Tylenol - Why the guilt?

[mfsunshine]

Poor DS has been having MASSIVE teething issues the last 3 nights.  My wonderful (night time) sleeper is up 5-6 times and inconsolable!

I have given him Tylenol the last two nights before bed and it helps for about 4 hours.  But I have this irrational feeling that I'm doing something wrong by trying to give him something to make him feel better? Why...I take Tylenol when I have a headache, muscle ache, whatever to make myself feel better, so why do I feel like I'm drugging my kid???

I know I've read on here that others are also hesitant to give Tylenol.  Why are we so scared?  Is it because of all the horror stories we hear/see on the TV/internet?  We are all GREAT mothers (IMHO) we should feel confident in helping our children when they need it.  We are too hard on ourselves!

[acorn99]

Thank you for this! We have been surviving teething with Tylenol, and I have had the same irrational hesitancy. But without it, he is so uncomfortable. I dont know how we would have gotten through the nights with out it.

[Chrisse]

I feel like, at least for me, it's all part of the mommy-guilt pushed upon us from all sorts of sources. Don't you know, we should be able to hug the discomfort out of our babies naturally or, at the very least, with essentially oiled, ultra organic, non-GMO angel farts?

[vk]

My mom has told me that you don't want your baby to suffer and if Tylenol is helping then stick with it. so that makes me feel better. But H doesn't like me using it. DS has been teething bad for about 10 days now and I only give it to him at night and rarely during the day. I don't mind using it, I just don't know what 'over doing it' is.

[cdseno]

You'll get over it, trust me. With J I felt horrible giving him Tylenol or Motrin when he was little. Now I don't hesitate. If Max is having a hard time, I give him Motrin (now that he's 6 months old) and it is so much better. And FFMC: if J is struggling to go to sleep at night, and it is pushing 11:30/midnight, I give him a little Benadryl otherwise he will be up all night.

[kimberlyb]

Feb 16, 2015 8:13:41 GMT -5 mfsunshine said:

Poor DS has been having MASSIVE teething issues the last 3 nights.  My wonderful (night time) sleeper is up 5-6 times and inconsolable!

I have given him Tylenol the last two nights before bed and it helps for about 4 hours.  But I have this irrational feeling that I'm doing something wrong by trying to give him something to make him feel better? Why...I take Tylenol when I have a headache, muscle ache, whatever to make myself feel better, so why do I feel like I'm drugging my kid???

I know I've read on here that others are also hesitant to give Tylenol.  Why are we so scared?  Is it because of all the horror stories we hear/see on the TV/internet?  We are all GREAT mothers (IMHO) we should feel confident in helping our children when they need it.  We are too hard on ourselves!

I have no problems giving my kids medication when its needed. I don't think they should be uncomfortable if it isn't necessary. Is your DS 6 months old yet? If so, you could give him infant motrin which lasts 8 hours.

[kimberlyb]

Feb 16, 2015 8:49:06 GMT -5 @addysmama22 said:

No tylenol guilt here lol. Does Motrin really work better? I hadn't even thought about it.

I don't think it works better necessarily but it's efffective twice as long as Tylenol so I prefer to give him that at night now he is old enough.

[Deleted]

As long as you are not giving over 75mg/KG in one day than I wouldn't worry about it.

[mandapanda1382]

No guilt here!

[mfsunshine]

Feb 16, 2015 8:43:12 GMT -5 kimberlyb said:

Feb 16, 2015 8:13:41 GMT -5 mfsunshine said:

Poor DS has been having MASSIVE teething issues the last 3 nights.  My wonderful (night time) sleeper is up 5-6 times and inconsolable!

I have given him Tylenol the last two nights before bed and it helps for about 4 hours.  But I have this irrational feeling that I'm doing something wrong by trying to give him something to make him feel better? Why...I take Tylenol when I have a headache, muscle ache, whatever to make myself feel better, so why do I feel like I'm drugging my kid???

I know I've read on here that others are also hesitant to give Tylenol.  Why are we so scared?  Is it because of all the horror stories we hear/see on the TV/internet?  We are all GREAT mothers (IMHO) we should feel confident in helping our children when they need it.  We are too hard on ourselves!

