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Parenting

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Original poster

Don't want to force feed medicine

26 replies

ApplesTheHare · 27/08/2015 18:26

DD needs to take a medicine orally twice a day for a minimum of 6 months. I'd rather not force feed her it in a syringe as suggested by the hospital as I'm worried about upsetting her and also putting her off eating. Any tips? If I put a syringe near her she clamps her mouth shut and thrashes.

OP posts:

AuntieStella · 27/08/2015 18:30

How old is DD?

And is oral the only formulation possible? Suppositories are often more expensive, so prescribed less often and you might have to persist a bit to get a doctor to agree.

FATEdestiny · 27/08/2015 18:31

Does she have a dummy? I am sure I saw in Boots some type of product that allow medication to be given via a special kind of dummy. No idea if it is any good or works, I've not tried it. I don't think it was expensive though, so might be worth a try.

Or could you dilute the medication in a drink?

winchester1 · 27/08/2015 18:33

Can you add it to food (yogurt?) assuming she is old enough to be eating.

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gamerchick · 27/08/2015 18:36

What would happen if she doesn't get the medication?

bonzo77 · 27/08/2015 18:41

How old is she? Mine had to have a disgusting tasting antibiotic 4x a day. Initially they spat it out. So I pretty much forced it on them followed by several chocolate buttons. Within a couple of doses they were asking for the medicine because they wanted the buttons. This was my 5 year old who can get a bit hysterical but is generally a "pleaser" and my 2 year old who is the most stubborn person I ever met

noblegiraffe · 27/08/2015 18:48

How old is she?

Call it fairy medicine and ask her how many fairy drops she wants the medicine syringed in. Give her a bit of control over it.

If this fails, and it's important she takes it, then you might have to force it. DS needed some medicine when he was a baby and after forcing him to have it a handful of times he eventually accepted it and was fine.
He was never put off eating but he wouldn't allow spoon-feeding. We let him feed himself, which was messy but ok.

Gileswithachainsaw · 27/08/2015 18:49

bribery?

would she take it from a spoon

YeOldeTrout · 27/08/2015 18:55

bribery for sure, if she's remotely old enough.
Or can you mix the potion with something else she likes better?

I've had to force it in, but never for more than a week.

TheGirlAtTheRockShow · 27/08/2015 19:17

We had to give DD antibiotics at 6 weeks, then again at 9 months.
At 6 weeks she would suck our finger and we'd squirt syringe at same time.
At 9 months it was mixed in with yogurt.
Worked a treat both times! Maybe one of those would be age appropriate?

ffffffedup · 27/08/2015 19:23

Definitely add it to a yogurt or maybe in a milkshake assuming she's at an age that she's on solids

noblegiraffe · 27/08/2015 19:25

Check whether it can be put in food first. Not all medication can.

Lurkedforever1 · 27/08/2015 19:34

How old? We used to do it by dosing fave teddy first with it, then dd holding a shot glass small amount of tango to get rid of the nasty taste.

Booboostwo · 27/08/2015 20:05

Operant conditioning is your friend! Get some stickers (or something else that she will really like that is cheap and you can get multiples of). Break down the giving of the medicine into smaller steps and go back to the one she will tolerate, e.g. touching the syringe to her lips or if that is out of the question touching the syringe with her hand. Offer a sticker for every time she touches the syringe, repeat 2-3 times and see if you can move to the next step, e.g. Putting the syringe in the mouth.

My DD took an iron supplement three times a day for three months this way. By the end she didn't need the stickers even though the thing tasted foul.

Original poster

ApplesTheHare · 27/08/2015 20:18

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone. I should have said she's about to turn 1. She's taking beta blockers to shrink a tumour so mixing with food is an option but we'd have to be sure she ate/drank the whole thing. I don't think she'd go for it in a dummy medicine thing but maybe some sort of reward after she'd had it will work. The nurses said to just force her but I'm worried it will stress her out so much that she won't want to eat or drink. She had to have a lot of tests done recently in hospital and after having them forced on her a few times she was getting so stressed that her blood pressure shot up. I really don't want to do that to her twice a day for months.

