Omeprazole - how to best dissolve tablets?

[hazeyjane]

Ds (18 months) has just been prescribed these for reflux. He has some issues with swallowing, so we are having a bit of a nightmare with how to dissolve them. At the moment I am cutting them in half, and dissolving in a small amount of apple juice, then syringing it in to him. The problems with this is that a) it is fafferama and b) I can't seem to dissolve them fully, so there is quite a lot of grit which ds sometimes spits out, or it clogs up the syringe.

I asked the dr about getting a liquid, but she said it isn't licensed, and to try a few other ways to dissolve it.

Any suggestions?

Thankyou

Another reflux sufferer here and we've been doing Losec Mups for about six months. I chop the tablet in half, swish it about in water for a few mins and then syringe it up. I keep the liquid moving so the little balls don't gather and most of it tends to go down. I use water and a teeny bit of OJ.

I don't think my method is much help to you if he's spitting the liquid out but just to say, you don't need to add very much water/juice - I was initially told you needed to add the same number of ml as mg of tablet but that's just more liquid to get in, do as little as you need to get all the grains swallowed. Also, the liquid suspension didn't work at all well for us, it tastes revolting and the liquid to medicine ratio means that you need to get much more liquid in. If you want to give 5mg of medicine you need to give 5ml, where as with a tablet in water you can dissolve 5mg in 2ml of water. Hope that makes sense and good luck.

Ok, just in case someone searches this thread with the same problem, the best method we have had so far seems to be cutting the tablet in half, putting it in the syringe, drawing up 2 ml of juice and leaving it for 25 mins, then shaking it well before giving it to ds, I have to drip it in a little at a time, putting his dummy in in between squirts to ensure he swallows - it takes an age, but it just about works!

Thankyou for all your help.

Honestly, Lansoprazole so much easier to administer and is essentially the same drug as omeprazole - well, not quite, but they are very similar. Once they are on solid food you can put the tablet directly onto their tongue or inside the cheek, where it dissolves on its own. We used to cut the tab in half so there was no risk of choking.

narmada, is the tablet like an 'instant' dissolve tablet? Ds is still on purees, so I'm not sure dissolving a tablet in the mouth would work with him.

Yes, it's fairly instant - e.g., if you break it into small pieces it will probably go down OK. Is your DS averse to lumps or under 6 months old? If not, it might be worth a shot.

Sorry, just re-read your original post and note you say DS has some issues with swallowing. In that case I think liquid preparation is probably better.

I have to make the lose mups for my 4months old twins so that's twice the dissolving time it takes forever and leaves bits behind... I have always been expressing milk for it as they are EBF why does it say on the packet not to?
Thanks

You can crush them. That's what we do. You could push for liquid but it's about 10x the price so many pharmacies won't give unless peg fed. And even then it's a battle.
I'd crush and mix with water then syringe in

You don’t want to dissolve them or crush them. The tiny grains have an enteric coat, which means they don’t dissolve in the acid of your stomach. They dissolve once they get to your intestines, which are not acidic (they are basic ie alkaline). If you crush/dissolve them you’ll expose them to stomach acid and the omeprazole might degrade and not work. See wiki: omeprazole degrades rapidly in acid. The patient leaflet says to dose in acidic foods or neutral water so the grains stay intact. I am guessing that milk also has a bad effect on the enteric coat. Maybe to do with pH, or maybe another interaction?? I happen to have a degree in chemistry, but my DD is on a months trial of this. It’s tricky, isn’t it? I might try apple sauce next...

Ha, I just clicked on this to give advice, and realised it was me who started the thread....6 years ago!!

Ds still has awful reflux, he is on Lansoprazole now after utter failure with Omeprazole, and paed has said it is ok to crush tablet, which he then eats like sherbet.