11 Plus Exams Forum

Does anybody know if it is dangerous to use Ibuprofen gel on an 11 year old.

DD has been to see a physiotherapist due to a knee injury. He recommended a treatment of ice-packs and ibuprofen gel. But it says on the Ibuleve tube that it should not be used on children under the age of 12. DD is only just 11, so not sure about this. Also not sure how qualified a physiotherapist is regarding medicines etc....?

Has anybody got any experience with this?

Thanks
pist

Hi,
My son ( now 12 ) has had many, many,many sprains, knocks, bruises etc from skateboarding and we have used ibuproen gel on his legs and knees for a couple of years.
I know it says not for below 12 but my husband is medical and was happy to let him use it, more for the placebo effect however as he is not convinced that topical gel can have that much effect on a deep sprain. A bit like a mothers kiss but damper.
If you are anxious I would ask a pharmacist or your own GP.

Thanks Marigold, I suspect your dh is right. After al,l it is ok for children to take ibuprofen orally and I would have thought topical use would be gentler. Hmm, anyways, physiowebsites seem to say a spoonful of nurofen is the way to go, so I think I will probably do that for a couple of days, untill I can consult with our GP. Physio adviced quite a lot of this stuff (2-3 times a day- certainly untill we see her next wk - but it was my impression that she meant longer than that) and I am not too sure about using too much over a prolonged period.

My DS has suffered from a sprained knee a couple of times and has always been told to take ibuprofen every 6hrs for a few days, even if there is no pain, as apparently it helps to reduce the swelling.

Sadly my dd's injury is unlikely to go away in a few days, more like months or even years (osgood-schlatters), and I'm not too keen on endless ibuprofen use (early days though, so not sure physio means to carry on an on with this)- also it was Ibuprofen gel that was recommended, not the liquid for children(still don't quite understand why under 12s can't use it on there skin when they are allowed to ingest it

pist wrote:still don't quite understand why under 12s can't use it on there skin when they are allowed to ingest it

Because like many other drugs the gel will not be licensed for use in the under 12's, insufficient testing etc. Doesn't mean they are necessarily unsafe just unlicensed (unlike the oral stuff which is licensed).

Ahh, thanks HM - That makes sense - Wish somebody had tested though... , but guessing that a bit of careful use on an above average sized 11yr old might be ok.

- And desperately praying that enless ice-packs will actually help - OSD seems to be one of those pot-luck things, where we'll just have to wait and see - pretty difficult with county trials and application for sports scholarship coming up in the next couple of months - thought this 11+ malarchy was stressful enough already

pist wrote:Ahh, thanks HM - That makes sense - Wish somebody had tested though... , but guessing that a bit of careful use on an above average sized 11yr old might be ok.

- And desperately praying that enless ice-packs will actually help - OSD seems to be one of those pot-luck things, where we'll just have to wait and see - pretty difficult with county trials and application for sports scholarship coming up in the next couple of months - thought this 11+ malarchy was stressful enough already

the testing is the problem - to test a drug you really have to give informed consent and is that possible / fair on kids? Vicious circle really... good luck with the knee - such a pain (sorry ) when kid very sporty and keen,

to test a drug you really have to give informed consent and is that possible / fair on kids?

- Nope, It isn't fair at all - Amazing that any drugs get tested really....

good luck with the knee - such a pain (sorry ) when kid very sporty and keen,

Thanks HM - no need to apologise - a pain is precisely what it is - Getting v good at timing vr tests in icepack sessions