Tamiflu - best way for kids to take it ?

[vnewmummy]

Hi,

My 18 month DD has suspected swine flu.(Im still not convinced as think my A&E are just extra cautious)The GP yesterday said viral infection but had to take her down to A&E at 3am this morning.

All the same they give her tamiflu but it comes in little capsules. She is a terrible eater anyway and although you can open them up and try to hide them in sweet food - this has not really worked.

Please do any of you know what I could try? (already tried fruit cup and choc sauce)

Since I am posting this anyway my daughers symptons have been v high temp between 101 - 104 since thursday and runny nose. Calpol will reduce her temp for a while but when it wears off her temp is back up. She is still eating ok, no sickness. I really am not sure.

Any advice would be helpful please.

Thanks

xx

you cab get tamiflu as a liquid medicine. i would phone GP and ask for a new prescription and insist on liquid when it is collected.

i picked some up for a friend's daughter about a week ago and had to argue for liquid even though her dd is only just 1.

Hi - I think that is the problem - as when i mentioned that she has to have liquid form they said that was for babies up to 12 months and the dose was really small. The 30mg dose my daughter needs is in capsule. I even said that i could give her extra amount to make up dose of liquid form but they would not have it. What do you think? Should i try again with out of hours doc?

Thanks for responding. xx

i think my friend's dd had a 15mg dose. I'd phone the doctor and say that you can't get her to take it and you need a prescription for a liquid.

Not much help re the Tamiflu, sorry, but re the temperature...have you given her Calprofen (baby nurofen) too? IME its much more effective at reducting fevers, for longer. Unless she's asthmatic, in which case talk to doctor first.

Hope she's better v soon.

And you can give it at same time as Calpol, or in between calpol doses, for that matter.

There was something in my local paper about this, a mum who had tried to get liquid Tamiflu because her 6 yr old could taste the bitterness of the powder. Seems to be a national shortage of the liquid so they are reserving it for babies under 12 month.You might get lucky with an 18mth old though

Not sure if this helps but article said doctors recommended taking it in a teaspoon of yoghurt, apple sauce, honey or chocolate sauce to mask the taste. My friend got her ds to take it in honey in the end.

Thanks for you advice. I will try and get liquid tamiflu if I can. Think youre right about shortage. I just wish i knew if is swine flu or not.

xx

Sorry just going back on the point of calpol and calprofen. Do I give just the calprofen or do I do alternative every 4 hours? thanks

you can give a paracetemol based medicine (like calpol) and an ibruprofen based one (like calprofen or nurofen) at the same time every four hours. obviously up to the maximum in any 24 hour period

My understsanding is paracetamol based (calpol) every 4 hours, and ibuprofen based (calprofen) every 6 hours. But just check what each says on the bottle, then do that - its just that you can give both, they're not the same drug.

You just need to make sure you don't go over the maximum number of doses of each in 24 hours as well as not giving them too often.

So Calpol will usually say (I think) something like no more than four doses in 24 hours (that would work out at one dose every six hours if you kept giving it all day and all night, even though you can actually give one dose four hours after another). Not sure what the max for ibuprofen is but again you need to bear that in mind as well as how long it's been since the last time you gave it.

tamiflu tastes absolutely vile, and im on the full 75mg dose.

my doc said to hide it in jam or golden syrup...would this help?

you can still give painkillers (calpol, calprofen, neurofen etc)

even if its not swine flu, the tamiflu won't hurt her - it just tastes vile!

good luck