urgent can't give antibiotics to lo..spits it out! urgent!

[bumbly]

can you help...little one got bad staph infection, now fever, mother of all colds and also just had mmr

so dead worried

but got to give him this crap antibiotic - why the hell they prescribe the most difficult medicine to give ever i don't know

he keeps spitting it out so so far not had his real dose

have dummy weith plunger, tried spoon, tried syringe but nothing works and he needs his antibiotics!

flucloxacillin is the right antibiotic for a staph infection, and ALL the alternatives taste just as bad. Actually, the empty stomach/ hour before food thing is less important than getting it in any way you can. So, mixed with food is better than spat out because it tastes so bad.

Bumbly - well done on getting the antibiotics down your LO. I know it is hard, but it's much better than him getting poorlier.

I don't understand why you would fart about waiting for a doctor's appointment to get a medicine changed just because you are too keen on only being lovely mummy who only does lovely things, while your baby sinks under a staph infection. It's putting your own parenting wishes above your baby's needs, and IMO is very selfish and shortsighted.

I agree Colditz, as does the OP, as she has given him his meds. I guess others will always have a different view.

Wait for an appointment?

You simply phone the surgery, tell them the problem and then go down and pick up a precrisption. No appointment, no fannying around, no stress.

I'm not making a big deal here, I have had to force feed meds into my kids, but if there is an alternative I'd do it! Even if it was a bit of pain having to go out the house again, at least it's less stressful than having to wrestle with a child each time you have to give them medicine.

And don't patronise me with "and baby gets sicker", I'm not stupid, I work in a hospital and understand the implications of poorly children. Do you think I am some kind of idealist retard?

FFS!

'retard' is a shite word. I hope you never look after 'poorly' SN children.

GM, get real, I work in a hospital too, with sick children, all the time. You "simply phone the surgery", get a snotty receptionist who promises to get the GP to ring you back, then doesn't. That's what happens. Or, maybe, you get the prescription last thing on a Friday, and there's no-one to talk to till Monday.

As I've said, Flucloxacillin is the most appropriate antibiotic for a staphylococcal infection. Alternatives do not taste any nicer, and the child is already suspicious of anything you might try to administer. If you try the idea of fillng the syringe with something nice, then substituting the medicine, it will only work once, then the child won't try it again, even if he/ she is daft enough to swallow the vile stuff the first time.

actually, calpol tastes quite nice, you could mix it with a dose of that

Greenmonkies - you are out of line with 'idealist retard'.

Yes, by all means suggest that the OP ask for a different flavour, but don't assume we can all get GP appointments at the drop of a hat or that on a Friday afternoon a surgery will organise a new prescription before closing time, because a medicine tastes bad.

Working in a hospital does not give you the right to use the word 'Retard' as a pejorative. I do hope you don't think you added any weight to your point, GreenMonkies, because you haven't even given us your job title. You could be in charge of relacing loo roll for all we know - an important job, but not requiring any medical knowledge whatsoever.

You were making a big deal, you were layering on the guilt to the OP with sad faces and proclamations that you don't understand why she would want to 'brutalise her wee one', and you were doing it with a noted lack of insight into the way a doctor's surgery operates. "Retard" is a revolting word, but you got it right with "idealistic". YOu are idealistic if you think you can waltz into a doctors surgery and be seen immediately to swap a perfectly appropriate medication for another one the child won't want to take, all in time for the next dose.

Back to the OP ....

I had this prob with dd when she was a babe/toddler. I got the GP to prescribe pills. 'Twas difficult and he wasn't keen, but one swallow and you're done. I had to cut them in half iirc as they didn't make pills in teh right dosage for tiny ones. I found it much much easier and so did dd.

Having worked with in a variety of areas, including special needs children (in fact I was one myself) I am aware of the dictionary definition of the word retard/retarded, so why you are all taking offence is beyond me. It was all of you who spoke to me as if I was an idiot (is that word ok?) not the other way around.

I do know how GP's surgeries work, I have done this myself, if a child either refuses, spits out or vomits up a medication then it is not going to work, so an alternative is a reasonable thing to ask for, and a request that my GP's surgery has granted for me in the past (more than once) and I would be very surprised if 99% of GP's wouldn't do the same.

I am not some airy fairy hippy who does every thing with a spoonful of sugar, but I will make the extra effort to see if there is another alternative before settling for the situation I find myself in.

Am I not allowed to express surprise (and disbelief) that the OP didn't even ring the surgery or pharmacy to see if this was an option? This is clearly one of those "support the OP in her actions no matter how wrong you feel they are" threads, sorry!

What ever.............

But you don't know if the OP's child is going to vomit up the medicine, GM. That hasn't been tried.

When we were in a similar situation there were no alternatives that dd would accept, so we forcefed (gently) and she never vomited, though she would close her mouth and/or spit if given the opportunity. Refusing is not the same as vomiting.