I have no problems giving my kids medication when its needed. I don't think they should be uncomfortable if it isn't necessary. Is your DS 6 months old yet? If so, you could give him infant motrin which lasts 8 hours.

He'll be 6 months in 2 days.  Will I have to call to get the dosage from the pedi for motrin or do that actually post it on the bottle?

[annapunkalunka]

Idk if it's the pharmacist in me, or what but meds replace sympathy for me. Not so much when it comes to DD... She still gets all my sympathy, but when DH is complaining about some sort of ailment (which is pretty much daily) my response is "did you take something?" Like if he hasn't taken anything obviously it's not bad enough to be complaining. Haha. I won't be winning any wife of the year awards any time soon.
I do get the guilt when giving something to LO, though. I try to use it as a last resort, but if it makes her feel better, I'm all for it! I just try is use it as little as possible.

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2015 9:56:52 GMT -5 annapunkalunka said:

Idk if it's the pharmacist in me, or what but meds replace sympathy for me. Not so much when it comes to DD... She still gets all my sympathy, but when DH is complaining about some sort of ailment (which is pretty much daily) my response is "did you take something?" Like if he hasn't taken anything obviously it's not bad enough to be complaining. Haha. I won't be winning any wife of the year awards any time soon.
I do get the guilt when giving something to LO, though. I try to use it as a last resort, but if it makes her feel better, I'm all for it! I just try is use it as little as possible.

(psst, I'm a pharmacist too (hospital)...professional twinsies).  But my DH won't listen to one thing I say about health/medicine.  But if he reads it on the internet it's gospel....so frustrating. 

[gingy]

We haven't hit teething hell yet, but I totally feel the preemptive guilt. It's this tiny little untouched body and I have this strange hesitation to give her any synthetic man made substance. I don't know why. I totally agree with all of you that if she's in pain, then I want to give her something to help her. I think it's harder because at this point, if I gave her some, it would be a total guess if she was actually in pain. I know it doesn't hurt to give it to her, but if it's not serving a purpose I don't want to give it to her, if that makes sense.
After her 2 month shots she was miserable. Wouldn't eat, screamed even when we held her and so H ran out to get some. Of course the dosage wasn't on there, so he had to ask the pharmacist. It felt good to get "permission" to give it to her, otherwise I honestly probably wouldn't have.

[robinbird]

Feb 16, 2015 10:06:04 GMT -5 @lizziebennett said:

Feb 16, 2015 9:56:52 GMT -5 annapunkalunka said:

Idk if it's the pharmacist in me, or what but meds replace sympathy for me. Not so much when it comes to DD... She still gets all my sympathy, but when DH is complaining about some sort of ailment (which is pretty much daily) my response is "did you take something?" Like if he hasn't taken anything obviously it's not bad enough to be complaining. Haha. I won't be winning any wife of the year awards any time soon.
I do get the guilt when giving something to LO, though. I try to use it as a last resort, but if it makes her feel better, I'm all for it! I just try is use it as little as possible.

(psst, I'm a pharmacist too (hospital)...professional twinsies).  But my DH won't listen to one thing I say about health/medicine.  But if he reads it on the internet it's gospel....so frustrating. 

Pharmacist here, too.  Luckily (I use the term loosely; it has its pros and cons), my husband is also a pharmacist.  We're cautious when giving DS medicine, but if we agree that it will help him, then he we give it.  So far, we've only given Tylenol when he's had a fever, but if we thought DS was in pain, we'd give it a try.  (except for vax pain b/c we'd rather not risk blunting the effects)

[acorn99]

So timely....a FB friend of mine just posted about how her 6mo has a fever but she ( the mother) hates medicine and what should she do....? She got a bunch of posts about using essential oils instead.

I dont get it....when did essential oils replace real medicine for illness? I have no issue with using natural remedies for some things, but when your baby is actually sick, why wouldnt you actually use medicine? It all seems like snake oil to me.

