Panadol = Woosy Kids?

[Miss Tazar]

Does anyone know of any research into the long term effects of giving babies Panadol, Nurofen, etc...
I am curious to know if we are turning our children into sooks, do they become less tolerant of pain, are we lowering their pain threshhold?

[elissas]

I try to avoid them all for a number of reasons, that being one of them.

The main reason though is that they contain artificial sweeteners, which are all generally banned in our house. I have Panadol there in case of absolute emergency and nothing else is helping him. But I haven't used it in ages.

I use Brauers products - their Pain and Fever Relief, Teething Relief and Calm remedies. All fantastic homeopathic remedies you can get in most chemists. The only problem is that most of them should only be used for 6mths and up, so until then you're kind of stuck with the drug option.

[WeThree]

To be honest whether Im lowering my childs pain threshold or not is not something I have ever thought about, nor would I, if my children are in pain, I help them, I would never make them suffer unnecessarily in order to toughen them up or so they dont turn out to be 'sooks'.
The articifial colouring is a bit of a concern to me, but if my children are in pain, then I will give them something to help it, if I have a bad headache, fever or toothache, I have something to help relieve it, and I do the same for my bubbas :)

[*My Lil Blondie*]

To be honest whether Im lowering my childs pain threshold or not is not something I have ever thought about, nor would I, if my children are in pain, I help them, I would never make them suffer unnecessarily in order to toughen them up or so they dont turn out to be 'sooks'.
The articifial colouring is a bit of a concern to me, but if my children are in pain, then I will give them something to help it, if I have a bad headache, fever or toothache, I have something to help relieve it, and I do the same for my bubbas :)


agree 100%

[Miaow]

Originally Posted by coopsntilly
To be honest whether Im lowering my childs pain threshold or not is not something I have ever thought about, nor would I, if my children are in pain, I help them, I would never make them suffer unnecessarily in order to toughen them up or so they dont turn out to be 'sooks'.
The articifial colouring is a bit of a concern to me, but if my children are in pain, then I will give them something to help it, if I have a bad headache, fever or toothache, I have something to help relieve it, and I do the same for my bubbas

Agree completely with you Coopsntilly, I'd rather EJ a little happier and a smile than in pain and upset.

[Areca]

I only use panadol when I know DD is in pain. If I'm not sure what's wrong I won't. I don't use any sort of painkillers myself but that's my choice and I don't want to see my daughter suffer. She had some last night cause I knew she was in pain (teething). Well it didn't seem to work at all so I don't think I'll even bother about it next time.
When she's older and can tell me exactly what is wrong is when I'll go for much more natural remedies.

[elissas]

That's why the Brauers Pain & Fever Relief is so good. It is just as effective as a pain reliever, but doesn't dope DS up at all. And doesn't contain any of the nasties.

[Sarie]

The only thing I really worry myself with is making sure my child is in pain. If they need panadol I give it to them.

[~EmsMum~]

To be honest whether Im lowering my childs pain threshold or not is not something I have ever thought about, nor would I, if my children are in pain, I help them, I would never make them suffer unnecessarily in order to toughen them up or so they dont turn out to be 'sooks'.
The articifial colouring is a bit of a concern to me, but if my children are in pain, then I will give them something to help it, if I have a bad headache, fever or toothache, I have something to help relieve it, and I do the same for my bubbas :)

coops, couldn't of put it any better myself :)

[Sarie]

Just a side note, Panadol does come in colour free, so you could always use that option. I also haven't had my boys be 'drugged' by panadol. It relieves their pain, therefore helping them sleep, but I wouldn't say it's drugged them.

[suemp]

also i use nuerofon for bringing my sons temp down and he has febral convulsions all the time with temperatures. if that makes him a sook well so be it. babies and young kids dont understand that if they are in pain we are delaying giving them easily assesable stuff to toughen them up. they just dont want to hurt.

[elissas]

It's not colouring that bothers me, it's the artificial sweeteners - saccharine, aspartame etc (like in diet drinks). The jury is still out on the long term effects, and I think they'll be dubious at best. I'd rather him have good old fashioned sugar...


I never let my DS be in pain. The minute he is experiencing any discomfort I can give him the Brauers and he's right in the same time it takes Panadol to work.

I have friends who wait until it's absolutely necessary to use Panadol because they don't want to use it too much. But in the meantime their bubs are experiencing some form of discomfort. By using a natural alternative I can use it without concerning myself with "how much" he's had already.

[Wivi]

I haven't tried the Brauer's stuff myself - I keep intending to and haven't gotten around to it. I don't hesitate to relieve my little one's discomfort and will use the Panadol/Nurofen if needed. I think as long as you follow the guidelines you should be ok. If the natural stuff works too then go for it.

I think that because babies can't tell you what is wrong you can only do your best to relieve their discomfort. As a mum you know their little personalities too and get a fairly good idea when something is wrong. My little one is usually pretty laid back so if we have a grizzly day I know something it up.

