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Comment by qixv | Hacker News Reader

Wow! I have two young children, and we’ve been cautious about using paracetamol. But this really changes the perspective for me.

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Same here, two children (2.5yo and 3wo), both exposed to Paracetamol in what I now hope were low enough concentrations. I'm very concerned, to say the least.

Why do you use the word "exposed"? You seem to be overreacting.

To me it looks like a normal response of a parent.

I've been giving my infant paracetamol and am now having second thoughts about it.

What other word should I use? My wife took paracetamol, so the fetus was exposed to it.

Aspirin is a much safer drug to give to kids, despite the bad press it has received. You only need to look at the actual data to be convinced that it should be prescribed over Paracetamol any day.

Ok... I looked at the data and when people stopped giving aspirin to children, prevalence of Reye syndrome dropped by 90%.

I'm gonna go ahead and continue not giving aspirin to kids.

You know the saying that correlation is not causation ?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11994026/

> The presence of salicylates in the blood or urine of Reye's syndrome patients has not been demonstrated, and no animal model of Reye's syndrome has been developed where aspirin causes the disease. It is clear from epidemiological data that the incidence of Reye's syndrome was decreasing well before warning labels were placed on aspirin products. Reye's syndrome disappeared from countries where aspirin was not used in children as well as from countries which continued to use aspirin in children.

This link with Reyes syndrom is about as valid as good old snake oil to treat ailments. Bad science was not invented just last year.

While uncommon, Aspirin can cause Reye syndrome in children, which can lead to death or cause permanent disability.

Paracetamol does not cause such harmful effects if used as directed. It definitely should be used as a first-line treatment (if needed) in case of fever or pain.

Edit: typo

> Aspirin can cause Reye syndrome in children

This has never been demonstrated

This article essentially argues that Paracetamol should be used sparingly, if necessary. Calpol (suspension of paracetamol for children) is used indiscriminately in the UK, with some parents seemingly attempting to use it as a chemical cosh when their children are in a bad mood - it does also appear to alter moods.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/14/paracetamol-...

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/04/why-par...

I think paracetamol is also used to lower fevers which are more common in little kids. Does aspirin also serve that function? I think it doesn't.

Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Paracetamol all lower fever.

It does.

Read on Reyes syndrom, maybe?

read on the lack of evidence when it comes to Reyes syndrom, maybe?

Oh, of course let's conduct a trial where we give aspirin to children and see what happens! I gather you'll be volunteering your own children? How nice of you!

Absolutely not.

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