Tricks for getting medicine into toddlers??

[TouTarzanMeJane]

My DD (19 months) has a chest infection currently and has amoxicillin to take 3 times a day for the next week. Trouble is she hates it!! It’s totally understandable as it’s not very nice tasting but it’s proving difficult to get into her even by disguising it in foods etc as it’s got such a strong smell. And even if I do manage to get it in her mouth by distraction she spits it straight out. Does anyone have any suggestions?? So far I have tried:

• in a syringe
• on a baby food spoon
• mixed in custard/chocolate mousse/jam
• in a syringe with honey smeared around the outside (helped get it in her mouth but not in actually swallowing it)

Currently the only way to get even part of the dose in her is by holding her head and arms still but obviously that upsets her a lot so I really hate to do it like that and it’s pretty difficult by myself.

Thanks!!

Does she have a dummy? If so we used to have a lot of success with slipping the syringe down the side of the dummy.

otherwise tight hug, syringe medicine in and then give a drink or something like a chocolate button straight after to help her swallow it

I feel your pain, even if we got the medication in, my DD would gag so hard she’d vomit.

I wish they would make children’s medicine that tastes better. I think they used to make them with a lot more sugar when we were younger.

I have found the only way to get it in (DS similar age) is as quickly as possible so that it's over sooner. I would tell him I'm going to do it because that seems fairer, get the syringe all ready in advance, then tuck right arm under my left armpit, hold left arm to his side with my left hand, hook right leg over his body, and then shoot for the roof of the mouth near the back so he can't spit it out. Small squirts so they get swallowed before you do the next one, but don't take the syringe out in between.

Sorry - I know that's only a solution to 'pretty difficult by myself', and not to the upsetting part.

@ZacharinaQuack this is the exact method that I have found works best so far. I’ve done another dose since I posted before and she’s a bit calmer/less fidgety now. I sung calming songs to her too. Towards the end of the dose she was pretty much just lying on the sofa without me needing to restrain her as much.

@Moonlightsonatas Definitely. The ridiculous thing is that we now end up having to mix it with honey/jam/chocolate to make it palatable enough to get it down them!!

@Sirzy Ah yes the chocolate button bribe. A classic. Haven’t tried the dummy method yet but will bear that in mind if I’m still struggling!!

Thanks everyone. 😊

My DD wouldn't take calpol for a while. Mixing it with ice cream was the only thing that worked for us.

My son was on amoxicillin just before Christmas and just like your little he hates taking medication, what I found worked for us was putting in his yogurt ,and qt night time I'd put it in his milk but only a small amount of milk so he got the benefit of the antibiotic.

I reckon whatever bribery that works but unfortunately needs must so physical intervention when necessary.

@Marblessolveeverything Yeah my DD won’t touch calpol either but is fine with nurofen (even the strawberry flavoured one 🙄#fickle). Slowly working our way around the own brand versions that are different flavours to see if we can get one that she’ll tolerate! It’s annoying that the calpol 6+ is now strawberry too because she might have put up with the orange one and bonus of a smaller dose.