I have a question as I am a bit naive. What is the problem with the preservatives? If your baby doesn't have a reaction then it should be ok shouldn't it? They are not on a diet of panadol or nurofen? I kind of look at it like us - some things have preservatives in them that we consume - but everything in moderation!

[cheezelkat]

I will use panadol when DS is in pain. The only way it does help him to sleep is it takes away from the pain he is in.

[EskimoMumma]

The only way children can be "dooped" up or "drugged" is when they are on NUrofen/panadol and a antibotic as well. Then thats where there is a bit of sleepyness happening.

I only give Panadol to DD if she is surely in distress over teething/high temp. I also try adn avoid giving DS cough syrups, hes had this persistant cough for a while. where each new doctor i take him to tells me not to worry. yet hes had this cough on and off for 2 years??? Back to my point, i beleive in the vaporisers and balms and scents. (after i tried with all the different cough syrups)

I dont think DS is a sook at all after his babiness. I don't beleive that children/babies that have pain relief are sooks. Does it make us a sook if we have panadol? :eek:

[Sarie]

Mummy2AlexandMary has he been checked for Asthma? DS1 has just been diagnosed with asthma, though I've known that he's had it for some time. He gets a cough after running or if the weather turns cool. Even going into air-conditioning on a hot day and he will cough.
I knew it was asthma as I have the same cough with my asthma. He doesn't wheeze either, and neither do I.

[KarniF00l]

To be honest whether Im lowering my childs pain threshold or not is not something I have ever thought about, nor would I, if my children are in pain, I help them, I would never make them suffer unnecessarily in order to toughen them up or so they dont turn out to be 'sooks'.
The articifial colouring is a bit of a concern to me, but if my children are in pain, then I will give them something to help it, if I have a bad headache, fever or toothache, I have something to help relieve it, and I do the same for my bubbas :)

Yep i'm with Coops (once again) :laughing:


My best friends brother and wife have a little one (8months) who has been extremely sick with a cold for the last 2 months. They won't give him anything to help it or settle him.. not even a little bit of baby balmsom (sp?) vicks stuff on his singlet. It's really sad because you can clearly see this little bubba is suffering. My friends mum looks after him once a week for the full day and gives him panadol on the sly and puts the vaporiser on :laughing: Very sneeky i know, but this little man does need something.

[WeThree]

Awwww Lauren that poor little bubba, no wonder he has been sick for 2 months :crying: I bet they wouldnt suffer for 2 months like that if they had a bad cold/flu.....:mad:


elissas~ the brauers is good as well, I agree, I use whatever helps, if I know they are in pain or discomfort I use that or the panadol, or whatever may help them depending on the problem. :)

[KarniF00l]

Awwww Lauren that poor little bubba, no wonder he has been sick for 2 months :crying: I bet they wouldnt suffer for 2 months like that if they had a bad cold/flu.....:mad:



Yeah it is sad.. they're doing this because it'll build up his immune system yet when they are sick they are straight off to the doctors :confused: Go figure!

[Sarie]

My best friends brother and wife have a little one (8months) who has been extremely sick with a cold for the last 2 months. They won't give him anything to help it or settle him.. not even a little bit of baby balmsom (sp?) vicks stuff on his singlet. It's really sad because you can clearly see this little bubba is suffering. My friends mum looks after him once a week for the full day and gives him panadol on the sly and puts the vaporiser on :laughing: Very sneeky i know, but this little man does need something.
We don't like our kids having antibiotics unless it's needed but that poor little bubba. To let it go on for that long with nothing is just awful.
It's bad enough when your pregnant and being sick without being able to take anything (I've had a cold on and off since before I fell pregnant 10 wks ago:thumbsdown: ) but to let a little one suffer is just plain nasty.

[Grizabella]

Have to be honest here - I stopped using Brauers pain releif reatments after reading their ingredients. It contains Belladonna. I'd much rather Brion be woosy or ingest artificial sweetener then Nightshade. It's probably harmless but I don't want to risk it. I also noticed that he ended up needing more and more of the stuff - almost like he was building a resistance.

[Sarie]

Have to be honest here - I stopped using Brauers pain releif reatments after reading their ingredients. It contains Belladonna. I'd much rather Brion be woosy or ingest artificial sweetener then Nightshade. It's probably harmless but I don't want to risk it. I also noticed that he ended up needing more and more of the stuff - almost like he was building a resistance.
We did notice our boys had built up a resistance to Brauers teething relief and calm. Neither of those products work on the boys anymore.

[4mumnbub]

if ds has a fever, i try to give him panadol but only one time then increase his fluid intake...give him planty of water

[jessgray]

i cant give DS nurofen now that he has been diagnosed with asthma. when ds has a fever he gets extra fluids and some panadol. i worry about overdoing the panadol because if you give too much paracetamol to anyone it can cause heart problems,liver damage etc.

my ds has never had nurofen, i dont know much about ibiprofen(sp?) and the effects it has on children so i stayed away from it.