My best friend in times of pain (Calpol Infant Suspension)

Member Name: fooyoo

Product:	Calpol Infant Suspension
Date:	10/03/04 (432 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Soothes, Works quickly

Disadvantages: None so far

Calpol is one of those brand names which you use to refer to a product which is actually infant paracetamol suspension, much in the same way we called most adhesive tape Sellotape regardless of the actual manufacturer. It is a brand name which has been around for close to 40 years, and I am sure the majority of you who have children will have used this product at least once. It is used to treat mild pain or fevers in young children. We have found it most useful for toothache, earache and general colds and fevers, especially when our daughter has become quite fraught after many nights lost sleep, as it does help to soothe, relax and ultimately aid restful sleep. You cannot use the medicine on children under 3 months, however I do remember our GP advising us to give our 10 week old 1ml through a syringe after she suffered an adverse reaction to her jabs.

The medicine comes in standard 140ml bottle format, where you measure doses with a spoon, which you get free with each bottle. The spoon has measured ends, one for 2.5 ml, and the other for 5ml, but for added convenience, Pfizer, the makers, decided to introduce pre measured sachets of 2.5ml a few years ago. These are ideal to take out on trips with you, as it saves having a potentially leaky bottle clashing around in the bag with all of the other stuff you need when you have young children. Each 5 ml dose contains 120mg of paracetamol, and the medicine is a bright pink colour, which has been especially advantageous with our Barbie crazed 4 year old, as Calpol is now referred to as Barbie's get well medicine. Surprisingly, it is also sugar free, which I did not expect as the taste of the medicine is actually alright (a little like strawberry) compared to some of the other horrors such as Piriton. There is also a version of the medicine available for school age (6 years +) children, which is double the level of paracetamol, and also a bright orange colour, so there is no chance of getting the two mixed up
should have you have older children.

Always read the dosage instructions on the box, as they do vary depending on the child's age. My daughter has been given this medicine quite often, and to date has never suffered any adverse reactions or noticeable side effects. It takes anything from 10 minutes up to half an hour to really kick in and start to work. I would recommend this as it has always worked for us in the past, and we always ensure we have a supply for those times when nothing else will do!!

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