I feel like a monster

[sososotired]

My 9 mo DS is a little under the weather. He has a throat and ear infection and a wheeze... Dr says the wheeze is either asthma symptoms or the beginning of a chest infection so we are on calpol and an inhaler with a mask jobby. Inorder for him to take his meds I had to pin him down and hold the mask over his mouth and nose for him to inhale the meds inbetween hysterical screams and then again pin him down for his calpol.

Can anyone advise an easier way to get him to take mens without a fight and a baby looking at me like I'm scaring him! :( :( :(

Most children love calpol so im guessing he doesn't mind that. Couldn't you put the mask on him in his sleep? Or is that a ridiculous idea?!

Can you give the calpol at dinner time so spoon of food, spoon of calpol, spoon of food.

Could you play with the mask wearing it yourself to try a make a game - you have it he gets it from you, you help him try it.

I tried in his sleep but he sleeps on his side so I have to move his little head to access his mouth which wakes him up.
He likes to play with the mask but react really badly when it comes close to him?

Will defo try the calpol and food idea? I don't think he minds the taste of calpol just doesn't like me giving it to him :(

Would he nap in his pram so you can get the mask on then instead (as he can't roll onto his side)?

Oh bless you. Ds has viral induced wheezing and I won't easily forget the first time we had to hold him down in hospital and administer it with the spacer mask :( it was horrendous.

We tried doing it in his sleep, but time was the only thing that helped. Now at 2.8 he'll ask for 'puffs' if he's wheezy and hold the mask himself :)

It gets easier, and they really won't hold it against you.

Oh, and for calpol are you using the syringe? Much easier than the spoon :)

We are using the syringe for calpol which he loves to play with but hates it in his mouth he is teething to make matters worse ;(

Misty9 I'm really glad that you said your DS can ask for puffs I was just petrified that if it is asthma that he won't be able to tell me! I only developed mine as a teen so I always knew when my wheeze started!

Purple I will give the pram a go too!

I don't think he minds the taste of calpol just doesn't like me giving it to him

Have you tried a spilly spoon? Obviously it would take a day to arrive but I can't recommend it enough. It lets a toddler take the medicine themselves, so that they're in charge, but without spilling it everywhere. We got DD to practice just with water first, it took her a couple of goes to get the hang of it. Works in the night too (we wake DD up first of course, but she can take it when half-asleep and then goes straight back down).

I've never heard of a spilly spoon but will investigate!

This is really hard I know, can you mix it with yoghurt or anything nice tasting?

You know you can get paracetamol suppositories on prescription from the gp? Sounds a bit ick but soooo much easier! I had a calpol refusing baby we'd end up in a pink sticky mess, screaming baby and not knowing how much medicine she had actually taken so I asked for the bum pills, and job done, you know exactly how much has been given, vomiting doesn't affect it and baby is more or less oblivious!

No silly GP told me that he can only have calpol he didn't say a thing when I asked for an alternative

I have not mixed meds with any food he is not really eating at the moment so I won't know how much has gone down!

GP's can be very reluctant to prescribe them as they are expensive but if you're desperate then you can buy them yourself at the chemist but be prepared to pay around £20 for 10 iirc.

You're not a monster, your child needs those medicines. There will be other things you have to do while he cries wrestling him away from the side of the road, stopping hike climbing onto the dining table etc. I speak from experience! You feel mean but no way you can not do it.

You are not a monster, just a mother. (Hope it gets easier).

Kxx

Medicine syringe (syringe without a needle). Pharmacist should stock them. Failing that a pipette from a cookshop?

Shocked him with a medicine dummy :) but ended up at the GP anyway where a GP and nurse pinned him down while trying to get some of the inhaler into his little lungs :(

I used to put calpol into a bottle with a little bit of milk or juice. DS would take it that way. I was breastfeeding but I don't think a tiny bit of cow's milk would harm if you don't have formula.

Inhaler is tricky with such a little one. Can he take it when asleep? I'd want to avoid distressing him because if he needs it long term he needs it! But of course last resort he has to have it. DS had oxygen once when he was about 18 months old and they just held the mask as close to his face as possible while I held him on my lap saying "Sssssssssh" and rocking him gently from side to side. Two person job until he calmed down and then I could hold it.

Bertie problem is his not really eating or drinking so it's tricky but the dummy seems to be ok! I'm letting him play with his spacer mask as much as possible to that he doesn't make a negative association! I guess long term I might try to get him while he is sleeping but today he needs the meds at set times so that he can be monitored at least when we are at the hospital later a nurse can help its hard stressing him out like this!

Oh you poor thing, I really feel for you :( I remember the first time we were in hospital with ds he was so hysterical they could only have a mist near his face, no way was he letting a mask be put on at first! We then had to give it every four hours and, though we dreaded it, waking him up to use the inhaler wasn't too bad as he was so sleepy he didn't fight it as much.

Hope he feels better soon, and it gets easier for you.

I think we may have done it on a teddy first too?

my DS was a little older when we had to use an inhaler. the first time the GP gave it to him and it was quite a drama. we played with it a lot and gave it to the teddies and to us first, making it look like a very funny game. it still was a bit hard for the first times, I think babies have a natural reflex to fight things that close their nose and mouth, but when he realized that it wouldn't hurt and that there would be lots of cheering afterwards he started to accept it. we would count up to 10 after each puff. it will get easier!

He doesn't have teddies (had a few but cried at them ) but DH is a good substitute I had the mask over my mouth DH played with it and a puffed my inhaler a few times so that he is used to the sound we will see how he gets on. :)

Sorry to say, but we had years of this with the inhaler thingy. Ds never got any better at taking it and brute force was the only thing that worked. And I felt more awful every, single time. But, you know, ds still loves me, so I'm guessing he's forgotten.