Toddler with tonsillitis refusing antibiotics

[lunepremiere79]

Hi all, posting here for traffic and hoping to get some advice. My 2.5 yo DD has come down with tonsillitis and got prescribed antibiotics (penicillin) last night but doesn't like the taste and most of it she spits right out. I 've tried the syringe and the spoon, haven't tried the juice yet, but will do later today once I get some. Any other tips for how to entice her to take the medicine? Thanks! x

Pen V is notoriously vile, so much so that they’ve reduced prescribing it to children now because so many parents struggle with it. I could get it into my child because he had previously had a quinsy/sepsis (similar age to your child actually) and I could threaten ‘hand medicine’. But the antimicrobial guidelines now suggest amoxicillin for this reason.

There are always tons of posters on here saying antibiotics don’t shorten the illness - I’m very pro antibiotics for tonsillitis, based on my experience with my child (two hospital admissions for IV antibiotics for this very reason), and my own experience as a lifelong tonsillitis sufferer. It’s the difference between being unable to move and back to fully functioning albeit not 100% recovered in 24 hours in my experience.

I even have emergency abx in the cupboard because I get so unwell. I saw an ENT about removal a few years ago and he had some horror stories about the severe cases he sees, including sepsis in otherwise healthy people.

We have a slightly younger toddler but have been through all the nursery illnesses some requiring ABs

We now add it to a couple teaspoons of ice cream, in a bowl that is family and fed with a normal spoon as our DS kept refusing anything vaguely associated with 'medicine'. We figured a few teaspoons a day of ice cream was worth a stress free administer of drugs!

Hide it in a spoonful of jam (my DS was able to spit it out even if we squirted it into his cheek, and didn't understand bribery).

Familiar not family!

Squirt such small amounts at a time that she can't spit them out. Chocolate afterwards or some other treat if you don't give her chocolate. If she's been given a 10 day course it's presumably quite bad, please ignore all the PPs telling you to ignore the GP and not give the antibiotics.

You do have my sympathies though. We struggled enough with amoxicillin, but penicillin is particularly disgusting.

A small bowl of any strong /sweet tasting food she will eat herself. Preferably not the same thing every time or she will get suspicious or sick of it. A spoonful, is more dose accurate, but might not be enough to disguise taste - worth a try first. Does she like the fruity pots? Or foods with a sauce? You could even squirt into jam and spread it, if she likes jam. Clean bowl and this favourite treat is yours. Any approach has its hazards unfortunately. It's forcing v dishonesty, if things like role play, silly games don't work. I strongly believe in playing doctors and nurses and dentists from really early age, to prepare for any situation, including medicines, injections, stethoscopes and having ears and eyes looked at and temp taken. Might help for future events. Don't worry about sugar/healthiness/teeth - needs must,as short term solution.

At time when my children were babies I had to pin them down and squirt the medicine In their mouth and close the mouth until swallowed. Unfortunately for an infection they have no choice. It's hard I had to be admitted to hospital when my DD was 11 months we stayed their 2 days longer than we should so they could be sure I had the confidence to administer the antibiotics for a severe chest infection.

We stirred it into her favourite yoghurt when dd was 2.

Yes, bacterial tonsillitis can indeed infect heart valves (happened to my mother). When DD was younger and she refused her antibiotics, I used to syringe them into her cheek very gradually while my husband cradled her on his lap. She actually started to accept them after a while and is now totally fine having them. We only had banana flavoured amoxicillin prescribed though. It smelled quite nice to me actually!

Be careful mixing with drinks in particular as you need to know she has drank it all to actually get the dose and if she realises you could put her off drinking all together.

Personally I always used the tight swaddle, hug and then syringe into the cheek. If she has a dummy all the better because you can give it down the side of that and she sucks automatically. Then big hug afterwards.

I think sometimes rne more fuss we made the more of a battle it becomes

@delilahbucket

Painkiller first so they have a sweet taste in their mouth, then antibiotics, then a chocolate button?

I would do exactly this.

There are so many single dose per day Antibiotics, why give a 4x a day to a toddler? Ridiculous!

My son wants everything I eat and I knew he wouldn't take his antibiotics (ear infection, 15 months old). So I pretended to bring a bowl through of "yoghurt" and eat it, right enough he came over asking for what I had. I did this every day and he took his antibiotics cause he thought he was getting mummy's food.

Would that work?
Otherwise, could you mix it in a yoghurt or a drink?

@PaddingtonsHat

It reasonable to ask for an alternative from the out of hours team. Penicillin is notoriously vile.

This

Pen V solution tastes disgusting and has to be given four times a day so I don't know why clinicians prescribe it. Why put a poorly baby through the trauma when there are much better alternatives?

Phone 111 to get an alternative prescribed. Clarithromycin doesn't taste unpleasant and only needs to be given twice a day

Thanks for the tips everyone!

GreenLunchBox I've just called 111 and they prescribed Clarithromycin - crossing fingers this works better!

1ml syringe (left over from the fun days of colostrum harvesting). They are very skinny and easy to get right inside the cheek to the back of the throat a few times to make the dose up to however many mls

@heythereamigo there is difference between viral and bacterial tonsillitus. The later ignored can v dangerous and as previpys suffer can make a person esp a child v v ill. Untreated i got quinsy throat and lost half my body weight in a couple of days. It's horrific

Mixes with with mint choc chop ice cream and petit filous yoghurt

*latter
*Previous sufferer
Also there are key symptoms of bacterial tonsillitus, v high temp that doesnt go, white streaky marks on throat, I am v fit and healthy but tonsillitis is a illness that literlly floors me, in my experience worse than the flu.
I genuinley thought I'd die when I had a severe infection before.
Op don't start and stop them no matter what. Wish your dc a speedy recovery

I had to wrap up DS like a cat at the vet at a similar age and just get it in him. It was flucoloxacillin which as a PP said is absolutely vile.

When mines was a toddler i'd wrap him in a big towel, lie him down on the floor, squirt straight into the back of the throat and hold his head steady so he couldn't spit it out. I felt awful. I did manage to change it a few times to amomocillan (sp) which tasted like bananas instead of vile penicillin V.

I'd also agree with a PP that tonsillitus can be serious as a child I was admitted for IV antibiotics and fluids twice as they got so swollen I couldn't swallow. Got them removed though.

After being firm and quick with a few doses they get used to it.

Wrap them in a large blanket. Squirt the medicine at the side of the mouth but quite far back. Once they've swallowed give lots of praise and a sugary treat take thd taste away.

We had issues with the red penicillin, tried everything suggested here. Eventually we went back to the gp and asked for yellow amoxicillin (which lo had previously taken without any issues - that sorted it). I have read online the red solution is particularly vile

I used to shove it in a yoghurt but it’s a nightmare. I have no idea why they can’t make it taste reasonable.

Doesn’t have to taste like Nutella - just not utterly rancid.