How to get penicillin into toddler....

[Bea8809]

My 17 month old has tonsillitis and we were given penicillin liquid...I think it must taste awful as it's an absolute nightmare to get him to swallow it. We use one of those syringes and point to the back and side his mouth but he's really good at still getting it out and is hysterically upset while we do it :( at least half comes back out so I'm worried he's not getting enough.

I've tried mixing in nice puree etc but he's totally wise to it! Anyone have any tricks? He doesn't like calpol but not to this extent, he grumbles but swallows it so this must taste really bad.

Jam. It's strong tasting enough to hide the medicine taste.

I asked the pharmacist for capsules instead and we mixed it into their food.

Oh god, is it the vile orange stuff???

If all other tricks fail, you can ask for a different type... may not be THE best meds for that type of illness, but better than nothing...

Yoghurt or sugar free black currant juice.

I used to bribe with chocolate buttons (I know it's meant to be on an empty stomach, but 4 times a day on an empty stomach for a toddler is impossible unless you wake them in the middle of the night for a dose!)

The routine was - chocolate button to get that taste, medicine, another button or two to take the taste away and a chart with the number of doses on that we crossed off each time

I will get flamed for this but blitz attack and brute force, don’t let him see it coming, pin him to the ground, trap his arms by his side and use the weight of your body to stop him moving, almost like your sitting on him, obviously not putting your weight on him. Use one hand to hold his chin open while you get the medicine in, then hold his mouth shut until he swallows.

It’s not nice, the first time I saw my DH do it I was going to bloody deck him but it worked. Do it quick and fast, it’s better than fighting and prolonging his upset and this way he’s getting everything he needs.

After a few cuddles it’s forgotten about in seconds, especially when treats are produced.

I tried that when my DS was this age. He's too clever, he saw it coming.

Agree with @wanttocryatthecost

We used to use something very similar to @Wanttocryatthecost’s method to get dd to take calpol. I thank my lucky stars she’s made it to 11 never needing antibiotics.

Thanks everyone, we’ve been trying to the quick and brutal approach but missing the key step of holding mouth closed. I feel so bad but I’ll do anything for him to not be that poorly again as he was so fed up bless him and didn’t eat for a week! I’ll try jam and chocolate buttons too, he’s too young to bribe but it could be enough to distract / confuse him! ...if not will shut mouth.

Surely they can invent a better flavour! Im sure europe uses suppositories, I think he’d be less upset by that!

We had to do similar as @Wanttocryatthecost

Sorry X post good luck and hope he feels better soon!!!

Good luck! If it doesn't work, tell the pharmacist and they can give you an antibiotic with a much better taste.

Try it... Its shockingly horrible.

Ask for something more pleasant... There are other options and I really don't understand why they continue to prescribe it to children who will reject it.
The banana one is better

Noooo, the banana one is WORSE.

One of my DC had a horrible bitter medicine three times a day until he was 2 or a bit more. I became an expert at pinning him down , holding his lips closed and watching him swallow Giving any medicine is an assault in ways that one has to come to terms with but if they really need it , it is our responsibility to give the medicine to our children properly . Make the decision to yourself and then make it happen would be my advice.