Cut The Calpol

KIDS aged one to six have been given up to 10ml of paracetamol-based products such as brand Calpol up to four times a day to lower fever and pain.  This amount is now being reduced for all children under four following guidance given by government agency, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) this week.

There are no short-term effects of giving a child slightly too much paracetamol.  Giving high doses over a longer period can, in rare cases, lead to liver damage. MHRA have only ever  received 26 reports of paracetamol overdose in children.

The MHRA has told parents not to be concerned and reassured them that they will not have damaged their children’s health.

About 84 per cent of children in the UK have received paracetamol-based products by the age of six months for various pain or fever relief often relating to teething or vaccination-related temperatures.

The new dosages are as follows:

2-3 months - 2.5ml usually once, but a second dose permitted 4-6 hours later

3-6 months - 2.5ml - up to 4 times a day

6-24 months - 5ml - up to 4 times a day

2-4 years - 7.5ml - up to 4 times a day

4-6 years - 10ml up to 4 times a day

(Infant paracetamol suspension 120mg/5ml)

Boxes come with a special measuring spoon to ensure that parents give their child the correct dose, along with the instructions that they should not use any other spoond to measure the product.

The report containing the updated advice was published on the MHRA’s website.

It stated ‘The recommended dosing tables for children’s liquid paracetamol that were used previously had very wide age bands, where a one-year-old child was recommended the same dose as a six-year-old. With these recommendations, younger children may have received a dose of paracetamol that was higher than necessary.'

The revised guidance says older babies can now be given a higher dose. Previously babies aged three months to one year could only receive 2.5ml four times a day. Now, those aged six to 24 months can have up to 5ml at each dose.

Two years ago, the MHRA warned that many cough and cold remedies, including Calpol Night, do not work in children and could cause allergic reactions and hallucinations. Researchers have linked excess use of paracetamol-based medicines in young children to an increased asthma risk later in childhood.

A staggering twelve million bottles of Calpol are sold in the UK every year which has lead to claims that Britain is rearing a Calpol generation.