DS 3yrs has acute tonsilitus - how the feck do we get him to take medicine?

[Twinkie1]

Well that's it really DS who as just turned 3 has acute tonsilitus and is refusing point blank to take his medicine - is ok taking neurofen but the amoxcyllin tastes awful so he won't take it!

Have forced him once with lots of tears and gagging and wondered if any of you guys knew any easier ways to get the job done!

Thanks guys am near the end of my tether!

Tx

Have you talked him through how it will make his throat feel better otherwise his throat might get even more painful. If he's having the nurofen around the same time can you give the ab first and then the nurofen next. Or have a drink that he likes handy to get rid of the taste.

Had exactly the same prob with dd at 3.
I bought some of that concentrated milkshake syrup. Put the dose of antibiotic into a small jug, add just a drop of the syrup, enough to make it very pink and change the taste. Then either put it back on a (bigger) spoon, or give by straw.
It worked for us.

I've used the medicine tubes instead of a spoon at times so they could drink it and so the medicine had less chance of spilling.

Thanks guys - he is very stubborn have talked him through it all and he having none of it - will send DH to shop for crusha syrup and then ban the TinTin DVDs unless he takes it - its like denying him food - well worse than food - that he can do without - TinTin he can't!

Good luck Twinkie.
But don't forget, DH hasnt gone to shops, he's gone back to the chemist to change the medicine to the really nice tasting one, like your big sis/bro/cousin/friend had that time, remember!!
And they're all better now aren't they?!?

We always (for yucky tasting medicine) use a oral syringe rather than a spoon...chemists will give you one if you ask.

Or could you mix it in a bit of yoghurt or ice cream (ie something nice and cold that will also hide taste.)

Hope your ds gets better soon x

I met a lady with the same problem on a children's ward the other day, with her 4 yr old boy. She had just the same problem- was given antibiotics intranvenously on the ward(sorry can't spell this one), and was on the mend after a couple of days- having little sips, as sick with any fluid. Take him back to the doctor, if no success, and explain the situation. All the best- it must be awful for you both.

I've just had this problem with DD (nearly 3).

She had to have ABs and we also needed to give her alternating doses of calpol and neurofen. It was a nightmare.

Had a top tip from another MNetter (argh...can't remember her name): try making sneaking it into a homemade 'ice lolly'. I mixed the ABs with a bit of orange juice in a small yoghurt pot and stuck a medicine spoon in as a stick. It worked so well! (NB - it's OK to mix it with juice, but not milk).

We also at other times had to resort to pinning her down and squirting it in with a syringe (we saved this for the painkillers, as we reckoned it didn;t matter quite so much if she spat it out). She did manage to spit quite a bit out at first, but after a couple of enforced dosings she decided not to put up a fight any more (we always offered it to her to take voluntarily first).

Also, she seemed more willing to take it out of a little measuring cup, rather than off a spoon (or syringe).

Hope your DS feels better soon. And try not to feel too guilty if you have to force him to take it.

Well the cup didn;t work so we got DD to take some cough medicine - making her kick up a fuss first and we told her if she didn't take it we wouldn't take her to conema at the weekend - then we offered DS his saying he had to be better behaved than DD or he wouldn't be going either and it worked!

Antibiotics seem to wake him up though - he went to bed at 7 and then was up at 12 for 5 hours - I feel like the walking dead - hopefully he wil go to sleep today before I pass out through lack of sleep!