Tell Fairy Non Bio about your experience with baby health - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

As part of our partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced the Mumsnet Babies Podcast. There are ten episodes in the series, and so far we’ve released five. Episode four is about health, and you can listen to it here. Fairy Non Bio would like you to listen to the podcast whenever you can and then discuss your experience with commonplace baby health issues.

There’s nothing like the new found responsibility of a brand new life, and it’s easy to let anxiety take over and maybe worry too much when that new little one gets the sniffles. Fairy Non Bio would like to hear about your experience with baby health. So, whether you have experience with coughs and colds, eczema, chickenpox, colic or other minor illness - share your experience below.

What do you ensure you always have in your medicine cabinet to avoid a wild goose chase for an open pharmacy on a Sunday evening? Maybe you have tips for keeping your LO comfortable and yourself sane while they’re unwell, or have advice for dealing with common ailments?

Everyone who posts on the thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

If you’d like to rate the Mumsnet Babies Podcast, please go to the iTunes store to add a review.

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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We make sure we have a calpol plug ins in the cupboard. They're expensive but help them sleep when they have colds.

Calpol is a must as well as E45 which is great for eczema or other allergic rashes. Sudocrem is always to hand for all the family, not just the little ones. My top tip though is for sore throats & ulcers, give them pure pineapple juice, not from concentrate, it eats away at the bacteria & the sore throat & ulcers will soon clear up & it doesn't sting like all the things you get from the chemists. That tip was given to me by my friend who used to work in oncology, she used to bathe the mouths of her chemo patients with it as they got nasty sore mouths & it worked a treat.

i keep plenty of calpol in the cupboards and if in doubt phone the doctor. Its better to be safe than sorry! x

I would say calpol is the main thing that I would always make sure I had

We always have an ear thermometer to monitor temperatures, with a good stock of covers, as well as a generic liquid paracetamol (cheaper than the branded versions & just as effective). We always keep rehydration powders in stock & keep plasters, dressings, antiseptic wipes, antiseptic cream, antihistamine cream & steristrips in both the car first aid kit & the house kit.

As well as those bits & pieces, DS has chronic hay fever so we have to keep a stock of his medication at the appropriate time of year, & my disabled DD has her medication in the cupboard too.

I have 2 shelves full of medicines and first aid things, just incase.
I have paracetamol, ibuprofen, cough medicine, cough sweets, piriton, vicks, plasters, bandages, dressing pads, tape, slings, eye patches, eye bath, finger bandages, cold sore cream, spot cream, vaseline, sudocreme, nappy rash cream and loads more.
Thankfully I do have to throw some of it out before I get to use it.

We have a stock of painkillers, plasters, eczema emollient, Dioralyte and vapour rub.

A decent digital thermometer is a must and makes it so much quicker and easier than a basic one.

When ill, we do lots of TV watching and resting. I find sometimes my children won't go to sleep in bed during the day, but will often be able to fall asleep on the sofa instead.

A desk fan is great for temperatures, although we don't have it directly facing them so they don't get too cold.

Calpol, nurofen, plasters and piriton! Cannot handle the thought of needing it and it not being there! Better to have too much than none at all!

Plasters (they make any injury feel better) paracetamol for me and calpol for baby. Plus diarrhoea fluid replacement drinks.

We have the usual stock of paracetamol and ibrufen (though ususlly try ibrufen first as i only need to try and get 2.5mls into a protesting toddler rather than 5 mls of paracetamol!). Also vapour rub, piritin and a burn cream.

Also have first aid kits at home and in rhe car with savlon, plasters, bandages etc. We have a digital ear thermometer at home but i find it very hard to use accurately.