OP posts:

YeOldeTrout · 27/08/2015 20:21

can it be hid in some kind of yogurt?
for your difficulties.

Booboostwo · 27/08/2015 20:34

I don't want to sound pushy but please try my suggestion, it works wonders. It doesn't sound like it should work but the association of the medication with the positive reward really sorts the problem out especially if you can afford to take a few days to gradually move towards the goal.

FATEdestiny · 27/08/2015 21:28

I don't think stickers would work for a 12 month old. But something like chocolate buttons might work.

I am so sorry to hear about all the nasty tests and stuff your DD is having to go through apples. I didn't realise. It must be hard for you. I can completely understand you wanting to minimise distress as much as possible.

Thisismyfirsttime · 27/08/2015 22:13

If it tastes bad perhaps trying one button, medicine, 2 buttons and a very small drink of some form of juice after? I used to have to take horrible tasting medicine as a child and the aftertaste was awful, water didn't touch it but my parents never offered me anything else. Now any bad tasting medicine is followed up with something to cancel it out!

JustWantToBeDorisAgain · 27/08/2015 23:07

Dd2 has many many medicines ( has done since she was a few days old) some taste ok some not so much. We use bribery, one particular medicine she has to have 3 times /week it's not nice so we give her a sweetie after it. She gaged a few times and we had some vomits but she now takes it no problem ( even at an increased dose).

I would persevere speaking to other parents in the same situation matter of fact, and no messing works best in the long run.

Original poster

ApplesTheHare · 28/08/2015 18:11

Booboostwo I do like your idea of the reward, but unfortunately stickers won't work. DD's big cousin gave her a treasured Elsa sticker the other day and she stuck it straight in her ear. I don't want to get into the habit of giving her chocolate or alternatively make something she really enjoys, like grapes, just a treat so I might just try tons of praise.

FATE - aw thank you, I try not to think, talk or post too much about it, and to be grateful that it's nothing life limiting/threatening and that the NHS is around.

JustWant your poor DD having to take such horrible meds

OP posts:

KanyesVest · 28/08/2015 18:26

Is there someone special who could try giving it for a few days? DS is terrible at taking medicine but after 2 days of wrestling head locks and him spitting his steroids all over me, his preschool teacher offered to try. She called him over and he opened his mouth like a baby bird and swallowed every drop! After one day he'd take "Mary's medicine" without a murmur . hope your DD is well soon.

Booboostwo · 28/08/2015 19:45

I'm not banging on to make your life difficult, truly I am not, but try grapes. They won't become a treat, you can give as many as you want and offer them at other times as well if you want. The important thing is the association of the medicine with something positive, which could very well be grapes, and the breaking down of the behaviour is smaller steps so you can go back to a step she will tolerate. So rather than confronting and forcing, you find a step she is willing to accept and then reward her for it, that helps make the whole experience positive.

Good luck whatever works for you.

Original poster

ApplesTheHare · 28/08/2015 21:58

Kanyes that's very funny, I'm glad he tool the steroids, good old Mary. Unfortunately (fortunately!) I'm DD's favourite as she doesn't go to nursery or anything yet, so maybe I just need to leverage my own special powers

Booboostwo DH and I tried pretending to give each other the medicine today and then applauding and cheering each other when we'd 'had some' and soon enough DD was coming over and trying to get some herself then giving herself a round of applause for taking some. It was great! Took about 15 mins to get it into her but no rush at this stage. Hopefully the positive reinforcement of feeling like she's on her own version of Justin's House will be enough. I'm loathe to try food not just because I don't want certain things to become treats or to have to feed her jubk but also because I might find myself stuck in a situation without grapes or whatever and then no way of making her take it. And she has to take it, can't stop until being monitored in hospital.

OP posts:

KanyesVest · 28/08/2015 23:56

Gah, it sucks when they adore you, doesn't it Great that something is working, though. The power of a ridiculous happy dance is amazing!

Booboostwo · 29/08/2015 08:18

Well done!!!

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