Is it ok to give children pain killers? We asked five experts

Fever is a normal part of healing, so whether we should stop it with pain killers should be questioned. from www.shutterstock.com

Alexandra Hansen, The Conversation, Betty Chaar, Greta Palmer, Hasantha Gunasekera, Michael Vagg, Rebekah Moles

Author

Alexandra Hansen
Deputy Editor and Chief of Staff, The Conversation AUNZ

Interviewed

Betty Chaar
Associate professor, University of Sydney
Greta Palmer
Anaesthetist and pain management specialist, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Hasantha Gunasekera
Senior Lecturer, Paediatrics & Child Health, University of Sydney
Michael Vagg
Conjoint Clinical Associate Professor, Deakin University School of Medicine and Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, Deakin University
Rebekah Moles
Associate Professor, University of Sydney

Partners

Children get sick and hurt a lot. Whether it’s playground injuries or cold and fever, we’re frequently wondering if we should reach for the kids’ Panadol.

But pain relief has side effects, and we know as adults we shouldn’t take it too liberally, so what about for our kids?

We asked five experts if it’s OK to give our kids pain killers.

Four out of five experts said yes

Here are their detailed responses:

If you have a “yes or no” health question you’d like posed to Five Experts, email your suggestion to: alexandra.hansen@theconversation.edu.au

Disclosures: Greta Palmer has previously received grant support from Cadence Pharmaceuticals for a paracetamol study in neonates.

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