Baby refusing calpol

[lemondropsandchimneytops]

I'm sure there have been many similar posts on here so I apologise in advance but would appreciate tips or advice!

My 8mo will not take calpol (original or sugar free) or baby nurofen. Before we started solid foods, we could manage to get her to swallow it but she'd be very distressed. Since starting solids, she spits it straight out or she gags on it and is sick. We've tried giving it into the inside of her cheek, tried using various spoons, through the teat of a bottle and hiding it in milk and food. The food angle might be easier if she was older but there's only so much you can disguise the taste in a few spoonfuls of food.

HV has suggested suppositories so I'm trying to get our GP to prescribe them but being met with a brick wall. I get that they're expensive but to me, leaving a baby with uncontrolled temperature or pain is negligent.

Does anyone have any weird and wonderful suggestions of other ways we could try to get calpol into her? Or any suggestions of how/where we could get suppositories without the massive cost? One pack is £57 for about 2 days' worth!

I didn't know about this, thank you.

She isn't a fan of fruit puree, or any fruit really. Sigh.

Yeah, I don't understand either. I found them on an Australian website for a few dollars so the cost here is absolutely ridiculous. I could buy them from Boots if they order them in but for £57

I used to put.it in fromage frais

We're not giving her "so much." When her first two teeth were erupting, we hadn't started weaning yet so managed to get some into her through the tears, after trying less traumatic ways. We tried again to give her some last week when she had a horrible cold, when she was sick. We tried one other time in the meantime when she was screaming and we didn't know why. I don't think that's much at all.

That's interesting. With her it seems to bounce straight away so we thought gag reflex, especially as she has previously managed to keep it down

https://vitaprime.co.uk/produkt/nurofen-dla-dzieci-60-mg-czopki-10-sztuk/
we have the same problem with both kids and suppositories have been life changing. Before we would have to take them to the a&e every time they needed paracetamol /ibuprofen. I order from this polish pharmacy in the uk where most people use suppositories for young kids

Btw our GP also refused to prescribe .. ridiculous

why ridiculous?

Because that means I’m wasting NHS time having to take my kids to A&e when I could just give them suppositories at home? If they don’t prescribe it’s £57 for 10 which is excessive. They cost the same as oral medicine in other countries, don’t understand why are they so expensive here

you took your child to a&e to get a calpol suppository

My child also gets recurring ear infection where the GP says I must give him ibuprofen every 8 hours for the first 3 days on the antibiotic. I’ve explained this is not possible due to his gag reflex play tendency to throw up every time he has a fever yet she still refuses to prescribe them.

Yes because he had an extremely painful ear infection with a temp of 41. 111 asked me to try to get calpop in him two times and if he throws up both times to bring to a&e. What else do you suggest I do in such situation?

hold nose

it’s ghastly but it gets it in. And then kisses and cuddles in front of TV with a frube

It’s not a problem to force it in. It comes out within 30 mins. Suppository is a lot less traumatic than that or taking them to a&e.

And we do hold nose with the antibiotic and some of it goes in occasionally, a lot of the times it comes out. There’s not antibiotic suppository unfortunately so we do our best but it’s probably why the ear infections keep coming back. Can’t even imagine having. To do antibiotic plus calpol. That would mean forcing it into his mouth 6+ times a day

What was the reason GP gave for not prescribing given i imagine you weren’t backward in being forward about requesting?

Your first comment looked incomplete so I wasn't sure what you were meaning to say. I do know what you mean and in all the times we've tried, she's had maybe 3-4 actual doses in total. I don't like being without a non-traumatic painkiller option, which is where we currently find ourselves.

She checked and said “it’s not available currently to prescribe” . She said it’s only available for older children which makes no sense because it’s usually more difficult to get it into babies

Anyway I have now found somewhere I can buy it for £10 so I’m happy with that. Otherwise I would be pushing for it more.

I have never mastered the art of getting calpol or any liquid medicine into my youngest other than the two of us pinning him down.

However he's now 7yo recently was prescribed antibiotics- in horse pill sized capsules - the pharmacist suggestion was pull them apart and put it in a yougart. - result!

I'm thinking you could do the same with paracetamol, you just need to be very careful with the dosage.

We also switched to using 6+ Calpol as reducing the dose as required.

So nothing to do with a GP refusing to prescribe

the manufacturer would have stipulated a minimum age to which this GP was complying with

In this country?

You legend!! But before I get too excited and just to make sure I understand, that link is for nurofen suppositories right?

Fully agree that it's ridiculous there is such reluctance to prescribe them here. The receptionist passed a message on to me today that they wouldn't prescribe suppositories "for teething" in a tone of voice that suggested teething pain is somehow less valid...? I'd only given teething as an example anyway, before I realised I'd get such resistance from them. Without suppositories, if we have uncontrolled pain or fever out of hours we face a minimum 1 hour round trip, possibly 2 hour round trip, to get her to a hospital when it's probably the middle of the night, she's uncomfortable for whatever reason and all she wants to do is sleep.