My 2.4 dd was last night diagnosed with tonsilitis and was prescribed Phenoxymethyl Penicillin. It's a red coloured medicine and is actually quite vile with a nasty metal aftertaste. She took the first one, but when the taste hit, spat half out. Now she knows it's nasty she won't open her mouth to take further doses. If I force her she spits out or gags. I've tried mixing it with neat cordial but it doesn't make a difference - it's a 5ml dose which doesn't go down in one anyway. I've also tried bribing with chocolate but I am now tearing my hair out!

I'd really appreciate any tips please for anyone that's been through a similar thing . . . .

Use one of those syringes, it works every time with my kids because you can shoot the medicine right in before it hits the taste buds.\

It's a two-person job, one to hold child lying down on adult's lap in a headlock, the other to squirt the stuff down child's throat with a syringe. Very small amounts at a time, then they can't spit much back out. At that age they don't have many molars, so you can usually get the syringe in at the side of the mouth. With luck you shouldn't get too badly bitten.

It's not pretty, but if bribery doesn't work and the medicine is essential, there's not much alternative.

frogs , that was spot on!

sorry op, its got to be done

Don't have any tips, but am watching with interest as my dd spits everything medicinal straight back out, even with a headlock and syringe.

I find a spoon a bit easier tbh as you can get it in in one go and then hold mouth shut. 2.5 ml is easiest, wouldn't attempt a 5ml, but you could use 2.5 x2 if needed.

Am considering the sugar option next (ie a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down) or honey..........

Syringe every time.

I had a dog for 18 years before DD1 was born. Be offended if you like but owning that dog taught me so much about raising a child. Including the syringe trick. Works with both of ours.

Oh, and believe me, no child will bite you as badly as a pissed off Lab.

RosaRosa - my sympathies - ds2 had tonsillitis three times between Christmas and MArch and was prescribed the same meds on 2 occasions, until I politely requested amoxycillin the third time. Ds2 (3.2) is a bit older, so bribes +++ worked here - eventually. I did resort to the syringe a few times and tried to pretend it was calpol with a 'oh dear I must have put the wrong one in ' afterwards. We averaged about 2-3 times a day when it should have been 4.
Putting it in drinks doesn't help as it's such a strong taste they spot it a mile off.
I tried having his favorite drink handy and then saying "quickly wash it down with this"....or holding the chocolate button in one hand within view and the medicine in the other worked for us.
I'm currently trying to get him to take lactulose twice a day as he broke his leg 6 weeks ago and is immobile in a hip spica at the mo, so only averaging a poo every 4 days!!!!! Not a great year healthwise so far!!!

You can buy a medicine dummy from most pharmacies. They work like a syringe, in that you load the medicine in a little section at the back then squirt it out the front. However, the front looks like a dummy and is easy to slip into the mouth, then hold in. It looks a bit less scary than a syringe, and if you let them play with it inbetween illnesses, then it becomes a familiar and friendly object. (I also used to fill it occasionally with juice, so that it was sometimes a treat to have it, sometimes less so)

They don't cost a lot. We loved ours.

Smoggie - sympathy on the broken leg. DS2 went through that when he was 2. How long to go in the hip spica?

Beg the GP for a different abx? GP prescribed a name-brand version when DD couldn't keep the generic down. Tasted much better and was such a relief.

A friend of mine used to put medicine into yoghurts for her little one to take ...she swore by it.

I go with the two-person syringe technique

Good luck

I used the funny dummy thing then as he got older (wiser) I popped it in diet coke

Re 2 person head lock. A towel around the childs body to hold back flailing arms also helps. I also put my hand over the mouth and nose momentarily after the medicine goes in - if they can't breath they eventually swallow and then gasp - it is very momentary!!

Hmmm those medicine dummies sound very interesting, will have to invetigate these I think.......

i got a medicine dummy but it was so smelly of latex my ds refused out right without med in it - headlock everytime...... Also at night i can remove dummy and do a syring squirt and get away with it if replace dummy quickly enough....... Good Luck

As soon as you've syringed the meds into her mouth blow (quite hard) directly into her face...doesn't sound very nice but it triggers the swallow reflex so she won't have a chance to spit it oot

Hold her nose so she has to open her mouth. Use a med syringe as it gets it to the back of the throat so she won't beable to spit it.

My 17 mo is on amoxicillin for tonsillitis as I type (3 x per day, 5mls at a time for a week) and she takes it fine -I think it's banana flavour - very inoccuous. I would go back to GP and request a different one if you can.

Yes defo request a different medicine! we got an aniseed one once, dd clamped her mouth shut after the first taste so I marched back in and asked for a different one