When do you use panadol/nurofen???

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.

BW

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 :)

I know from a purely pharmocological perspective, you can give panadol and nurofen at the same time as they are different types of drugs and act in different ways.

From a purely feeling based perspective, though, I too would be hesitant about doing this unless my DS was very unhappy- something about giving two lots of drugs freaks me out even though I know technically its ok!

There is something you can't give at the same time as one of these....um, codeine or something? Can someone smart come and tell us?

Yeah amberj i'm with you i know you can do it but it does freak me out and thankfully i haven't been in a position where i had to do it it's interesting to hear what other people do and what works for them, and also the difference in what health professionals advise to, there is so much conflicting advice

it is interesting to hear everyone replies - thanks!

Yep for DD her temp is around 37 at rest so if it's over 39 I know she is really ill. Tonight she is however around 38 but seems relatively settled. I just thought it was interesting the way hubby just jumped on the panadol like "she has a fever - must give panadol"

On the other hand DS - like me has a low resting body temp - around 36 so when he gets to 38 I know he is really buring up.

KimmyF - I personally don't use nurofen as when DS was little and they brought out childrens nurofen (then recommended from 1 yr) and it caused him to vomit everytime I gave it to him - I literally shuddered when I saw it is now recommended from 6 mth. I also think it's interesting that the pharmist insists it MUST be taken with food - heard one the other day at the chemist - mother questioned if BM was OK and pharmist said better with solids. Yet how do you make sure a 6mth old eats something when they wake at 2am with a fever/pain??? - blah but of topic - yes I have heard you can take both at the same time but have never had reason to

Oh another interesting tibit. My friend recently took her son to ER with high fever - she had already given panadol but the dr told her that the dosage on the bottle is under the actual amount you can give as the manufacture 'assumes' parents will use more than the recommended dose??? WTF

Good timing as I have been saying to DH the last few days "are we giving it to DD too much? What do others do?"!!!

I give nurafen mainly because it lasts longer and because DD usually needs it for teething pain rather than fever. Trouble is her teething comes and goes for weeks and sometimes months before a tooth comes through and she feels a lot of pain in that time. There have been times when I have given her one or two doses in 24hours for maybe a week at a time just for teething pain as she cant sleep and is absolutely miserable. If it's daytime I try to only use teething gel though as I really feel its not good to give her too much medication. I have tried the natural Brauers teething relief and it didnt seem to do much for her.

If she is unwell and has a fever I give it to her as she is always miserable and very grizzly but after the first few days when it turns to just a runny nose etc she doesnt have it.

I have rarely given it repeatedly when the dosage wears off, perhaps two doses in a row in the evening/night but no more than that and I have never given both panadol and nurafen. I wasnt aware you could and certainly wouldnt give myself it. I feel bad enough giving demazin and nurafen and teething gel at once!!!

ETA: Last week she had the flu and a temp of around 38 to 38.5 for 6days. I gave her 2 or 3 doses a day for that whole time so she could rest at night (she still woke up to 5times). She had been checked by the GP who said "just a cold - do the usual panadol, rest, etc".

I tend to base using panadol on the discomfort level that is being shown. I don't seem to be able to find the thermometer when I need it, so rarely base on actual temperature. I am reluctant to give it though. Refuse to give the girls nurofen now, found it hyped up DD1 and am just uncomfortable with it. Generally if the girls are unwell, they are not really eating, so hard to get them to have food and take it. I am really uncomfortable with the alternate dosing of panadol and nurofen. That is from a gut instinct basis and also due to the conflicing info out there. If I suspect that a doctors trips or one to the emergency dept is going to happen then I wont give them any as I want the Dr to see how sick they are.

I do feel like a bit of a dill though, DD2 was vomiting horribly and bringing up bile so we took her to hospital. The Dr gave her a dose of panadol and it helped her a lot. I would never have thought to give it for a stomach upset, but he said she was in pain and he was treating that. So something I have to remember for next time.

We do have Brauers Pain and Fever relief, so sometimes we will give that a go first now.

Re the Nurofen/paracetomol thing (I say paracetomol because I dont use Panadol I use Dymadon)

As someone else said - they are different medicines - paracetomol based and iboprofen based - so they are fine to give together. In hospital after birth I have been offered Naprosyn plus panadol - so very similar one for antiinflammatory properties and one for pain.

Nurofen I try to give after dinner, so then if there is a wake up and one of my kids whoever is still ill with a big temp, i do paracetomol. I never did the two together until my DD had terrible painful ear infections - never did it with DS1 and had the same feelings as some of you - until you have to deal with a temperature that just doesnt subside and it causing your little one so much discomfort.

you cant give aspirin and ibuprofen together amberj - but you must be thinking of something else i dont know either :) cos i wouldnt give asprin to my babies anyway LOL.

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Oh another interesting tibit. My friend recently took her son to ER with high fever - she had already given panadol but the dr told her that the dosage on the bottle is under the actual amount you can give as the manufacture 'assumes' parents will use more than the recommended dose??? WTF

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Interesting.... we actually give less than the recommended dose because panadol isn't a medicatiion that works twice as well if you give twice as much and I worry about the stress on their little livers.

I only give Dymadon (paracetamol), never ibuprofen (personal and family history of gastro-intestional bleeding).

If its daytime and her fever is over 39 and she is a crankypants or it seems to be affecting her I'll give it to her. If she seems ok, playing and drinking and eating then I don't. If its night time and her fever is over 39 I'll give it to her because sleep is important (for all! lol!).

ETA: We tend to 'underdose' her, she's 13kg and I give for 11kg. I do worry about the effects of medication on her system, as much as I worry about the effects of an illness... I do use it as I think theres definitely a place for it, I don't want her to be excessively/unnecessarily uncomfortable or in pain.

I usually need to do the paracetamol / ibuprofen chaser 30 minutes later if DS is running a high fever, (for him anything over 38 as he has a usual 36), and panadol alone never seems to bring his fever down. But I take his temp 30 mins later and see if it is heading down, and if it is I will leave it at that. But I generally know DS need the extra ibuprofen help, as he will be crying and clinging to me...

I only use paracetamol for a fever though, and the ibuprofen is locked away and only used in emergencies...