To ask how on earth I can get DD to take her medicine?

[BobbysBeardOfWonder]

Need urgent answers so sorry it's not strictly AIBU
2 year old DD has an ear infection & needs to take that nasty 'banana' flavoured medicine - but she is refusing: screaming, tears, spitting it out, everything. We always use a syringe for medicine but she's worked out how to stop it going down :(

Has anyone got a magic approach? It's making the thought of doing this 3 times a day rather scary :(

[Doingakatereddy]

We got DS (2) to feed syringe medicine to himself, then filled another smaller syringe with something nice (yoghurt, custard, milkshake) or give them treat after they take medicine.

If blackmail doesn't work, pop LO down in crook of your arm, cover with body with blanky & hold down. It makes me & DS cry a bit but 17 meds per day you have to resort to it sometimes

[BobbysBeardOfWonder]

We did the holding her down thing but she just won't swallow. She sort of blows bubbles to stop it trickling down

[thebody]

Put her on your knee, legs held by your knees, put her closest arm around your back so she is very close.

Hold her nose and her mouth will open, release nose and squirt in medicine slowly, keep head well back, stroke throat and reassure.

Even if she dribbles out some lots will go in, also try breaking the dose down to more times a day so less to swallow at any one time.

Don't feel bad, it's for her good and its your job as a parent.

Had to do this with all mine and as a nurse that's his we administered in hospital.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Bribery always worked for me at this age very high value chocolate buttons on offer if nasty medicine swallowed.
I also used the hold the nose till the mouth opened technique again in lifetthreatening situation you use anything you can to get the meds in.

[Imnotaslimjim]

Horrible isn't it? My DD got shocking chicken pox at 18 months and we had to give her medicine. We resorted to Thebody's tricks, it was the only way. Just keep trying, and halve the dose. It means you have ot do it more often, but you've got a higher chance of getting more in

[PhilMckrakin]

Not sure if it works for a 2 year old but my mum (paediatric nurse) told me to gently blow onto their face as it makes them swallow as a reflex action.

Have tried it with dd when she was about 18 months and needed an's and it seemed to work.

Hth

[BobbysBeardOfWonder]

Thanks for suggestions. She's not bothered about chocolate so can't use that as bribery

[maymoon]

If you can get the medicine into her mouth then stroke her throat which triggers child to swallow.

or try making a milkshake and putting it inside

good luck

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

You could ask the GP if there is another antibiotic she could take. Maybe it's the flavour she is objecting to.

[StanleyLambchop]

That banana stuff is rank, I don't blame her!

(Unhelpful)

[JasperStreet]

Is there anything else you can bribe her with? We've even resorted to small toys in moments of absolute desperation! We also found that letting her choose her spoon from a large variety helped. Try your best to stay calm and not rush it. Not easy I know!

[AllYoursBaBOOshkAHH]

DS was a nightmare at taking medicine so you have my sympathies.

We had to do as thebody did and it's not pleasant, but as she says more gets in than you think.

I just kept telling myself that letting him stay ill was much worse than 5 hellish minutes of kicking and screaming.

Good luck!

[SomethingSuitablyWitty]

It's desperate isn't it? Does she still like milk? I used to put the medicine in 30mls of slightly warmed milk and give it to her in the bottle. She still finds the milk and the bottle kind of comforting and she used to accept it. It was the only way. It's so upsetting and frankly maddening to have the dose spat all over the place. You do just use a small amount of milk in that case so you know she got most of the dose in even if she doesn't finish the whole lot. Good luck.

[BobbysBeardOfWonder]

Thanks again. Just tried again with DH holding her, held her nose & blew on her face...slight improvement!

God knows how I'm gonna do it on my own

[WaitingForMe]

We found that a big part of DSS2 refusing his medication post surgery was because he saw it as part if the illness. When his mum renamed them "Go tablets" (to get him up and going again) he was far more willing.

We also denied him all toys and stimulation and he got a cuddle without eye contact until he cooperated. It was harsh but not taking his medication simply wasn't an option.

[Runoutofideas]

My dd had to have vile tasting antibiotics last year. She would gag on them and vomit it back up which was a nightmare. The only way I could get her to take them was 1ml at a time followed by loads of water/squash/icelolly to take the taste away. It took a long time to get the 10ml dose in, but at least i knew she'd actually had it. Good luck - it is horrible!

[DesperatelySeekingPomBears]

DS is only 9mo so can't be bribed or reasoned with so I developed the foolproof method of mixing the dose with a spoonful of his pudding (yoghurt or custard etc). He can't taste the medicine so just swallows it with no problems.

[Startailoforangeandgold]

Go to drs. Get different med.

Sorry, I have a pathological hatred of bananas and all things banana flavoured.

That type of penicillin is absolutely vile.

Had it existed, I would have considered ring forced to take it a reason to phone childline.

Seriously, it's why I learnt to swallow pills, because I'd put up with being ill rather than risk the Dr giving me that stuff.

[Startailoforangeandgold]

Consider being forced to

[Jenny70]

Firstly call the pharmacy, see if they have the equiv medicine with different flavour - may need a call to the dr to approve it, but if she will happily suck down strawberry then it's worth the pfaffing to sort it.

Failing that:

We have what we call the inverted jesus pose - lie child on the floor, head between your legs arms pinned under your legs. their legs lie away from you, they look like jesus on the cross. They can kick, but won't hit you, you have your arms free and their face near you.

Then do the small syringe into side of mouth, small amounts encourage to swallow. Too much and it call pool and make them gag/choke, but small amounts will get swallowed. They won't like it. Next time say, do you want it the easy way or the hard way? Spitting it out gets the repeat of the floor technique. Mine usually have to be forced twice, then will agree to taking it quickly with a pleasant treat after to take away taste.

[Katiebeau]

I second or third asking for a different flavour. Despite the active been the same some of the generic antibiotic syrups taste shit compared to originator. I say this as a big fan of generics but their paediatric syrups are not always great (that's why I have 16p paracetamol and the kids get Calpol!)

Good luck with the techniques others have given you too. I know it's vile (shudders remembering 4 x day eye drops post op for a two year old). It's what they need though.

[porcamiseria]

hold her down, it might take 2 of you
put syringe in mouth
have her angled so she cant spit it out
have water to hand/sweets for afterwards

sigh!!!!

[porcamiseria]

i think thebody has a better idea!!! thnaks !!!