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Parenting

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Original poster

How to get Calpol into babies??

41 replies

Brightandbreezey · 09/12/2023 13:44

Please give me some tried and test methods to get calpol into a poorly baby. Currently got a 10 month old who is teething and not sleeping and gets so upset whenever I try to give her calpol. I’ve tried using the syringe and mixed with food but neither are very successful.
Any helpful tips out there? I just want my baby to not be in pain and sleep.
Thanks!

OP posts:

Dyra · 09/12/2023 14:49

You need to get suppositories prescribed unfortunately. But they were an absolute lifesaver for my non syringe taking little girl. Go via 111 if your GP isn't available. It's how we got them initially.

As a small ray of hope, it might not last forever. My girl is 4 now, and would happily swig Calpol from the bottle if I would let her (I won't). However, she'll only take the original sugar filled Calpol. She still hates the taste of the sugar free version, and will reject it. If you're using the sugar free version, maybe try the original instead.

Mysterian · 09/12/2023 14:58

Works on little ones but is really horrible:
Tip them right back and pinch their nose shut. Squirt in the medicine which goes right to the back of their mouth. They have no way to breathe unless they swallow first, so they hold their breath as long as they can, then give up and swallow.

Timetogo24 · 09/12/2023 14:59

I used to put it in a bottle teat to save the mess x

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wudubelieveit · 09/12/2023 15:06

Mysterian · 09/12/2023 14:58

Best not to aim for back of throat as it can cause aspiration, better to put into their cheek.

plumtreebroke · 09/12/2023 15:07

Mine absolutely hated the flavour and brought it straight back up if I did manage to get it down. The health visitor eventually suggested an alternative brand (can't remember the name) that she liked the taste of and after that it was a doddle.

TheShellBeach · 09/12/2023 15:08

Elisheva · 09/12/2023 14:26

Wrap child in towel and tuck under one arm, with child lying across your lap. use one hand to gently squish their cheeks together so their mouth opens, put syringe in and squirt calpol inside cheek. Hold for a couple of seconds. Once you get good at it you can do it before they’ve even registered what’s going on!

I was just about to post this.

Lammveg · 09/12/2023 15:47

Something we did - I'd pretend to have some myself, then offer it to DH who also pretended to have some and we acted like it was the best thing ever. Pretend fuss over whether to let DD have some. Then I'd give a bit in her cheek and she'd swallow. I'd let her mess about with the syringe afterwards.

crumpet · 09/12/2023 16:01

Parentblame · 09/12/2023 13:54

We tried them at 8 weeks they worked great then when we tried again after 16 week vaccinations ds kept pushing down and popping them back out !!!!

Show quote history

Top tips from my time au pairing in Europe: dot of cream on the end to help it slide in, the hold the cheeks together for long enough for it not to come back out

LashesZ · 09/12/2023 16:03

Either in the bottle, mixed in a yoghurt or in the teat of a bottle

Superscientist · 09/12/2023 20:21

Hold baby is a cradle hold with one arm around your back. The hand from you arm you have supporting their head and neck comes round to hold their other arm in place. Torso upward should now be under you control.
You want a syringe with a tip and a black o ring on the plunger. The syringes that come with the medicine are some of the worst I have used at home and at work! You want to give no more that 0.5 ml at a time and leave the tip of the syringe between the teeth/gums which stops them spitting them out.

At our peak about 6 months my daughter had 9-15 syringes of medication a day!

mrshenny · 09/12/2023 20:50

A nurse said it helps to put it in and blow on their face so they swallow

Original poster

Brightandbreezey · 29/12/2023 20:37

Thanks for all the replies to this! Some really useful tips. The tooth that was bothering then cut shortly after I posted this and things settled down.
But another tooth is now coming and after a very upsetting night last night we have used calpol tonight, I was dreading g giving it to her. But we switched to a 1ml syringe and it was so much easier!!!! A PP had suggested this so thanks!
She took it absolutely fine and we just gave her five of them gradually in the evening. She has vitamin D daily using one of these and I never occurred to me that she has always been fine taking that!!
Just wanted to update if anyone else reads this post… try a smaller syringe!!!

OP posts:

HavingFaith · 30/12/2023 11:35

Also just to add - you can buy suppositories over the counter. I just bought some for my son as he was vomiting so we didn’t know how much medicine he actually kept down.
Suppositories are expensive though, £15 for a pack or 10, but at least we can be sure he’s has the full dose.

AegonT · 30/12/2023 12:07

Both my kids hated oral medication as babies and toddlers. For my oldest it was essential she took them due to medical problems. Nurses showed us how to squirt a syringe of medicine bit by bit down the side of her cheek whilst blowing on her face to prevent her from spitting. It worked. However this didn't work for our second child so we got paracetamol suppositories from an online chemist, luckily she never needed any other oral medicines as a baby or toddler.

herbygarden · 30/12/2023 12:18

I used to mix it into a petis filous! Never even noticed!

SunshineIndoors123 · 30/12/2023 12:26

Mine will happily have calpol but antibiotics are another story. I find mixing it in with the fruit puree pouches you use when you're weaning them to be the most successful way to get it down them. I think the fruit is so sweet/concentrated that it actually hides the flavour of the medication. I squirt a bit in a bowl, mix in the medication then spoon it down them. I could never successfully crack the "just pin them down and syringe it in them" method unfortunately, but the fruit pouches haven't failed me (yet, anyway, fingers crossed).

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