I make sure we have Antihistamine (my daughter sometimes comes up in wheals if she gets stung or bitten!) Calpol and Ibuprofen. I don't do what I see a lot of mums do though and give meds the second my child says he/she is ill. If its a headache, plenty of water as its usually down to dehydration, guts ache can be helped with a nice warm water bottle and a rest, and then only if they are burning up and feverish will I reach for the Paracetamol.
My eldest daughter used to get terrible febrile convulsions if she overheated, just like I used to, and my eldest son gets migraines like me sadly, so I always make sure the medicine cabinet is sticked up for them all, just in case!
If they have stinking colds, or at worst, croup, I put a little menthol in the bath and let the hot water steam up the room and breathe it in, not a cure, but can relieve the symptoms a bit!
Best thing for a sick child though? A story, a funny voice and lots o' water n cuddles! x

Now just calpol. When kids were younger, it was calpol, dentinox and teething granules.

I have always found that a spoonful or two of Calpol perks them up no end when they are under the weather. Now they are a little older I also use Nurofen/Calprofen - I was wary of using ibuprofen when they were really little. Sudocrem is my go-to cream for everything - the kids call it magic cream - goes on at night, works it's magic overnight and in the morning, everything looks & feels a lot better! Both of mine hate plasters - they get more upset about someone having put a plaster on them than the actual cut.

Aside from this practical stuff, obviously cuddles are a very important part of making kids feel better - lying under a blanket, watching a dvd and cuddling even more so.
And when my little one broke her wrist and was feeling very sorry for herself we gave her a new teddy which we called 'Bonnie the Broken Arm Bear' and gave her the task of looking after Bonnie. This was a great distraction for her and definitely helped her (and me) get through the time!

We always make sure we have calpol or similar and plasters. When the kids are bad it's a movie on, plenty of cuddles and blankets.

Always make sure we have in the essentials cupboard: Nurofen/calpol/calcough/digital in ear and forehead thermometer/sudocrem/kids suncream/Aveeno baby cream and body wash.
She's only 9 months old so nothing else needed yet, as she gets more mobile i will be sure to keep us stocked up on sensitive plasters/savlon and when she's old enough, child piriton.
My husband uses a saline nasal spray so we have that on hand for colds if needed which does help clear her nose, also found the calpol plug in good for helping congestion.

Calpol was the main staple for baby. His worst time was teething. Poor little mite had a sore mouth and gums. We used Bonjela to try and give him some relief. This also kept him awake, so on top of that he was tired as well which was upsetting for him. You just do everything you can to comfort him.

When ds was smaller (now old enough and able to take tablets) we always kept paracetamol and ibuprofen sachets in the big first aid kit that lives in the car. That way we didn't end up being somewhere else and needing some in the evening when everything was shut.

As a baby, ds had chest problems, and I'd put some olbas oil on a muslin, then knot it round the cot top rail.

Always must have childrens paracetomol in the cupboard and make sure they get plenty of sleep when unwell it will give you peace for a bit aswell as giving kids rest and time to recuperate

We always have in (As our children are all different ages.)Plasters,,Bandages,Saline wipes,Bonjela,Calpol,Nurofen,Sudocream,Anti Histamines,Digital thermometre,Oilatum too name a few.If really ill.Off too the doctors for Antibiotics or steroids (My eldest daughter is Astmatic)I find that as long as there snuggled up,with a film/good book they are happy.

A bit grim but I always make sure we have worming tablets in the cupboard because the buggers always reveal themselves at night time when everywhere is shut.

we always have infant and tablet forms of paracetamol, ibuprofen plasters, sudocrem, vicks and there is also all my daily medication I need to take.

Paracetomal, ibuprofen and calpol

I have rescue greyhounds - we go for family walks a lot in the countryside and hope that by exposing my kids to germs, that they will be less likely to suffer allergies and sensitivities later on.

I'm a child minder so I'm well stocked with everything that could be needed - 3 cupboards full. My only issue is finding the right thing in a hurry, I guess I need a storage system!!

We always have inhalors, Calpol, plasters, vaporub and germolene in stock. With three asthmatic kids, we do everything we can to keep coughs and colds at bay, as these aggravate their asthma. A steamer really helps with their breathing when they have colds.