Paracetamol suppositories for toddlers and young children

[AWanderingMinstrel]

I had my children in Europe. There it is normal to give children paracetamol via suppositories as it doesn’t upset their stomach, it is absorbed quicker and you always know the dose and it’s not spat out etc. I was surprised to find you cannot buy these over the counter in the Uk- does anyone know why- - is this cultural? Not as acceptable??

Are you joking? Suppositories for children? There’s a bloody good reason we don’t have them here!!

It’s just not a thing here. No particular reason beyond that. It’s incredibly frustrating if you have a Calpol refuser.

I’m not 100% as I’m not an officer but I’m pretty sure it would be considered child s abuse to put anything up a child’s rear end.

Good grief.

We used to get them prescribed because we had a Calpol refuser. It’s no big deal really is it 🤷‍♀️ just a different way in.

Yeah they don't do them here. It's a shame as they are quick, effective pain relief and much easier and safer than trying to get a crying baby to have calpol.

People here think you are some type of perv if you suggest it though!

@MyCottageGarden we use them on children in hospital . They’re small and not at all painful but very effective.
I had a Calpol refuser and so I asked the GP to
prescribe some and they were perfectly happy to
do so.

Our doctor was happy to prescribe them.

.... and 3 posts in, we have it!

Yeah the entirety of Europe and some parts of the US are routinely abusing their children. Of course.

It is given routinely in Italy and Greece. . I had them as a child 😲 Here in the UK, when one of my Dcs was sick in hospital and couldn’t hold anything down, we were given some to administer too.

Child abuse?? My son was in hospital when he was younger and regularly had suppositories….

Don’t be ridiculous. My DD was really sick in hospital when she was small and kept throwing up her calpol. The nurse asked if we were ok if she had a suppository and it worked a treat- we had a long conversation about how it just isn’t the culture here, and the nurse (British) was saying what a shame it was as they are so brilliant

Agree it’s not the done thing in U.K. generally. I lived in the Netherlands when DS was small and used to bring over calpol to the bemusement of my Dutch friends. My polish colleague gets suppositories in bulk when home for holidays.

We were also given paracetomol as an injection to the butt. I had one when I was 15 and it was gross! But my granny did it then, not so bad I guess.

I used to stock up abroad when mine were little, no fuss really easy to use. You knew exactly what dosage they had and they worked faster.

Just us Brits having a hang up over it!

OP I got my German friend to bring some back for me and used them.

They were a lifesaver for poor DD1 who teethed so badly she didn't want to put anything in her mouth, even food. Or when one of my twins had 4 teeth through at once and had bloody drool streaming out of her mouth.

They were so distressed, no way would I force a Calpol syringe into their mouths and they were too little to understand. A suppository during evening nappy change gave quick pain relief and meant they could sleep.

Well it would be firmly refused for my DD that’s for certain. Good god

So you can’t bring yourself to force some strawberry flavoured calpol into their mouth but are happy to shove a tablet up their backside? What????

Culture. I guess.

My friends always stock up on ibuprofen for children it isn't a thing in their EU country visiting UK.

Suppositories are a very effective means of administering medication, especially where the oral route is difficult or impossible. It is very popular in most of continental Europe but for some reason many (most?) Brits recoil in horror…..

@MyCottageGardenok, now you’re just being weird

They can be bought over the counter in UK. One of our local farmacies stocks them and you can buy them over the counter, but most don’t. So ask around.
You can get them through the GP too, cheaper.

Was the only way I could buy paracetamol for my dc in Italy when they were little. So much easier, just popped it in during a nappy change.

I do recall their paediatra being aghast with horror when I said I used medised though. I believe it was banned in the UK a few years later, so perhaps he had a point.

You are being incredibly weird.

DD had a fever of 41, I was sure as fuck going to allow a suppository to make her feel a little less awful with her sepsis, yes.

It is not child abuse to administer medication via the route it is intended for if a child has a high temperature or is in pain. What would you do if your child wouldn’t take calpol?

And typically we have those that don’t understand children with sensory problems. My son wouldn’t tolerate any liquid in his mouth that wasn’t water and the sickly sweet calpol was an absolute no. Pinning him down and forcing it into his mouth was far more harmful and terrifying and he was hospitalised twice with raging fevers because we and then the hospital staff couldn’t get calpol into him.

he was offered the suppository and explained to him where it needed to go and he chose it. We then were prescribed them for home use and when unwell I’d offer the calpol or the suppository and he chose the suppository everytime. Once he was old enough to swallow tablets he chose that.

i suggest those of you making ridiculous claims take yourself out for some air.