimes they need that extra boost to get them through the pain.
A day or two of doubling up to help them I'd say is fine. It's not the same as doing it all the time for minor things.

The NHS link says you can try the other medicine but without medical advice you shouldn't go on switching between the two, so if you've tried Calpol and it hasn't helped try Nurofen, and if that works stick to Nurofen and vice versa.
However if you phone 111 I'd imagine they'll tell you you can give both

Thanks for the advice - I really want to give more Anbesol as it’s normally v effective, but am so scared of exceeding the recommended dose!!!

You can give them at the same time.

You cannot give either before the stated guidelines (often 4 hours after last dose) and you have a certain max doses per 24 hours.

When my children were little, I used to write down time and dose (and medicine) on a piece of paper. My nightmare was always to “run out of” doses in a 24 hour period. This was for fever though, I guess teething may pass quicker?

Sorry, just read your update and 5ml does make more sense

Are there any other symptoms? I would give a dose of Nurofen but if he's still in distress after that, I would call 111 and get him checked out. Things like tonsillitis are quite difficult to spot in babies and toddlers. Screaming in agony seems out of proportion for teething.

When my daughter was in hospital she was given ibuprofen and paracetamol at the same time every 4 hours. She was 3 years old.

Another dab of anbesol on his gums will do no harm.

I've found that teething crystals are better than anything you rub in.

I was also told it was okay to give both at once, but with the two hour lag.

My Ds only needed it once, and then we discovered the pain was caused by something entirely different. It turned out that his vitamin drops were disagreeing with him.

So sorry you have this to cope with. I found it so very difficult to cope with a baby in pain. You could probably ring the out of hours GP if you need to.

In hospitals they calculate the dose differently. They base it on weight. They still have the minimum space between doses and the max dose per 24 hour as far as I am aware.

Peadiatric nurses told me to it's best to stagger ibuprofen and paracetamol so they're having something every 2 hours rather than both together and waiting 4 hours. We used just about everything when DD was at her worst, teething crystals, anbesol gel, ibuprofen, calpol, hasn't done her any harm!