Cautions with other medicines
In general, paracetamol does not affect prescription medicines, including antibiotics.
But check with your child's doctor or a pharmacist before giving your child paracetamol if they're taking:
- medicine to treat epilepsy
- medicine to treat tuberculosis (TB)
- warfarin (a medicine to prevent blood clots)
Giving paracetamol with other painkillers
Ibuprofen is the only safe painkiller to give children alongside paracetamol. However, do not give paracetamol and ibuprofen at the same time.
You need to give these medicines 1 at a time (unless your child's doctor or nurse gives you different instructions).
Important
Do not give your child more than the maximum daily dose of paracetamol or ibuprofen.
For high temperature
If you've given your child paracetamol and they still have a high temperature after 1 hour, you could try giving them ibuprofen.
If this helps bring down their temperature, carry on giving them ibuprofen instead of paracetamol. Follow the instructions that come with the medicine.
Do not alternate between paracetamol and ibuprofen to treat a high temperature without advice from a doctor or nurse.
See your doctor if you've tried both paracetamol and ibuprofen and they have not helped.
For pain (including teething)
If you've given your child paracetamol and they're still in pain after 1 hour, you could try giving ibuprofen.
If they are still in some pain after giving ibuprofen you can alternate between doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen. Only give 1 medicine at a time.
It may help to keep a diary of the time and dose of each medicine you give. Follow the instructions on the leaflet that comes with each medicine.
If you've tried alternating between paracetamol and ibuprofen and it has not helped, or your child becomes distressed, speak to your doctor about what may be causing their pain.
Do not give ibuprofen to your child if:
- they have chickenpox – it can increase the risk of getting a serious skin infection
- they have asthma (unless your doctor has said it's OK) – if your child has an allergic reaction, it could make their asthma worse
Important
Never give aspirin to a child under the age of 16, unless their doctor prescribes it.
Other medicines containing paracetamol
Do not give your child more than 1 paracetamol medicine at a time. If they take 2 different medicines that contain paracetamol, there's a risk of overdose.
Lots of medicines you can buy from pharmacies or supermarkets contain paracetamol. These include some cough and cold medicines, so check the ingredients carefully.
Mixing paracetamol for children with herbal remedies and supplements
There's not enough information to say whether complementary medicines, herbal remedies and supplements are safe to take with paracetamol for children. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.
Important: Medicine safety
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.