Last night I couldn’t sleep.  I was so mad.  I was fuming.

Why?

Because I am angry with Calpol

Is Calpol 100% safe?

Yep, the supposedly innocent pink bottle of goo that many parents swear by when their children are ill.

Why am I mad?...

Calpol contains PARABENS

Yes, those pesky synthetic cheap preservatives that have been taken out of many baby products and cosmetics as the potential link to cancer, particularly breast, is high.  Many sources say in studies of breast cancer tissue around 80% contain parabens.  They can mimic estrogen in the body and disrupt hormone function.  There are also reports of low sperm count in men due to parabens.  Lots of articles will also suggest they are safe, but I’d rather not risk it.  Who wants a chemical pretending to be estrogen in their body?  It’s not natural and it doesn’t sound good to me.  Also, why would so many companies remove them from their products if they weren’t concerned about their danger?

I’ve been refusing to use anything knowingly that contains parabens for around 5-6 years.

I’ve touched on the subject of parabens and questionable ingredients in this blog post:

• Why SLS is bad for you so I'm giving up Soap and Glory

So why did I use Calpol?

Because I didn’t know.  Not because I hadn’t read the ingredients, but because they are hidden under E numbers.

I’d assume if many other products list parabens by their full name, then everyone would.

Not so.

I knew the E numbers in Calpol probably weren’t great, but I never would have thought they were parabens.  I looked up the E numbers out of curiosity last night (sparked by watching Vaxxed and researching the MMR jab, then in turn thinking, well what are those E numbers in Calpol…)

I was horrified!  THREE of them were parabens!  

This is in the sugar/colour free version.  So I assumed I was making a better choice.

There I’ve been not buying any kids toiletries with parabens thinking I’m doing the right thing and yet I’ve been unknowingly making my kids swallow them instead, straight into their systems!

I wonder how many other parents look out for paraben-free on skincare, but are unaware they are in their beloved Calpol?

Why exactly am I mad at Calpol?

Firstly because Calpol should know better.  A well trusted BABY and kids brand over 45 years old that nearly all parents love and trust.  They should be using the highest quality ingredients in their product that are 100% known to be safe and if possible, natural.

Secondly, because Calpol is expensive.  We pay more for it as a trusted brand so it should have the BEST ingredients.

Thirdly, because I feel they are deceiving us by only listing the ingredients as E numbers.  I bet if they listed them as their actual names and we all realised they were parabens, we’d think twice before buying.

I’m also annoyed there is nothing else on the market containing paracetamol for kids/babies.  I’ve tried to find something and struggled.  There are supermarket own versions but they contain the same crap.  Why isn’t there just a simple paracetamol suspension in good ingredients without parabens, colours, sugars, sweeteners, nothing?  I feel like we are being forced to buy this rubbish for our kids and guilt tripped if they are poorly and we don’t give it to them.  What else are the options?

There’s a Dragons’ Den idea – a NATURAL paracetamol suspension for children.

Or even sachets of pure paracetamol I can simply mix in a milk or smoothie to give my kids?

Maybe there is.  Please contact me and let me know if you know of something readily available in the UK.  I’m struggling to find anything readily available to buy.

Here's an article that looks at the alternatives:

• What are the alternatives?

 There are tons more.  Just Google and you’ll see.