Calpol - Advice Please

[DebbieM]

OK, very quick post...

Luke is cutting a tooth but also has his second cold in 3 weeks He's suffering a bit with it and really isn't very happy at night (he seems to find it bearable during the day) and can't seem to settle himself to sleep and nor can we.

I've resorted to 5ml Calpol tonight (2.5ml does nothing for him) but need to know that when that wears off in the middle of the night (he had it around 8.45pm), can I give another 5ml dose or not? (I know you need at least 4 hours between doses so wouldn't give anything til around 2am anyway if needed)

Would it be better to give a 2.5ml dose or is another 5ml one safe at 7 months? I hate using any meds on him really, but he needs something, he is obviously not feeling well in himself with both the cold and tooth coming through... poor little thing

He didn't sleep at all last night (neither did we) and he is exhausted. His cot is tilted, we're using children's Olbas Oil on a tissue near the cot and using an aspirator when we can.

Thanks for any answers

 

[SarahH]

just checked my bottle and anything from 3-12mths can have 1x 5ml spoon every four hours so it should be ok hun.

Hope Luke is better soon

 

[DebbieM]

Do you think that's really ok though? I know there is only 120mg of Paracetemol in every 5ml spoon but it worries me giving him so much

 

[SarahH]

the other thing you could do is give him 2.5ml if he wakes at 2am, and then if he stirs again give him the other 2.5ml at say 4am(ish) to spread the dosage.

I'm sure it is fine, as it is just paracetamol.... calpol doesnt contain the Diphenhydramine that makes them sleepy and drouzy

 

[jennifer1981]

No advice but for Luke x

 

[maria1976]

We had the same last night honey, and we had to do the same. So far so good though tonight, she seems to be settling ok. Hope yours does too babe xx

 

[Full of hope!]

Poor Luke

When Jacob was poorly last week with a chest infection and high temp, one night I gave him 5ml of Calpol at 11.30pm and another 5ml at 4.30am and he was fine. I didn't really like doing it but his temp was so high and he was so unwell I was scared he would have a fit

As long as you leave at least 4 hours inbetween doses it will be alright. Hope Luke feels better soon

 

[BabyLove]

Lovella was poorly last month so i rang NHS Direct, then my emergency doctors (it was sunday) then took her to the emergency doctor at the local hospital & was told she could only have 5ml twice in 24 hours to be safe... 2.5ml the rest of the time, still every 4-6 hours if needed She had a cold with feverish symptoms nd a snuffly nose for a few days. Other mums have said different here, and im no expert, so id give NHS Direct a ring or your out of hours surgery for advice to be on the safe side x

 

[DebbieM]

Thanks everyone. I'll go with another 5ml dose in the early hours if needed...let's hope not but no more than that. We get through the whole day without it, it just seems it gets worse at night, but then again, when I have a cold I always feel worse at night and first thing in the morning.

 

[AnnaR2B]

Sometimes you just have to Deb..,Ted cut his first tooth last week and he is waking again, screaming in pain, even crying in his sleep, the other night i gave him 5ml at 7pm then another 5ml when he woke in the night (about 1am) it seemed to settle him and ease the pain...he did wake again, but not in so much agony

 

[DebbieM]

Well, he had 5ml at 8.45pm then another 5ml at 2.30am and he has slept, but not brilliantly. We had to keep trying to settle him all night. He has been awake now for about 30 mins. He's kind of happy but can't fall back to sleep again. I think today is gonna be a rough day

 

[Becky]

If the Calpol helps then give it to him. Poor thing can't be right if he only settles with calpol. Even if you give him the max dose for a day or two it won't do him any harm and then when he's feeling better you stop giving it.

I know we all worry about over-medicating but I just think if we had a headache and were feeling rubbish we'd take paracetemol so why not with a baby. All you're doing is helping him to feel comfortable and it's not a long term thing so just take each dose as it comes and decide based on how he is at that moment in time.

 

[DebbieM]

I know. I wasn't not giving it to him, I was worried about the dose, whether to give more than one full dose or a half. I'd never leave him to suffer without it if he needed it

 

[Becky]

Oh sorry if I came across like that - I didn't mean to imply you weren't going to give him the medicine, I was just trying to reassure you ... but then I rushed off without re-reading!

Hope he feels better soon, for both of you.

 

[purple13]

glad he didn't have too rotten a night - poor luke i think connor might be about to cut another tooth too - i'm sure i can see something, and he was miserable as hell yesterday. i don't have any qualms about giving him paracetamol or ibuprofen (and up to the maximum dose) if i think he needs it.

 

[DebbieM]

Oh sorry if I came across like that - I didn't mean to imply you weren't going to give him the medicine, I was just trying to reassure you ... but then I rushed off without re-reading!

Hope he feels better soon, for both of you.

No worries. I'm probably just grumpy and tired anyway.

 

[DebbieM]

Another Q:

What are the rules around giving both Calpol and Nurofen? I know you can mix the 2...

 

[purple13]

Another Q:

What are the rules around giving both Calpol and Nurofen? I know you can mix the 2...

you could give them both at the same time, if you so wished

what i tend to do is give calpol, then give nurofen 2 hours later, then give calpol 2 hours after that et al.

 

[Becky]

Another Q:

What are the rules around giving both Calpol and Nurofen? I know you can mix the 2...

you could give them both at the same time, if you so wished

what i tend to do is give calpol, then give nurofen 2 hours later, then give calpol 2 hours after that et al.

I would stagger them too, check the time interval on the ibuprofen as I think on younger children it's something like every 6/7 hours so I would give the calpol in the middle of that time so at about 3/4 hours after the ibuprofen.

I do this specifically with high temperatures and it works a dream!

 

[DebbieM]

My line of thought is...

Save Calpol - the higher 5ml dose for night time if possible because it is more effective on him... and give Nurofen during the day. Would that work? He's not *so* bad during the day but he is a bit grouchy this morning now.

This is more a cold than teething now I think. I think the tooth is perhaps bothering him but it's more the fact that he can't breathe properly etc. I can't think of anything more to do than I have (cot tilted, nasal drops, olbas oil, steamy room)....