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Children's health

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Original poster

how to get drugs into my DD (3)

26 replies

OnlyWantsOne · 21/06/2010 19:11

My DD has a throat infection - has antibiotics (orange in colour, smell like grapefruit YUCK)

I have wasted 3 doses trying to hide them in juice / ribena / calpol

Help, she simple cant stand the taste (and I am unable to bribe her)

OP posts:

MarionCole · 21/06/2010 19:15

I feel your pain.

Thankfully DS loves the taste of amoxycillin (banana flavour) so I don't have an issue with antibiotics. Might it be worth asking for a different type?

No other suggestion other than pinning her down and firing it in with a syringe!

Original poster

OnlyWantsOne · 21/06/2010 19:16

she spits it out and the bright orange seeps everywhere...

OP posts:

mejon · 21/06/2010 22:29

Is it Penicillin V (or something similar)? DD was prescribed some a few weeks ago when she had awful tonislitis. Managed to get the first dose into her but as soon as she realised it was coming again it was a complete no-no. Mixing it with juice/squash actually made it taste worse. As DD was so ill, I managed to speak to the out-of-hours GP who agreed to give me an alternative (erythromicin) which although pretty rank itself was a bit of an improvement.

OnEdge · 21/06/2010 22:34

We have to pin her down and go for it, husband puts a syringe of medicine into cheek pocket and somehow it goes down. Not nice ! She got so sick of the whole rama yesterday that she asked us to give her the syringe and she took it herself with some water after wash the taste away, now she does it herslef. Very unbeleivable ! She too is 3.

Is it unethical to force it?

OnEdge · 21/06/2010 22:35

Sorry that sounded smug. It was more shock.

luciemule · 21/06/2010 22:44

I am now picturing my dad holidng me down in the kitchen worktop whilst my mum held my nose to make me open my mouth. I had already ran away to the top of the garden but wimped out on actually leaving! I have only been able to take medicine since I left home! They used to do that for antibiotics and worm medicine - not nice.

With dd, I would buy in a load of chocolate buttons. I gave her a few to coat her mouth, then she took the meds and then more choc and then washed it out. It worked okay. Now, although she's not had it for ages, she just takes it off the spoon with just a drink to wash it down afterwards - no trouble. I think if you force her, she'll always be terrible at taking it.

If it were me, I would be tempted to leave the meds and give her crunchy toast to drag away the bacteria from her throat and then some honey and lemon soothing warm drinks to make her throat feel better. A throat infection will probably clear up on its own; not giving you medical advice, just saying what I would do. I'm surprised the gp gave you anti bs for a throat infection really.

LaTourEiffel · 21/06/2010 22:46

We had this problem recently, I phoned the doctor and asked for an alternative prescription for DS but they said he couldn't have one in the right strength and yucky orange was all that was available. They said I could either mix it or force it in, either way, it needed to go in .

He didn't like the mix I made and I didn't like the idea of forcing it - the first couple of doses went in with the help of chocolate buttons, and I kept saying and reinforcing that it was really nice, I totally didn't expect it to work - but it did. I did some sneaky conversations to grandparents etc that he could overhear, saying what a great job he was doing of taking his medicine etc too. I guess anyone influential would be good?

We did some 'rewarding' along the way, coz we felt guilty about just how yuk it was, chocolate was good, but sour haribos were the preferred route! Funny boy!

Probably not much help, but lots of sympathy. Like OnEdge, we've done the pinning, syringe to cheek route before, and now that DS knows its going in one way or another, he takes it more willingly (I'm sure I threatened to poke it up his bum - thank goodness he didn't take me up on that one!)

LaTourEiffel · 21/06/2010 22:49

x-posted luciemule, re anti-b's for a throat infection, DS has been prescribed it for when he's had tonsillitis - as I understand it, they do it when the temperature is particularly high and the throat very swollen - limiting eating - to speed up recovery, rather than to cause the recovery, IYWIM?

OnEdge · 21/06/2010 22:58

Lol@ poke it up his bum

CoinOperatedGirl · 21/06/2010 23:45

I do sympathise, ds1 was fine for taking medicine until he had hand foot and mouth disease. He had terrible sores in his mouth and refused anything orally. It got to the stage where we had to pin him down and force ibuprofen into his mouth, the painkiller dulled the pain just enough to let him drink. It was either that or go to a&e and be rehydrated. After that I mixed meds with hot chocolate, but after that illness he was wary of meds for a long time.

