My dd will not take antibiotics - help me please!!!

[mummybookworm]

Please please help. My dd was diagnosed with tonsillitis yesterday and the gp gave antibiotics (penicillin red runny liquid that tastes vile!). DD will not take it. Last night she spat it out and this morning she took most and then 30 seconds later vomited it up again. I am not being melodromatic honestly but I am at the end of my tether (she has a history of never taking medicine, although now will reluctantly take calpol). I have tried EVERYTHING to get her to take medicines and she won't. I am currently awaiting a call back from the GP. Can antibiotics be prescribed in tablet form? Or injections? I would happily pay privately as long as she gets what she needs. Please please help, am sat here sobbing! thank you.

I've been there. My DS wouldn't take his antibiotics. Things we tried included, mixing it with cordial/juice/chocolate powder (yup - we tried everything). We tried to hide it in yogurt. We tried using a syringe and holding him down. We ended up putting I think it was green food dye in it because he didn't like the colour and wanted it green! Then he finally gave in, but I think he really only took about half the actual course. It was really, really horrible.

I hope your GP has better ideas. Personally I think DS would have been happier with injections!

If she won't take it, she will still get better without it .
I would just abandon the antibiotics unless she is severely, systemically unwell

We have been there. How old is DD? Have you tried using a syringe, and squirting a little bit at at time into her mouth (quite near the back of the mouth, but not right to the back as this could make her gag)? This is what we resorted to doing with DS (2 yrs old). Sometimes we had to pin him down which was pretty awful, but he had to have the medicine so we just got on with it. If she's sick straightaway, it might be because her throat is very sore and the medicine made her gag, so maybe try it again more slowly. I sympathise - tonsillitis is horrible . If it's recurrent, maybe ask for an ENT referral (I had my tonsils out at the age of 23 after spending every winter with non-stop tonsillitis - horrible op but absolutely worth it).

Thanks for your responses. I have tried hiding it in food/drinks, I have also tried the syringe method, and the GP previously advised me how to clamp her head, hands and legs in order to get it in. Unfortunately he didn't advise how to unclamp her jaw!

I had chronic tonsillitis as a tot and mine were taken out at aged 3. I asked the GP yesterday and he said it is a dangerous op and he wouldn't want his kids to go through it

The GP has just phoned and has agreed to prescribe her penicillin in tablets. I am more hopeful that at least more of the abx will get into her! Thanks for your help all, I feel a little less hysterical now!

If the tabs don't work, IME from the same struggles with a very finickity now-3-year old, amoxicillin solution is the most readily accepted - it's lurid yellow banana flavour, tastes like banana nesquik, not bitter at all. However, I'm not sure it's the first choice from a doc's point of view. For paracetamol/ pain relief, you can get suppositories..... but not sure whether your DD would prefer medicine or having a pessary inserted!