Children's paracetamol dose
Right dose, right concentration. Enter your child's age and (ideally) weight — we'll work out the ml of Calpol Infant or Calpol Six Plus. Built from BNFc paediatric reference dosing.
When to skip the calculator and call NHS 111 or your GP
- Under 3 months with any fever ≥ 38 °C — same-day medical advice.
- 3-6 months with fever ≥ 39 °C — same-day medical advice.
- Fever lasting more than 5 days at any age.
- Signs of dehydration — sunken eyes, dry mouth, fewer wet nappies, lethargy.
- Non-blanching rash (doesn't fade when pressed with a glass) — call 999.
- Breathing difficulty, repeated vomiting, prolonged drowsiness, fits — call 999 or NHS 111.
Calpol vs Nurofen — which one
- Paracetamol (Calpol) works on pain and fever and is the first line.
- Ibuprofen (Nurofen for Children) works as an anti-inflammatory — useful when paracetamol isn't enough, or for inflammatory pain (teething, post-vaccine soreness).
- If one isn't enough on its own, you can alternate them every 4 hours (e.g. 4-hourly Calpol staggered with 4-hourly Nurofen, so each gets dosed every 8 hours) — but tell us if a fever's persistent enough to need this.
- Don't give both at the same moment unless we've advised it for a specific reason.
Source
BNFc — paracetamol, 15 mg/kg per dose, max 60 mg/kg/day, every 4-6 hours, max 4 doses in 24 hours. Calpol Infant suspension is 120 mg/5 ml (24 mg/ml). Calpol Six Plus is 250 mg/5 ml (50 mg/ml). This calculator follows the same logic any pharmacist would.