Parents are too quick to use paracetamol and ibuprofen together when their children develop a fever, a study has concluded.
Many mothers and fathers succumb to ‘fever phobia’ and go overboard on the medication in the mistaken belief it could help, the researchers found.
They warned parents not to administer the two drugs together in most cases because they may extend the illness and put their child at risk of overdosing.
‘There is no evidence that fever itself worsens the course of an illness or that it causes long-term neurological complications,’ said the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
‘Fever is not an illness but is, in fact, a physiological mechanism that has beneficial effects in fighting infection.’ The combined use of ibuprofen and paracetamol ‘may be more complicated and contribute to the unsafe use of these drugs’, they say.
The research leaves a question over the advice given by many GPs that alternating between the two drugs is a good way to fight disease.
It also found that in up to half of instances children are being given the wrong dosage by their parents.
Some did not know you should judge it according to the child’s weight, not their age, whilst others used a kitchen spoon instead of a proper measuring device.
‘The primary goal of treating the febrile child should be to improve the child’s overall comfort rather than focus on the normalisation of body temperature,’ the report states.
General well-being, regular fluid intake and watching for signs of serious illness were things that should be monitored closely, they say.
In Britain the official guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is that both drugs should be ‘considered in children with fever who appear distressed or unwell’.
Even routine use of the pair should be considered if the child does not improve.
Ibuprofen and paracetamol, known collectively as ‘antipyretics’, can be readily bought over the counter as pills or in liquid solutions such as Calpol and Nurofen for Children.
The British National Formulary, which GPs consult before prescribing medicine, says paracetamol should be administered no more than four times in 24 hours.
Ibuprofen should also be limited to four doses a day.
Aside from the risk of overdosing, they pair also carry potential side-effects – paracetamol has been linked to asthma while ibuprofen has been said in rare cases to lead to stomach ulcers and even kidney problems.
‘Fever is the body’s normal response to an illness, so it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing,’ said study author Dr Janice Sullivan, professor of pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
‘It’s how your body fights the infection,’ The only exception was in infants less less than three months of age who should be taken to their doctor if they have a fever of more than 100F, she said.
The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.
By Daniel Bates
Daily Mail