Getting toddler to take medicine

[LittleRed34]

My nearly 4yo has a bad infection in his finger, the Dr said "it's horrifically infected" . For context he's autistic and has high sensory needs, smells, tastes, textures etc. he's non verbal also, so I can't even try to reason with him. He skin licks, bites his nails etc, I assume this is how the infection happens. He's got some fluxocillln medicine. He will not take it. I've tried everything. Putting in his juice, yogurts, chocolate mousse, spoon, syringe. He spits it out when I try the syringe and screams and gags, makes himself choke. I don't know what to do 😭 and I'm so scared he's going to get worse. The Dr said to keep an eye for the redness and swelling and if it spreads down his finger he needs to go to hospital. I really want to avoid that because it will be traumatic for him because he doesnt understand what's going on. Please any advice or tips?

I had major issues getting antibiotics into my DS last year. I had some success with hiding it in pouches and custard pots, I asked chat gpt what would conceal it best. We also tried reasoning with him, calling it yellow calpol and printing a special label for it, spoon/syringe. Got through one course that way only to find out his infection was resistant to it and he needed another course.

He absolutely refused this course so in desperation we had to hold him and syringe it in. There were various posts on here saying how to restrain him and squirt it in, it was a 2 person job. I held him, my husband squirted it into his cheek and then blew in his face as apparently it causes them to swallow.

We also did a reward chart where he got a chocolate after each dose and earned a toy by the end of it.

You can also ask for alternative antibiotics and they might give you a better flavour.

Wrap in a towel and squirt in mouth, it's a 2 man job though. He HAS to have it

Thank you. There's no reasoning with him. He doesn't understand that it's medicine and he needs it. He had autism and global delay. Currently only at a cognitive ahe of 9-12 months according to his scores from out sen worker. I don't like to pin him down and give him it. He fights and hits and he's really strong.

If you can't hide it then you need to be the parent and make him take it.

Wrap in a towel, nice firm hold and squirt in mouth- will take 30 seconds of fuss.

As someone whose had sepsis I tell you it's much much worse.

If hiding it in things or reasoning with him isn’t working then your only option is to force him to take it. You can usually ask the GP to condense the dose into 2.5ml rather than 5ml so its less to get in.

Squirt into his cheek, towards the back not into the back of his throat. Few mls at a time.

Liquid antibiotics taste vile :( My daughter had some years ago and honestly it does taste like soap so most children will struggle to some extent with it.

a nurse gave us a tip to give her a couple of chocolate buttons first - you want the chocolate to coat their mouth as much as reasonable - then pop the medicine in as quickly as you can after the chocolate.

Good Luck - its horrible - but as others have said its important he take it.

Is there any way you can get a different antibiotic? Flucloxacillin is genuinely absolutely vile, there is no way to disguise the taste at all. Amoxicillin, for example, is much milder and can be fairly easily hidden in a yoghurt.
Obviously if not, you’re going to have to force him, but liquid flucloxacillin made me retch and bring it back up. And I was an adult who understood the importance of taking it.

I've pinned him down and used a syringe into the side of his cheek. I had to hold his mouth closed for a second so he would swallow it. He spat most of it out, but he got some. He's at nursery this afternoon and he will be due a dose there too. Maybe because there is more of them they may he able to do it as well. He won't eat yogurts and things like that, I tried to put it in his juice and he knew and refused to drink it and now he won't drink his normal juice because he thinks there's medicine in it 😭

Well done. None of us want to restrain our kids to give them medicine but they have to take it. You feel awful for it but there's fewer tears than trying to make them!