Help getting child to swallow tablets (grim toe photo warning!)

[BlackInk]

My 12 year old has been prescribed antibiotic capsules for a nasty toe infection and he just can’t make himself swallow them. We’ve tried various swallowing techniques, fizzy drink, spoon of yoghurt, persuasion, patience, etc. But no luck and 3 wasted tablets. It’s really important that he takes them!
Can anyone help?!

It’s probably my fault that he’s never tried to swallow tablets before. He’s managed to get to almost 13 without ever needing antibiotics and has only had the odd dose of Calpol.

Go back to GP and ask if he can be prescribed the liquid instead?

Ask pharmacist whether it is OK to break them open and take that way?

I've recently had success with pushing a tablet for 5yo DD into a chunk of banana, she then gently chews it a bit (more moving it around than actual chewing) and swallow it all together. Might work?

Yikes, that is a nasty infection! Are they capsules or tablets?
Sounds like you've tried most things I'd suggest and I'm a nurse... Can you ask the Dr for liquid instead? Or ask the pharmacy if you can crush them? Some tablets you can, but not others.

I trained all my DCs to take tablets from a young age to avoid this issue as I saw too many friends having to give teenagers calpol! Not much help now though, obviously.

Can you grind them down/empty it out into the yoghurt?

How big are the tablets?

I managed to get my 7 year old to take one the other day by putting it in his mouth, taking a big swig of drink and then swallowing. He didn’t even notice it go down

DD used to be hopeless too, but now she is on 6 a day she has got very good.

The antibiotic ones are quite big to start on. Could he practice on tictacs?

(We do put on tongue, drink of water whilst tipping head back a bit.)

Sorry you said capsules. Some can be opened and sprinkled on food, you'd have to check with pharmacist.

Slightly off topic op but it's relevant I promise, is the medication for an ingrown toenail? I only ask because he will need it removed, antibiotics won't help much.

I have the same issue with my BIL and meds, so we literally have to hide them in food (GP gave this the green light due to learning disabilities).

I would give him the tablet during dinner and ask him to pop it into his mouth whilst he's chewing so that he swallows it with his food (pop the tablet in when he's finished chewing but before he swallows). Good luck, that toe looks painful.

Same here. I used to be completely hopeless but now I’m on 9 tablets a day and I just take them all at once in a big mouthful with my cup of tea in the morning.

I still struggle taking anything that isn’t a capsule or coated though.

I got my 6 year old to swallow half a teaspoon of jelly without chewing it then put the tablet in a small lump of jelly and he could swallow it then without even feeling the tablet

Can you not grind them up and put them in something? I couldn't swallow pills till I was about 12 and this is what my mum always did. Usually a spoonful of jam.

Practice with m&ms, tic tacs etc. if they can swallow food they can swallow tablets, just needs some practice. I take them with a large mouthful of water, swirl the tablets into the water and swallow it all in one. DH and kids swallow them dry!

Get a sports cap bottle of drink, pull it up into the open position. Put the pill in the hole and neck the drink. If he's quick he won't even feel the pill.

You can ask for a liquid alternative
Ask if you can open it and mix into food
Or practice with cake sprinkles. You buy a tub with a few different sizes, so teeny ones to pill sized ones and have a few goes gradually getting bigger.

Grind them up or chop them into small bits.

He's 12. He needs to take them.

And then make an appointment with a podiatrist. It will cost you about £2-300 to have the ingrowing bit of the nail removed.

You can't get it done on the nhs and he will just get repeated infections if you leave it.

Remember a video where therapists were working with young children who had underlying health conditions that meant they really needed to be able to take tablets. Helped to wash them down with a drink from a sports bottle, as apparently you naturally get your head at the right angle/use your tongue more to propel the fluid to the back of your throat. (A lot of people trying to swallow tablets apparently put their head back too far). They also started with practicing swallowing something smaller, like a tictac, and worked upwards.

It is unsafe to this with many medicines, this is dangerous advice.

Easy way to teach kids to swallow tablets from a nurse. Give them a packet of tic tacs and tell them to swallow them one by one, no stress, it's ok if a few get crushed. Then they will master the art of swallowing! Easy peazy worked on all my kids and my friends kids.

Could they be crushed to a powder and added to a soft pudding like mousse?

Not necessarily or people with dysphagia would fare ill.

I'd guess it was flucloxacillin, which you can't open up. There is a liquid version. This site you can search and it will tell you if tablets/capsules are safe to be opened or crushed swallowingdifficulties.com/product/flucloxacillin/

There are guidelines for such circumstances with either alternatives available easily or can be made up for them, if not. There are many reasons why some medicines cannot be crushed or opened up. They are designed to be swallowed whole. Some are fine to be crushed others really aren't.

I can't help with the tablets but my wife had a similar looking toe last week.

She soaked her foot in hot, salty water and softened it up enough to start squeezing pus out. Soaked it again straightaway in fresh hot, salty water and repeated.

Ask the GP for antibiotics in liquid form.

Yes, this is true- but it will usually say on the packet or blister pack "do not crush" if this is true of the OP son's medication then a liquid alternative will be suitable. If they can be crushed safely they should be.