Please educate me if I am missing some thing about the whole essential oil thing. I am genuinely curious what supposed benefit they would have in an instance like this.

[cdseno]

Feb 16, 2015 8:55:27 GMT -5 trichie5 said:

Amen!!!!! I hate that no one will offer dosages for cold meds, too. When I get a cold, I feel like garbage! I'll try to hold off as long as possible, but I'll take cough meds, or stuffy nose meds. But somehow, when my almost two year old gets the same crap, I'm supposed to just let him suffer?

Coming from the mom who is *still* recovering from laryngitis/cough that she's had for now 15 days... and the toddler who has a runny nose this morning.

My pedi gave me a dosing chart for Benadryl at Max's 6 month appt. because he had been so congested and nasty for so long. It really helps at night when everything settled in his lungs.

[Deleted]

Yeah, many pedis have home dosing sheets for patients. You could always call your pharmacist if you can't get ahold of your doc or his/her nurse.

Don't get me started on essential oils, no real science behind them. Lots of anecdotal evidence from people selling them to you though.

[bobloblaw]

I feel the guilt, sure. You/I feel bad putting medications in this new, pristine being. However, teething is miserable. I would rather give him some relief than have him suffer when something can take the edge off. We don't give it to him often so I know he's not going to become a Tylenol junkie. :-)

[puffandstuff]

I'll give Tyelnol for pain or fever. DD1 was a happy teether, but DD2 has issues at night. I've given her tylenol twice for pain. I had no idea people felt guilty about this.

I don't take cold medicine because it does nothing for me, but I'd give it to my kids if they are miserable. DD1 is happy while sick, so she hasn't had any medicine.

[gahorseygal]

No Tylenol guilt here. I try everything I know to make her comfortable first but if she's struggling I give her Tylenol. She is always much happier within 30 minutes so I know it helps. I don't like her being in pain. It's also pretty rare that she gets more than two doses a day. If it's a bad day she will get one usually after her first nap and then another dose before bed. This past week was the most she has ever had since both bottom teeth have worked their way through. Even then she barely got one dose a day. I don't use much medication myself but I also have a decent pain tolerance and know what home remedies work for me.

[kimberlyb]

Feb 16, 2015 9:06:56 GMT -5 mfsunshine said:

Feb 16, 2015 8:43:12 GMT -5 kimberlyb said:

I have no problems giving my kids medication when its needed. I don't think they should be uncomfortable if it isn't necessary. Is your DS 6 months old yet? If so, you could give him infant motrin which lasts 8 hours.

He'll be 6 months in 2 days.  Will I have to call to get the dosage from the pedi for motrin or do that actually post it on the bottle?

It is posted on the back of the bottle. I believe it is 1.25 ML but that is for babies 12-17lbs. If you haven't given it to him before it probably wouldn't hurt to call your pediatrition's nurse to confirm the dosage.

[mrsnorris]

I don't feel much guilt around giving her Tylenol but I always want to make sure she really needs it when she gets it in part just to avoid unnecessary meds but also because I don't want it to become less effective over time. robinbird Why don't you give Tylenol for vax pain? This isn't something I'd heard. LO is always given Tylenol by the nurse before she gets her shots and we're always given dosing info in case she's miserable. I'm genuinely curious- is this something that should be avoided?

[tatorhead328]

Feb 16, 2015 12:57:55 GMT -5 mrsnorris said:

I don't feel much guilt around giving her Tylenol but I always want to make sure she really needs it when she gets it in part just to avoid unnecessary meds but also because I don't want it to become less effective over time. robinbird Why don't you give Tylenol for vax pain? This isn't something I'd heard. LO is always given Tylenol by the nurse before she gets her shots and we're always given dosing info in case she's miserable. I'm genuinely curious- is this something that should be avoided?

I haven't done any research at all on the subject, but our pedi told us the same thing about Tylenol right before / after vaccines. She said there was some recent information that it's possible that the Tylenol could counteract the vaccines if given so close in time to when the shots were actually administered? She said that if we really felt like we wanted to do the Tylenol thing, it was fine, but she also wanted us to know all of the information.

