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 was told today "we wouldn't be prescribing suppositories for teething" suggesting that they would consider it for other reasons. I know people in a neighbouring town have been prescribed it. I don't know about HJA87's experience, but GPs can prescribe it and refuse to do so.

I just want to say thanks for all the helpful suggestions. We hopefully have a few things that we can try now. I knew the Internet mums would come through!

the EMC (Up to date, approved and regulated prescribingand patient information for licensed medicines)

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc#gref

states minimum age 1 year

www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.8079.pdf

my a&e friend said mixing up with some icing often goes down well

That's different to what the NHS website says

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-children/how-and-when-to-give-paracetamol-for-children/

Our baby is the same and we got an NHS prescription for suppositories. See a different GP.

interestingly
i can’t find one single uk paracetamol suppository provider that allows for under 1 (10kg) for the minimum 125mg dose that a suppository comes in.

Even on this NHS doc about the shortage of this dose level suppository it refers to 1 year being the minimum

I imagine fine for a suppository to be administered to under 1…. if by a medic at a hospital

and then home administration has to be over a year

It's out there somewhere; Boots would have ordered it in for us. GP haven't told us that we can't give her it, just that they won't prescribe it. And it was the health visitor who suggested it in the first place.

Yes its out there
but doesn’t look like available for home administration for under 1s

and if go on boots website…. they don’t offer any for under 1s

To reassure you, general pain and temperatures are unpleasant, but not likely to cause actual harm. Temperatures are the bodies way of fighting viruses and are not dangerous unless they get too high. Lower temperature does not reduce the risk of febrile convulsions, so it is really more for comfort. You can only do so much.

I have a calopol refuser who flat out refuses to take it unless he is very ill. He chooses to stay that way rather than relieve pain and temperature. When he was younger we had some success mixing any medicines with yoghurt. Nursery were good at putting the syringe to the back of his cheek and blowing in his face to get him to swallow. I think they needed two people for that though, never worked for me! The worst was a bitter orange antibiotic. I do sometimes wonder if the people that make these medicines have ever met an actual child.

No they don't, but that doesn't change what the pharmacist told me yesterday and I'm certain they wouldn't sell it to me if it wasn't safe for me to give her. You seem to be on some sort of crusade but I'm hoping that anyone else in a similar position to me might find this thread and get some ideas for giving their baby pain relief.

Any attempt to get calpol into her has been a 2 person job but we'll not be as well practiced as nursery staff 😂

Thank you, general aches and pains I can deal with and distract her from... I won't leave her to it with pain that wakes her up screaming. She's getting drooly again so we think the next tooth isn't far away and it was awful last time.

Yes it’s for baby nurofen 60 mg. They also do paracetamol vitaprime.co.uk/produkt/paracetamol-hasco-125-mg-czopki-doodbytnicze-10-sztuk/

You say calpol or sugar free.

DD1 was this.

But would happily take the supermarket version. She's now six and remains the same.

before you splurge
almost unanimous reviews that fake products

Thank you, I hadn't looked at it properly yet

We've tried one cheap version. We'll see what else we can get, hopefully we can find one she'll take

Tbis is weird

Should have been more explicit. Literally half a ml. Let them swallow. Then do another half a ml until the full dose is gone. So if 2.5ml dose you will do 5 very small squirts. If 5ml dose 10 small squirts. With swallows between each one. U could always use a chocolate button/ yoghurt / blueberry or something between each squirt if necessary.

I understood what you meant, we've tried it and it didn't work with her. She's only 8 months so chocolate buttons aren't in her near future 😂

Aside from the point but you don’t need to give calpol for a fever if they’re not necessarily unwell in other ways, treat the symptoms not the fever.

But good suggestions here, 0.5 ml at a time in purée would be my preferred one I reckon,

I scoop out half of a strawberry fromage frais and then just mix the calpol in with the remainder in the pot. My 7 month old will take it that way no problem. 😉

My DD hated Calpol and still does as a toddler. She likes Tesco own brand version which is a cherry flavour, it might be worth trying something like that to see if it’s the flavour she doesn’t like?

I’ve never had an issue with the products and even got a hand written apology when one of the products was out of stock.

having said that, I’ve also found it on Irish boots website but I don’t know whether or not they would deliver to the UK

www.boots.ie/nurofen-for-children-3-months-to-2-years-60mg-ibuprofen-10-suppositories-10284278?srsltid=AfmBOopdaG0oxNfghbP7qzC83LUmR5aWAimc4AFSN3HsE2ZI2bcVusa-#