Fever is one of the symptoms that most frightens parents, but as such it is not a disease but a defense mechanism of the body that is fighting against some infection. It is normal to worry, but you have to know that it is not always necessary to medicate, only if the fever is very high (more than 38º) or rises too fast, since it can produce a febrile seizure, which although it is harmless, scares.
It is a widespread custom to combine the administration of two antipyretic agents, supposedly because it is more effective and reduces the side effects of each of them, but there is no scientific evidence to support this benefit. So, it is not recommended to alternate ibuprofen and paracetamol to treat fever in children.
A team of experts has made a systematic review of scientific studies conducted on the subject whose result is as follows:
There is little evidence for or against the combined use of ibuprofen and paracetamol against the isolated use of one of them to relieve fever and the discomfort associated with it. In this context, it is prudent not to recommend the use of polytherapy with both drugs to treat this clinical sign and to use, if deemed necessary, only one of them in monotherapy.
Since there is no evidence on its effectiveness or safety data to support its use, it is recommended do not advise the combined use of antipyretic agents.
AdvertisingIn addition, it should be borne in mind that the function of anti-thermal agents is to treat a symptom that by itself does not cause harm, but is an ally for the control of the infection. If the fever cannot be lowered by other methods and is considered necessary, simply treat the fever with a single drug.
On the other hand, they warn that combining two different drugs increases the risk of miscalculating the doses and delivering them too high. Something quite common and that it can be serious for children, since excessive medication of these increases the risk of suffering from cardiac pathologies or asthma, as well as causing damage to the liver and kidneys.
In case you have doubts about the amounts, Armando told us some time ago about the doses that should be given to children, both ibuprofen and paretamol.
So, Alternate administration of ibuprofen and paracetamol has no benefit with regard to administering each of them separately.. Seeing that the safety of combining them is also not proven, it is recommended to administer the antipyretics separately, whose efficacy and relative safety in monotherapy are demonstrated.
