Any tips on how to get foul tasting antibiotics into a five year old ???

[Mum1369]

ARRGGHH - same every time - the stuff tastes absolutely awful and I can't really blame him but he does kick up a major fuss. Tried tiny bit of medicine - big spoon of ice cream - still spits it out....it tastes of aniseed (WHY ??) so can't think of anything that will mask the taste
Anyone ?? Help needed !!!!!

The only way I could get antibiotics into DS was to mix it with melted chocolate. I also tried icecream and it didn't work! Might be worth a go? I used to tell him that I was trying out some new chocolate pudding and I needed a tester :o

Get him to pinch his nose, to reduce the taste.

PLAce teaspoonful as far back on the tongue as you can without him gagging. THis avoides as many tastebuds as possible.

Follow up instantly with small tasty drink of choice to wash any other remaining traces away.

aniseed, bloody hell thats no good. esp if you hate it ( as i do)

Dd alawys likes the yellow stuff that tastes like banana bubblegum.

Is there no other one he could have. shame.

nightmare...

might bribery work???

Don't use a spoon. The pharmacy will give you 5ml syringes - like pipettes, not needles obviously. Place that as far back as you can and carefully squirt. Have a cloying drink like chocolate or pink milk ready - NOT juice .
I use them for everything, have no idea ho anyone manages to get any calpol into children without thi!t

Mix with a small amount of pure freshly squeezed orrange juice.

I had this nightmare the other week with my four year old, took her back to Dr's twice as she was refusing to take the medicine and we tried everything, hiding it, syringing it in, bribary etc etc, in the end, the Dr's swapped the medicine twice, each time for better tasting stuff and also managed to find us an antibiotic cream (as she had infected eczema on her arms) btw we ended up with the banana tasting medicine, which she just about managed to take, why they couldn't have started with that one is anyones guess

DD hates taking antibs, she is allergic to penicilin so the one she has to take is seriously disgusting, I even gagged when I tried it.

We now acknowledge that it is 'disgusting' (said in her best Peppa Pig voice of course) and the only way is pure bribery. One chocolate button before (large) then as no child can ever ever only have one chocolate button, three once she has taken it. Works every time although we still have the thrashing around, crying, moaning for the first few days.

maybe mix with M&S belgian chocolate sauce, give sips of water in between and piece of breadstick. This worked when I had to give tamiflu to dd.

Can you reason with him?

I had a serious chat with my 4.6yo on this subject (he really desperately needed the antibiotics) and he was able to be reasonable: ie I am ill and I will take this medicine to get better even though it tastes yukky. Admittedly my DS is autistic so this sort of blunt and direct approach apppeals to him, but you could try it. The medicine in question was utterly foul (both my kids had to have it, DD made a terrible fuss, but she is 2 and very stroppy madamish!) so my DS was quite brave about it.

I am having this problem with my nearly 2 yo and it's the banana stuff, which tastes pretty nice for medicine! Have had to resort to the syringe plus wrapping him in a towel to stop him thrashing about. Will keep watching for any more tips as it's doing my head in to have the screaming and crying episodes twice a day. . He's usually a really happy little soul.

I had this last week. The medicine DS2 (4) was given for tonsilitis had such a strong flavour that it overpowered anything I tried to hide it in. In the end I convinced our GP to prescribe the banana flavoured one, which I was able to mix with banana and something smoothie. I then put 2 straws in the cup, pretending that I was going to race DS to the bottom and accompanied by repeated slurping sound effects from me, he drank it all. I hope that helps. Good luck.

Chocolate first, the abs in syringe while choc still in mouth, then choc again immediately. Give HIM the choc to hold so that he feels he can rescue himself.

And also talking about the importance of the medecine and that it IS going to need ot be taken, however much fuss. have this discussion inbetween doses, not when everyone is fraught.

And star chart with pic of prize by the last does. Or add a coin to a visible stack with each dose.

DS was on horrible medecine for months. Calm insistence and choc. We got through bagfuls of Minstrels.

Thanks everyone - great ideas and a few hilarious ones !! trainsandplanes - had to laugh at your post - my other son is autistic and it probably would have worked with him !!!!

Reasoning never worked with my Aspie son! Nor did chocolate bribes - if he knew what was coming he'd refuse!

Bribery. And a chart to tick off doses so they can see the light at the end of the icky-tasting tunnel.

Have heard of mixing it with calpol, as calpol so syrupy seems to help. Last winter we ended up forcing my ds to take foul tasting antibiotics. Given spoonful and if he spat it out then forced second one, he got message that he really had to take it. It felt pretty mean & was not easy but decided ending up in hospital getting antibiotic injection (which i think would have been eventual situation)would have been much worse

Ah had this with dd not long ago... what worked for us after much trial and error was mixing it with chocolate break powder and a little milk in an egg-cup...and then drinking through straw. Don't mix with yoghurt else they then have a huge quantity of disgusting stuff to get through.

For refusal to have ear-drops I highly recommend a visit to our really horrible Ear doctor at hospital.(We are in France - some of the doctors are a little different to what we're used to in UK - some of them don't even do stickers!) The threat of having to see mean ear doctor again is enough to ensure compliance!

Careful, though, as some types of ABs shouldn't be given with milk. I can't remember which ones, though, so always check.

try to get the capsule kind. break open the capsule and mix with nutella.

I think it was chocolate powder rather than milk the key - use water to thin it then!