It is true that some things that I've had to do to dd over the years- not to mention some of the things the doctors have had to do!- have been unpleasant in the extreme, but sometimes you don't have much alternative. I don't think she has been brutalised by the experience.

I very much doubt that 99% of the surgeries would be able to organise a new prescription before closing on a Friday afternoon: you certainly wouldn't have a chance at ours.

I personally would never force the medication if the child was distressed. The thought of force-feeding a child makes me feel sick to my stomach.
A Great Ormond St Paediatrician said to me never to distress a child in this scenario (she was also hurling it up 2 seconds later so to NO benefit whatsoever to force her) you could just go to your out of hours doctor and explain what has happened and they will prepare new AB without even having to wait you can just pick them up. It is a common problem and they are totally aware of it.

I personally would think being a bit pushy is better than the alternative, however this is just my view and I realise everyone does what they can...

for what it is worth

not goint o change antibiotics until full course done - by time get appointment with gp course will be done

so have to find a way to get little one to take it

simple as that

forcing medicine is the same as forcing to change nappy when little one does not want to

thanks to all those that posted

Well done you - it can be hard fighting the protests but in the scheme of things sometimes just has to be done. dd had to have a procedure with catheter, xrays etc as a baby to check for cause and/or damage of a UTI and I became surreally detached when needs be. Hope your lo improves soon.

I will say this slowly, to make sure every one understands;

there is no need to get an appointment with the GP. A phone call would result in a new prescription, it takes the GP about 2 minutes to print one off and sign it, and you would be able to collect it the same day.

cory the OP said the child was spitting it out etc, I know from personal experience that if you continue to try to force feed meds to a child it is possible that they will become so distressed, or in the srtuggle the meds will hit the back of thier throat, and they could vomit. As Crush says, it is a common problem and there are always alternatives, even if it is the same medicine in a slightly different format, ie; more concentrated so that there is less to be administered, (it is easier to get 1.25mls into a child than 5mls) And so on.....

But then I guess if you've got your fingers in your ears and are singing "la la la, I can't hear you" and think it's ok to distress a child without even looking into the alternatives then it doesn't matter how many times (or by how many different people) it is said, you won't hear it.

Crush - "you could just go to your out of hours doctor" - do these still exist? Does anyone have one? We don't - it's NHS direct or Accident and Emergency in these parts outside of 9-5 Monday to Friday.

I'd be with the clamp and syringe brigade I'm afraid, but then DS is resistant to all forms of interference and will often kick off if I have to give him Calpol (and will sometimes happily lick the spoon, can never tell with him) let alone anything vile tasting.

Crush - "you could just go to your out of hours doctor" - do these still exist? Does anyone have one?

Uh huh, we have one, and a "Walk-In" centre and A&E....... (and GP's that will give you a new prescrition if you phone them )

DD1 was a medicine refusnick, I did the yoghurt in the syringe thing to get rid of the associations when she was about 2, since then she has been fine (because most kids meds do taste ok) and now both of mine will take medicine if you just pass them the syringe.

OK, so they do exist in some places, but unfortunately that kind of medical provision is not the norm. If DS takes a bad turn other than 9-5 Monday to Friday I have to make a decision, can I deal with this myself, or is it an A&E job? Because NHS direct are frankly useless and will just tell you to take them to A&E to cover their arses.

GM you are rather assuming that all GP's work the same way, so you can just change prescription without seeing amyone again, and that Walk Ins are readily available 24 hours/7 days locally which is simply not the case. tbh the last thing I would want to do is sit for hours in our Walk In (which is attached to A and E at hospital so calls on the same staff, if with a Paed area) with a sick child who should be at home in bed recovering, unless it really was a crisis. Nor would the A and E staff thank me for it as the unit services a wide area and is constantly busy.

Of course out of hours exist and you won't have to wait if you call them beforehand and explain the situation they will prepare a prescription alternative. You just have to be a bit pushy. You should NEVER feel you have to force feed your baby because you don't want to hassle Doctors - you don't.

OK, I'll say it again as you obviously don't believe me, my GP's surgery has no out of hours provision whatsoever. You phone NHS direct or you go to A&E.

OK?

bumbly - what a horrible turn for a sensi ble thread.

My DD hates everything I've ever needed to give her but ibuprofen liquid - each to their own!

I do the mixing it with food - I know they may not get the whole dose, but it's better than none. I choose something strongly flavoured - bizarrely Heinz to blackcurrant and pear fruit pots that are really very fruity and I mix it in the whole pot.

If she is off her food, a tablespoon of melty ice cream seems to work. Otherwise, as she is falling asleep on bottle/ breast, remove, quick syringe, milk back in seems to work. She has to be really dopey though.

Hope lo is better soon