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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if there is a non violent way of getting antibiotics into a toddler

43 replies

Katastrophe13 · 06/04/2016 17:14

DD is 1 yo and has tonsillitis and she has been prescribed antibiotic medicine. I have a syringe to shoot it into her mouth with, but she just gargles it then sprays/spits it into my face/all over me. Dr said to hold her nose so she can't breathe and has to swallow it. I've tried but she must be superhuman and is still managing to not swallow most of it/spray me with it. Please can I have your tips on how to get non compliant toddlers to take medicine? Pref before 7.30 when I'm due back in the ring with her for round 3 😥

OP posts:
missymayhemsmum · 06/04/2016 17:22

I guess she's too young for bribery with chocolate buttons to work? What about mixing it with honey? Getting a second (empty) syringe and dosing teddy? Does she normally take calpol? (ie is it the taste of the new medicine she dislikes?)

CigarsofthePharoahs · 06/04/2016 17:22

I don't know.
When my 3 year old needed drops for an eye infection Dh had to sit on him and hold his head. I hated having to give them to him.
Can you mix it with something? When I had to give my youngest liquid vitamins I mixed them in yoghurt.

murphyslaws · 06/04/2016 17:23

Maybe mix with food.

trilbydoll · 06/04/2016 17:24

Mix with Nutella or jam. Not ideal snack foods but it should work!

ConfuciousSayWhat · 06/04/2016 17:25

I had to wrap mine up in a towel and hug them tight while dh shovelled the medicine in, then popped a chocolate button in after to make it better Blush is that child abuse?

Sometimesithinkimbonkers · 06/04/2016 17:26

NO!!! my DS is disabled and I spent the first 4 years of his life sitting on him to force down meds.
If you squirt it down the inside of their cheek and gum it should go down easier and give less of a gargle!

Good luck ... My DS has a tube in his tummy now ... Smug ... Drastic though.

MajesticSeaFlapFlap · 06/04/2016 17:27

Yep
I roll them in a towel, wedge between my legs, pry mouth open, tip in

Cat, dogs and kids all get done in that way

SaltaKatten · 06/04/2016 17:27

I used to mix it with juice and freeze it in ice lolly molds. My youngest had recurring infections in her eczema as a baby and toddler but also had an impressive gag reflex and would projectile vomit the antibiotics out again. Ice lollies worked a treat though.

Cel982 · 06/04/2016 17:27
  1. Melt choc button in microwave
  2. Mix in dose of antibiotic
  3. Let choc harden again
  4. Eat!

(I've never tried it, but I've heard it works!)

ConfuciousSayWhat · 06/04/2016 17:28

Surely mixing it into fluids or heating/freezing changes the potency?

oldjacksscrote · 06/04/2016 17:31

Ask dr for suppository, that's the only way my ds1 would take paracetamol when he was a baby

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 06/04/2016 17:32

Cel that is a genius idea!

SaltaKatten · 06/04/2016 17:32

It might, but for me it was the only way of getting it into her at all. I could squirt it down her mouth all I wanted, she'd swallow and a moment later projectile vomit. It was quite astounding. The antibiotics did seem to work though as the infections cleared up. Unfortunately they kept coming back as she kept on scratching but that was another problem.

PotteringAlong · 06/04/2016 17:33

cel you might be some kind of goddess in your own lifetime...

Binglesplodge · 06/04/2016 17:34

Mix into yoghurt! Approved by our doctor and so long as they eat it all shortly after mixing they're getting the full dose. Works a charm here.

musicinspring1 · 06/04/2016 17:34

I've always thought you can't mix liquid antibiotics as it changes something? The dose? I have no idea - would be interested to hear from a pharmacist! I am of the cuddle and squirt with a treat ready immediately after brigade. ..

Toria2014 · 06/04/2016 17:38

If its the penicillin that smells orangey (like tango) but tastes utterly vile, then no. We had this for toddler's tonsillitis and we tried everything and she just wouldn't take it. Luckily she got over it very quickly, so most likely viral than bacterial, so the antibiotics wouldn't have helped anyway. It was hell and I dread having to do it again. Hopefully next time she will be old enough to bribe.

Original poster
Katastrophe13 · 06/04/2016 17:41

It's all medicine she doesn't like. Does the same with calpol and we all know that's lush. I was thinking of trying mixing it with yoghurt, but was thinking would it do something to the antibiotic to stop it working? I LOVE the melted choc button in the microwave idea!! Genius. I'm worried that because it's not all going in she won't have taken the whole course and will now become antibiotic resistant. Thanks for the tip about aiming for the cheek sometimesbonkers. I agree a tube's prob a bit drastic just for a bout of tonsillitis. Maybe sticking it up her bum might work though Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
Katastrophe13 · 06/04/2016 17:48

Cross posted with lots of people...ok so you can mix with yog. Thank you. will do a test run with calpol and if that works try it with the antibiotic. It's a banana flavoured one and actually quite nice. I was joking about the bum thing, but you can actually get a suppository?! is it a one off thing or you need to do a new one every day? It might actually be less traumatic for both of us than this!

OP posts:
Cel982 · 06/04/2016 17:51

Mixing it with yoghurt/chocolate won't affect the potency as long as the whole lot is eaten within a short period. And while heating it up very hot might denature the drug, it being heated slightly shouldn't do any harm.

The French do all their antibiotics in suppository form, it's a pity they're not available here.

LunaLunaLovegood · 06/04/2016 17:53

I never managed it with DS.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT TRY THIS: I remember putting medicine on his toothbrush and scrubbing his gums before he noticed it wasn't his normal strawberry toothpaste. It was never the full dose but I figured better than nothing and maybe it would work because I'm sure on Grange Hill/Trainspotting they rubbed drugs into their gums right?!

I don't think DD ever really got poorly as a toddler.

MrsTatum1980 · 06/04/2016 17:57

Yes, yes, yes!

We've just had this and invested in the Dentinox medicine dummy! It is pure genius. You put the required amount of medicine in the end of the dummy and close it up, there's then a 'plunger' at the back of the dummy. When the child pops the dummy in, they suck out the medicine or you can push the plunger in and it shoots it in!

We had the foul 'banana' medicine and had the same problems with spitting it out, clenching teeth and gagging! He fell for this hook, line and sinker!

shinynewusername · 06/04/2016 17:57

I always recommend chocolate ice-cream but I'm loving Cel982's suggestion.

Suppositories are not available for the sort of antibiotic you need for tonsilitis, I'm afraid. Paracetamol supps are excellent for toddlers though and can be bought over the counter in France or Ireland though they are prescription- only here. (If buying in France, make sure you get a translation of the dose as suppository doses are different from oral ones).

WhoDrewOnTheWall · 06/04/2016 18:08

I've always used the blanket method for any refusal to take medicine. Wrap child in a blanket and cuddle them in close with one arm so they can't struggle/kick/run away. Tilt child back slightly and syringe the medicine into the side of their mouth, down the inside of their cheek. If they refuse to swallow it then blow a puff of air into their face, it forces the swallow reflex. Then chocolate button, cuddle, and so on.

Freezingwinter · 06/04/2016 18:11

Mix with a small yoghurt like a petit filous?