anyone's Dr NOT recommend alternating tylenol/ibuprofen?

elizabethswan · May 2009

When DH took Emily to the pedi yesterday, he mentioned alternating the tylenol and ibuprofen and they don't recommend that. She said that it used to be recommended, but that now they say to stick with one b/c it might harm their kidneys.

I know all pedis are different so I just thought I would pass that along, since I didn't actually ask the Dr before now.

bobsbride2006 · May 2009

Did they mention which one to use? Just curious. I've never heard of Tylenol causing kidney failure at any age. Motrin can be dangerous, when dehydrated, in those who already have kidney disease (usually the elderly). I still recommend alternating the two when fevers are running high. If it goes down after just one, that's great. Usually the kids I see in the ER are there b/c their temps won't go down, so I still recommend alternating to keep that temp down.

elizabethswan · May 2009

bobsbride2006:
Did they mention which one to use? .

I asked DH if they recommended one over the other and the pedi just said to pick one if it seemed to work better.

I don't know, I guess I'll just be more discriminating of when to use the alternating technique. Hopefully it won't get back up to 103/104 again anyway.

raceyrae · May 2009

Our pedi didn't recommend it either when we took her in on Tuesday. She said the reason they were discouraging it now (and I guess AAP is also discouraging it) is because parents forget when they gave what dosage and so if they end up giving motrin sooner than 6 hours in between, it can damage their kidneys.

But the dr. at the ER last night did suggest it so who knows.

mrsmikey · May 2009

My pedi did encourage me to write down what I gave him at what time so I don't forget or get mixed up. I think what racey said it probably true, it's fine as long as you don't screw up.