Among the most agonizing and helpless feelings as a parent comes when your kid is sick and intentionally refuses to take the medication you know will help to make her better. If you are one of those parents and have a fickle child who won’t take medicine of any sort, do not panic. My daughter is very sensitive to scents and tastes. It has always been hard to get her to take any medication orally, or even peacefully if it’s any type of odor.
The only medicine she’d take orally as a baby was gripe water since she loved the taste of it. Gripe water is provided for the relief of minor stomach upsets like colic, cramps, flatulence, and hiccups and can be bought at most pharmacies and health stores. I’ve taken advantage of them through the years and used it as a help in administering some medications to her like an anti-nauseant or acetaminophen.
Most medications for children do come in a number of tastes and forms including liquid, chewable tablets and suppositories. If you find one isn’t working with your child keep shifting tastes and forms until you find one which he/she will consider taking. Below are a few ideas that worked for me and more great suggestions from other moms I talked to. If your children run each time they see the medicine dropper try giving the liquid onto an enjoyable spoon which has their favorite character on it.
Gauge the medicine first in the medicine dropper and move it to their preferred spoon. If you do not have a favorite spoon yet select a special shopping spree and have them pick out the spoon they enjoy. This places an element of fun into taking the medication. If you’re using the dropper, squeeze the liquid to the side cheek region where they won’t spit it out so easily. The roof of the mouth or on the tongue is extremely sensitive to taste and touch that may cause the child to gag or spit it out.
Sandra, a mother of 2 kids under the age of six, had this thought to share. “My son always takes his medication by means of a straw,” she says. Sue has three kids and has difficulty convincing her 10-year-old son to take pills. “He still won’t take pills and will only take the medication in liquid form. This can become quite costly since he wants to take more of the liquid-based on his weight and age.”
Suppositories are soft capsules that melt when inserted into the anus. These can be a successful alternative in case your child is not able to keep anything in the gut. If your child is fearful of the suppositories try inserting them while he’s asleep. If he’s a heavy sleeper he will not feel a thing. If he wakes up it is usually after the suppository has been inserted and the only thing left to do would be to comfort him.
Chewable tablets are popular for its 2 – 12 age group. They are available in various flavors and forms such as”soft chews” that dissolve quickly in the mouth so the flavor and feel do not linger (or until the child To aid with the normal chewable pills try giving your kid a little bit of fruit like strawberry or banana to chew with the pill. For older children that are learning how to swallow pills eating a banana or taking a teaspoon of mayonnaise then will help slide down it. If you can’t find a flavored chewable tablet your child will take try crushing the pill and mixing it with a favorite food or liquid.
Before doing so confirm with your physician that the food/liquid and medication can be combined together safely and efficiently. With a pill crusher (a garlic presser works just as well) crush the tablets and mix them into a desirable food like applesauce, ice cream, jello or pudding. If the color of the crushed pill combined with the food leaves your kid suspicious, scatter some rainbow sprinkles (used to decorate cakes) on top for camouflage, or try crushing the pills and mixing with a few drops of water at first to dissolve.
This mixture can then be added to a liquid such as a gripe water, juice or water. When using a syringe, squirt the liquid to the face of the mouth and follow up with a favorite treat. Children will need to know there is something good coming after the anguish of taking medication. Theresa, the mother of three, is thankful that her kids are very cooperative in regards to taking medicine.