Nurseries rarely give acetaminophen to a sick child. While both the child and the parents benefit, general practitioner Bernard Leenstra will fix this first week of 2023 NRC extension.
A sick child belongs at home: That’s crucial, agrees this primary care physician. But he also says that acetaminophen can be a panacea for some of the children who get sick, have a fever and/or are in pain: If the parents are already planning to give paracetamol anyway, there is only an advantage if the child gets it earlier, for example at daycare. It accelerates the possibility of the positive effects of paracetamol: less pain, feeling less sick and being able to eat or drink better.
Danger
Leenstra finds it unclear why nurseries are so careful about providing acetaminophen. Some daycare centers say the GGD doesn’t allow it, she says in her opinion piece. But according to the family doctor, most nurseries indicate that they consider it dangerous to give paracetamol. For example, acetaminophen would cause a febrile seizure, increase the risk of infection for others, or hide the fact that a child is seriously ill.
Risk of infection
The general practitioner discusses these topics in the NRC: A serious illness cannot be hidden with paracetamol, he believes, and one could hardly speak of an increased risk of infection: Children are already contagious before they show any symptoms of the disease. According to the primary care physician, there is also no evidence of a connection between acetaminophen use and febrile seizures.
Both the GGD and the RIVM are not against nursery staff providing paracetamol, says the general practitioner. But, oddly enough, surveys of various nurseries reveal that they often do not offer paracetamol, precisely according to the indications of the GGD itself.