[mrsnorris]

Feb 16, 2015 13:03:35 GMT -5 tatorhead328 said:

Feb 16, 2015 12:57:55 GMT -5 mrsnorris said:

I don't feel much guilt around giving her Tylenol but I always want to make sure she really needs it when she gets it in part just to avoid unnecessary meds but also because I don't want it to become less effective over time. robinbird Why don't you give Tylenol for vax pain? This isn't something I'd heard. LO is always given Tylenol by the nurse before she gets her shots and we're always given dosing info in case she's miserable. I'm genuinely curious- is this something that should be avoided?

I haven't done any research at all on the subject, but our pedi told us the same thing about Tylenol right before / after vaccines. She said there was some recent information that it's possible that the Tylenol could counteract the vaccines if given so close in time to when the shots were actually administered? She said that if we really felt like we wanted to do the Tylenol thing, it was fine, but she also wanted us to know all of the information.

That's interesting!  Thanks!  I'll definitely bring that up with pedi at the next appointment!

[mandapanda1382]

Feb 16, 2015 13:03:35 GMT -5 tatorhead328 said:

Feb 16, 2015 12:57:55 GMT -5 mrsnorris said:

She said there was some recent information that it's possible that the Tylenol could counteract the vaccines if given so close in time to when the shots were actually administered? She said that if we really felt like we wanted to do the Tylenol thing, it was fine, but she also wanted us to know all of the information.

****stuck in quote box*****

Our pedi told us the same thing. He never advises Tylenol before shots. And only afterwards if he's really in pain.

[annapunkalunka]

@lizziebennett robinbird pharmacist high five!

@lizziebennett you mean not everything from the Internet is true? We should start spreading the word because SO many people don't get that...

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2015 13:03:35 GMT -5 tatorhead328 said:

Feb 16, 2015 12:57:55 GMT -5 mrsnorris said:

I don't feel much guilt around giving her Tylenol but I always want to make sure she really needs it when she gets it in part just to avoid unnecessary meds but also because I don't want it to become less effective over time. robinbird Why don't you give Tylenol for vax pain? This isn't something I'd heard. LO is always given Tylenol by the nurse before she gets her shots and we're always given dosing info in case she's miserable. I'm genuinely curious- is this something that should be avoided?

I haven't done any research at all on the subject, but our pedi told us the same thing about Tylenol right before / after vaccines. She said there was some recent information that it's possible that the Tylenol could counteract the vaccines if given so close in time to when the shots were actually administered? She said that if we really felt like we wanted to do the Tylenol thing, it was fine, but she also wanted us to know all of the information.

There is evidence that taking acetaminophen prior to vaccine may decrease the amount of antibodies your LO makes in response to the vaccine.  Essentially, it can blunt some of the immunological response to the vaccine (in theory anyway).  

[robinbird]

Feb 16, 2015 13:50:20 GMT -5 @lizziebennett said:

Feb 16, 2015 13:03:35 GMT -5 tatorhead328 said:

I haven't done any research at all on the subject, but our pedi told us the same thing about Tylenol right before / after vaccines. She said there was some recent information that it's possible that the Tylenol could counteract the vaccines if given so close in time to when the shots were actually administered? She said that if we really felt like we wanted to do the Tylenol thing, it was fine, but she also wanted us to know all of the information.

There is evidence that taking acetaminophen prior to vaccine may decrease the amount of antibodies your LO makes in response to the vaccine.  Essentially, it can blunt some of the immunological response to the vaccine (in theory anyway).  

What they said.   If he was in pain and had a fever and was just miserable and inconsolable after the shots, I would see if Tylenol helped, but if extra snuggles make things a little better for him, I'd skip it.  I don't give it before the shots though.

[Deleted]

My pedi gave me this sheet last week:

[redhorizon343]

What is the fear about Tylenol? I know it's particularly damaging to overdose. Is that the fear? With teething I feel like you don't know that teething is specifically causing the pain until a tooth appears, and by that time it's unnecessary.

I'm a big proponent of "whatever works"