Calpol

[itsnowmyturn]

My son is 4 months old. His sleep has never been great (except at 5 weeks old when he slept through for 10 days)
Sometimes he seems a bit distressed so a few nights in the last month I have given him calpol and he seems to sleep much better.
My question is is Calpol known to have a sedative or sleeping effect on babies? I am happy to give him Calpol if it's making him sleep better because it's giving him pain relief for maybe trapped wind or teeth but I don't want to give it just to make him sleep. I don't want to keep giving it to him if it's just a side effect of Calpol rather than the Calpol resolving a symptom

 

[SonnyH]

I asked my doctor this question & she said calpol has no seditive affect on babies/children. It’s just paracetamol & sweetener basically, nothing in it that can cause drowsiness! She said if your baby sleeps better after a dose of calpol or neurofen, it’s because it’s helped their pain!

We’ve been going through weeks and weeks of teething, then bad colds/fever, then teething again, then another cold! My littlie has had calpol nearly every night but I just like to think that if I was in pain, I’d take a paracetamol too!

 

[MindUtopia]

Yes, it does tend to have a sedative effect. I'm not sure why, but yes, knocks mine out every time, which I can't imagine is just because she's feeling a bit better.

 

[Teri7489]

Calpol doesn't contain anything that would have a sedative effect on babies or children, it simple relives symptoms allowing them to relax and sleep better. That being said it shouldn't be used on a regular basis without seeing a doctor first (ie if your lo really needs it every night to sleep then there might be something else that could help or is going on that the doctor could help with rather than simply giving otc medication) Other things like teething granules and gels can be used in place of calpol and used it when it's needed for obvious pain, not for when you think they might be uncomfortable. Hope this helps xx

 

[jessmke]

It never helped my kids sleep unless their sleep was disturbed as a result of pain (teething or otherwise). There have been the odd night when they have woken more than usual and in a desperate attempt to get more sleep I've given them Tylenol just in case it was teething that was keeping them awake, but it never helped and they just continued to wake just as frequently as before I gave the meds. Now I only give it if they are very obviously teething and just deal with other night wakings by drinking more coffee the next day.

 

[itsnowmyturn]

Thanks. I didn't think it would have a sedative edge t but I just wanted to check with others too, this is all new because my daughter pretty much breezed through teething and it never affected her sleep. I don't mind night wakings even though I would rather not have them but obviously if he's waking up because he's in pain with his teeth or wind then I'm happy to give the calpol. I will keep just giving it as a last resort but yeah I'm happier to give it now knowing that I'm not jist giving it to make him sleep better for my benefit.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I get scared using more than 2 days in a row. Don't think it's a sedative though.