Urgent - help - 5yr old has earache and refuses to take medicine

[macherie]

Thankfully dd is incredibly healthy, at 5 and a bit she has only been to a doctor once for an ear infection when she was 2.5.

We used to give her calpol as a baby when she was teething, but once past that stage she never had any need for it. The downside of that is that she thinks medicine is akin to poison, and reuses kicking and screaming to take any.

She just went to bed complaining of a sore ear, and I'm afraid she'll wake up later in pain. I don't think suppositries would work as a her age she strong enough to resist putting them in, bribery doesn't work as she doesn't like chocolate or sweets, or any 'treats' like that.

Has anyone else had this experience, and what did you do?

ds is similarly suspicious of medicine, but he likes the ibuprofen one-dose sachets. it might be more helpful with getting inflammation down too.

do you think if you managed to get her to have a lick of calpol she might realise she likes the taste? I've had to pin down DD1 before to get her to take some vile antibs, but not with much success. Maybe if her ear gets really sore she will take the medicine to get rid of the pain, although obviously you don't want it to get that bad first. Fingers crossed she won't wake up...

Going to send dh out to get all the different types, just in case!

Good idea to try to get her to lick it first. This happened once before, but she slept well and woke up fine, so fingers crossed.

can you mix it with something like milk, some one i know son wouldn't take the banana medicine so she mixed the 5ml dosage with a full cup of milk and he drank it all

I'll try that cookie, but I think she'd taste it and refuse to finish it, She'll only drink water or milk, not juice which is good for 'hiding' other flavours!

She just woke up crying with the pain, but nothing will persuade her to take anything for it.

She's back in bed now sobbing.

Any ideas?

would she go for being in control of the syringe?

or.. an if you don't take it I'll have to get the doctor type approach.

dd was like this it was a nightmare.. in the end we tried both apporaches with varying degrees of success.

My trick when dd1 had to take umpteen things post op , was to make a really strong chocolate powder mix with a teeny bit of milk masking a lot of the flavour! Ive done the same with dd2 (a violent medicine refuser!!), and had to syringe it in, right inside the cheek.

No, can't even get her to dip her finger in to taste it, says she prefers the pain than tasting the med.

Praying I don't need to call the doctor in case he prescribes vile tasting anti-biotic!

defrost an ice lolly in the microwave til its slushy mix in the calpol and pretend you have made her something special

melsey, she doesn't like chocolate (she didn't inherit that from me) or anything sweet/strong tasting to mix it with.

She seems to have gone back to sleep.

Trying to think of something in case she wakes again.

She's had the snuffles and a bit of a cough all week. I remember once that happened to me and led to an ear infecction - the pain was unbearable.

She is SO stubborn

Think it's going to be a long night

mine detest med but will have it in a glass of squash if desperate....

oh and put it in a cup with a lid or straw thing so she cant smell it.

Either way just dont tell her it is medicine - its JUST SQUASH!

for a sore ear, i think heat helps, do you have some kind of heat bag or a warm/hotish flannel that you can put on it, or hot water bottle, It might help. I was a pain as child taken medicine, my parents used yogurt? would she take it in that or ice cream? and i when i say a big cup of milk i mean a big cup so you just can't taste it, but i can see this will be a long night for you, i wish you luck

if you have any garlic flavoured olive oil, you could put a small amount on some cotton wool and then she can stuff that in her ear - it can be quite relieving and garlic is anti bacterial..

I have a little bottle of st Johns Wort oil that I use, it usually clears up my DP's ear pain a treat (and believe me he WHINGES !!)

She won't have squash or yogurt, but thanks anyway.

Have got her a hot water bottle, adn sent ds out to buy some magnum icecreams to try tobribe her with!

oh great I'll run off and try the oil tahnks!

oh yes good idea, and if you have a syringe you could do a sip or little shot of medicine/poison for a bit of magnum?

Puffylovet - huge thanks to you, and indeed everyone who helped!

Combination of olive oil on cotton wool and a hot water bottle did the trick. The pain eased and she slept all night and woke up at 7.30 in great form!

oh brilliant, I'm so glad to hear that ! Hope it stays that way