DH and I just had a discussion and I would be interested to hear others thoughts.
DD has a very slight fever but doesn't seem uncomfortable. DH wanted to give her panadol but I argued that a fever is designed to help your body fight infection so we should let her body do what it needs to do unless it gets higher or she becomes upset/distressed.
So what do you think? When is the "right" time to give panadol? do you think we over - use it these days??? My MIL quite often gives me the advice to - just give them panadol if kids seem upset or unsettled at night - JIC. And I admit I have given DD panadol at night when she just wouldn't sleep and I was stuck for other solutions but now I'm wondering if it messes with the bodies natural defence mechanisms???
Do you have a thermometer?
I give it for a fever above 39 because once you hit 40 it's getting a bit too dangerous for my liking.
If they can't sleep at night I give them some because I think a good nights sleep aids recovery. If they get to sleep ok I don't bother.
During the day if they are under 39 and don't seem in a lot of discomfort I just rely on lots of water and cuddles.
What is a slight fever for her?? Anything in 37-38 range I wouldnt bat an eye if she is happy enough ....
Kids start to generally get uncomfortable at around 38.5 - however if my kids temp is that high and they are happy - I don't give it - but if it hits 39 and they are happy (somehow) I still give it.
Sometimes in the middle of the night if bubs is crying and I can't think or detect any reason why - I will give them a dose of paracetomol - it is not all the time so I figure it wont hurt them and they cant tell me if they have a bad headache etc.
MY DS2 had just had a terrible cold/flu thing and I had to roll over paracetomol and nurofen 3 hourly for 2 days as he was absolutely miserable with 39 avg temp - but he was seen by a doc and advised to continue for another 24 hours if need be and come back if fever still remained.
If he's got a fever and is happy - nope. If he has a fever and is grumpy and irritable, then he gets panadol.
If he wakes up screaming in pain in the middle of the night, he gets panadol (damn teeth, three months of teething and still nothing!). If he's showing obvious signs of being in distress with pain, we give him panadol. Once it just turned out to be nasty wind pains, but the panadol allowed him to relax and it all came out after that - no amount of stomach rubbing and leg cycling did anything before hand.
I also use it after immunisations - he seems to have a lot of trouble with pain at the injection sites and seems feverish and irritable for the next 24 hours - we keep him dosed up to keep him comfortable and happier.
I sometimes wonder if I'm using it too much, but it's not like I'm giving it at the first sign of a grizzle.
I give to my DD if she has a fever cause even a slight fever makes her miserable.
If she is happy I wouldn't worry if it got higher I'm sure she will let you know by being unhappy.
If they are happy enough then I don't use it as I think their body should be able to fight off a low-grade to mild fever without too much hassle. I did use it a bit with DS2 last week as he had a cold and was just generally miserable but didn't have a fever, but if his cold was anything like the one I had at the same time, then his little head would have been pounding from the headache like mine was. My DD2 though never had panadol till she was nearly 3 as she would never take it and would either spit it out or vomit it back up, so I spent many a night with a wet flannel on her forehead or tepid baths trying to get high fevers to break.
Great thread! I have often wondered what other people do, i tend not to use it during the day unless temp really high 39 + as I agree with what others have said about letting the body fight it naturally but if he is grumpy and miserable he has it. I do give it at night if he is unsettled and still have a temp as I also agree sleep helps recovery. I have a lot girls in mums group who dose up regularly if their child is grumpy, over tired but no temp or other illness symptoms etc but I tend to wait (maybe I wait too long) I have also heard of people giving the recommended dose of panadol for their child's age and then following up with the recommeded dose of Nurofen I don't mean to offend anyone who has done this but I struggle with that, i mean how do little tummy's cope with all that in one go!!!!
When my DS had a nasty temp after his one yr old needles I took him to chemist as the temp would not go away sort of hung around at 38.5 and DS was so miserable and the pharmacist recommended nurofen for that as it lasts a bit longer but she did not suggest to give both panadol and nurofen, I would be interested to hear other peoples thought on this as i don't know many adults who take two panadol and then two nurofen. Sorry for hijacking this thread but I guess i agree that maybe as a society we are recommended to overuse it these days. Just my 2cents worth though
When do you use panadol/nurofen???
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