He's ok now after seeing his little brother have calpol and will now thankfully take meds again.

It's horrible using force but sometimes necessary. Do you think she would be capable of taking a tablet? Say in a spoonfull of yoghurt or similar? Could be an option. As a child I hated taking liquid medication or godawful dissolvable things but was fine with a tablet.

CoinOperatedGirl · 21/06/2010 23:54

Why do they make it in such random flavours, dd had a cough one in cranberry and something or other .

bosch · 22/06/2010 00:02

If throat infection is tonsillitus, with white spots or 'plaque' visible on throat and/or tonsils, then I'm not surprised she's got anti-b's it's a bacterial infection that is unbelieavably painful (ok, not childbirth but...)

We've done a version of what luciemule describes, bribing with chocolate buttons.

But I've also seen a friend's dd admitted to hospital with vv bad chest infection that can't have been helped by dd's refusal to take oral anti-b's.

Sometimes, you just have to pretend that you're the boss, even when you feel mean because they're feeling poorly and the stuff does taste vile...

wheresmypaddle · 22/06/2010 07:01

We've made some progress hiding medicine in chocolate syrup- the type intended to put ontop of ice cream. Its very sweet so seemed to do a fairly good job of masking the horrid taste.

Good luck!!

Original poster

OnlyWantsOne · 22/06/2010 08:33

she hasnt had one dose so far, cant convince her - she's currently eating marmite on really scratchy toast (not intentionaL) and whining that it stings her throat.

I think I now have what she does, high temp headache, eyes hurt and i cant swallow any thing, it hurts like hell poor thing, no wonder shes been so cuddley clingy all weekend.

Ive dosed her up on calpol (shes allergic to ibroprofin)

I think she was given the anti bs as her throat was very swollen and closed and had a temp of 39 for 3 days.

WIll try using the treat choc sauce. whoo thank you

OP posts:

Original poster

OnlyWantsOne · 22/06/2010 08:52

nope.

and added with icecream and covered in sauce doesnt work either

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oricella · 22/06/2010 10:30

maybe a daft option, but putting it onto a coloured spoon and letting her choose the spoon sometimes does the trick here... makes her feel grown up about taking meds, but does allow some control (long shot if she's already heavily traumatized)

luciemule · 22/06/2010 11:41

wouldn't you think someone would have some up with a magic yummy type fo anti b's for kids - can't be that difficult; surely inventing the penicillin was the tricky bit!

mrsfred · 22/06/2010 11:46

We resorted to chocolate/bribe/distraction too.

I made a big fuss of taking her to the shop and letting her chose which bags of sweets she wanted. We got 3 bags so she had to choose which one she wanted with each spoonfull.

seeker · 22/06/2010 11:52

If she can eat marmite on really scratchy toast, I would abandon the antibiotics and let her body get on with fighting the infection - which it seems to be doing quite well!

SwansEatQuince · 22/06/2010 11:54

try it in a spoonful of jam

luciemule · 22/06/2010 11:56

when I first started being able to take it without being forced, I had the anti b's followed by a spoonful of calpol. That took away the taste instantly.

oricella · 22/06/2010 11:57

luciemule - some are yummie; my DD has pavlovian reflexes when it's time for her AB's (amoxil and zithromax are considered particularly tasty)

luciemule · 22/06/2010 12:18

Since when has amoxicillin been yummy

oricella · 22/06/2010 13:19

I think she's weird - she would not take the banana flavoured amoxycillin, was OK with the citrus flavoured one, but adores Amoxil special paediatric solution..

(grief - make her sound like an AB junkie; I do wish she didn't have to take the stuff - but am hugely relieved that she actually takes it, as just starting out on a 2 month low dose regime)

Serious point though - there has been some effort made in making the stuff pallatable, but I do think that the cheap generic ones are probably the worst tasting

Original poster

OnlyWantsOne · 22/06/2010 17:50

well she's had no temp all day and not told me she feels poorly, so am assuming that shes over the worst of it, infact she just ate an adult size portion of pasta and veg, so she's fine, I will take her back to gp if she goes down hill and ask for differend meds.

The GP actually laughed the shit when he said that the med tasted horrid... great!

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