Nurse suggested putting a pill in sleeping child's mouth.

[Riannie]

My child is I hospital for chronic constipation. At 6 dc prefers pills to liquid, and has been prescribed laxative tablet to take at 22:00. This tablet was brought last night at 22:30, after dc was asleep. The nurse told dh it was no problem, just put the pill in dc's mouth. DC is 6, was asleep any lying down in bed. This seems VERY unsafe, and DH woke DC to give the laxative. I am not a doctor or nurse, but this practice bothers me, is it safe to give a pill to a sleeping child? The concern was raised both at the time and the next morning, but no one seems to think it was a wrong suggestion. Likewise, no one will say it is safe/done all the time either.

I’m a paeds nurse and have never heard that suggested. Risk of choking primarily and could cause sleep aversion….bizarre

Some tablets melt in the mouth so hopefully it was one of those. Which she should have told you. Bit dangerous if not

I'm not a nurse, but I wouldn't want to do that. Could you wake her up for her to take it? I doubt if she'd fully wake, so she should go off to sleep again.

This is what we did do, just no way a pill was going in mouth otherwise.

It was a standard gel coated laxative. It doesn't look like a melt to me.

Don't all gel capsules melt eventually?

I'm a nurse - absolutely no way I'd suggest to put a tablet in a sleeping child's mouth.

Take it through PALS.

Awful advice, could have killed them

Terrible advice! 😳😳

Yes, but after you've swallowed them. If a tablet designed to be swallowed melted in your mouth it would probably be revolting!