DD won't take antibiotic...desperate 😫

[Greenginghamdress]

DD has a bad ear infection. She was prescribed fluoxacillin and we just can't get it down her. She's had a little but now won't take it and I've tried everything. In desperation I've tried pinning her down but she won't swallow it. I know this was cruel 😢 and we both ended up in tears.
Her outer ear is very infected and her temperature keeps rising. MIL told me she may be at risk from meningitis and I'm terrified.
How can I get these antibiotics down her?

Oh @Discovereads you sound like the type of person who uses the words trigger or triggering in every second sentence. Justify your opinions all you want but I don't for a second believe OP is leading her child to a life of trauma. Work on your resilience.

@Discovereads ah ok I see, you were blessed with very compliant children. No amount of coaxing would make my 1yr old open her mouth for teeth brushing, and at 2 she was far, far too interested and excited by passings dogs/cars/kids to hold my hand reliably, and as soon as she was able to roll she would put up a huge fight during nappy changes, even when dirty. You seem to have got very lucky with your kids, and I'm happy for you, but the rest of us with normal toddlers and preschoolers occasionally have to physically restrain them to keep them safe. That doesn't make us draconian, it makes you utopian.

No, I have not been “blessed” with especially compliant children, I have three DC with SEN and two with autism. But go on thinking whatever you need to think to justify your warped sense of reality.

Just because they have SEN doesn't mean they're not compliant.

Nor do I as thankfully OP has not chosen the pin down and force feed option you so vigorously advocate. She’s wisely chosen from several of the kinder gentler approaches that I am supporting and have also suggested a few of. You know nothing of my resilience, so please don’t presume to instruct me.

Pin her down, head back, into the cheek pocket like you would a cat. Not pleasant but
Necessary.

They weren’t “utopian”. They were less compliant than an average DC.

Mixing it in with something like flavoured yogurt to take the taste away helps. I've just had to do this with the dog!

Sorry OP, going thru the same thing with my 17 month old right now. It's so hard! I've got some good tips from your thread! At the mo we're holding her close and pinching her nose gently and then squirting between her teeth. She doesn't like it at first but it's her 3rd course of antibiotics in 6 months and by the end she does open her mouth willingly and then ask for buttons (chocolate..) needs must!

They were less compliant than an average DC clearly yours were more compliant as you never had to pin yours for anything.

I'm a paediatric nurse and unfortunately I have no suggestions. It is absolutely vile. Is the dose suitable to be given in capsules. I once got them down a three year old. It was much less stressful.

@Discovereads
Please stop conflating force feeding with medicine administration, you are using a highly emotive phrase in the wrong context.

Squirt it into the back of her cheek. It should go through the gap at the back. Hold nose so she had to swallow. (I don't do this with patients btw.) but get parents to do it.

Honestly, flucloxaccillin liquid is the most disgusting taste.. imagine you vomit in a cup, leave it there over night, then smell it the next morning - that's what flucloxacillin tastes like and nothing hides the taste - when dd was prescribed it, we tried everything - yoghurt, Jam, Nutella, even neat ribena to hide it and it still tastes like old rotten vomit. DD was pretty good at taking meds, even when they tasted bad, but flucloxacillin is on another level. I tasted it because I thought she was being dramatic - she wasn't, it's foul.

Personally, I'd call the GP back in the morning and ask for an alternative, because there will be one, or ask if dose is ok for tablets which you could crush into something. If they say no, ask them what they would give if she was allergic to flucloxacillin and ask for that instead.

@BertieBotts it doesn't come in suppository form. Wish it did. It would solve so many problems

@HerRoyalHappiness

For what it's worth, I had a fantastic childhood with brilliant, loving parents and I wouldn't pin my child down and force medication into their mouths at 4.5. I'd class that as traumatising. At that age there are multiple different approaches (which I've used with my own children).

@MolliciousIntent your description of "a massive hug and telling them they have to do it because it will make them better but you love them" and then giving them a treat is actually quite unsettling, and you belittling the other poster for picking up on that and essentially saying that her own trauma is making her unreasonable in her responses is gaslighty nonsense.

Some parents have no issue pinning their child down and forcing medication, some do, for whatever reason they decide.

Paed nurse and mum here. I always made it firstly clear that medicine is non-negotiable. They can scream, cry and kick before and after, but they must always have the medicine, and calmly. Followed by agreed drink to take away the taste (for particularly foul meds we would try a fizzy drink as a treat) and appropriate bribery (lollies). More lollies given if dose of meds was taken quickly and calmly.

It can be so stressful, OP, but she should be just about old enough for this to work well. Calm from you leads to calm from her, and meds are non-negotiable. Best of luck!!

We mix it with some juice or blackcurrant squash. Our 2 year old just refused and this was the only way to get it into her. We tried to force it but she just vomited it back up. Pointless. Do what you need to do.

Totally this, every thing is now viewed as triggering, traumatising and normal behaviour is pathologised over and over.

I work with children and their families who have significant ACEs, being given medicine to get it down them so that they swallow it quickly and in a timely fashion for the illness they have is not one of them.

@daisyjgrey
There are young children who cannot be coaxed by any exhaustive means into having essential medication or procedure. What do you suggest in those circumstances?

If bribery doesn't work you could try getting some big flat sweets like percy pigs, putting half a spoon of Medstead in a tspn and then putting the percy pig on top so it looks like you're giving a spoon with a sweet on. It will hide the bitter taste as well. Keep going using half spoons until you've given the full dose. Best to draw up rhe correct amount in a syringe and then dispense onto the spoon so you get an accurate amount. Doing it in front of the TV may also help!

Absolutely no reasoning with my almost 4yo to take amoxicillin but realised hiding half in a yoghurt and the other half in milk works. You can also get these straws which I'm trying tomorrow - not healthy but fun and should get the doses down her! Could you add dose to milk and stir then get her to drink through this straw?

Quick Milk Lucky Box Unicorn -... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WMXVFXP?ref=ppxpoppmobappshare

Flucloxacillin is vile. Absolutely vile. (Please do try a little bit)

I feel it’s pointless to prescribe a child fluclox as it’s so disgusting, they refuse.

Can you request amoxicillin?

What helped with my 3 year old was giving a chocolate button first so they can taste that in their mouth to mask it a bit, then the medicine, then more chocolate. I also second/third asking the GP for something different. I once got old fashioned antibiotics with sugar in for my DC can’t remember which one it was though and I think it was pure luck. My GP friend used to tell me to put some in a calpol syringe with calpol at the top and bottom if they’re happy to take that. Apparently there are various tips on YouTube as well, but I never needed to resort to looking for them myself. I did pin her down once when she was a toddler in desperation and squirt it into the back of her cheek. She just immediately threw up so it was a total waste of time and awful for both of us, so that was then off the list.

Mix it with natural yogurt! That worked for us, so did absolutely shameless bribery......Jaffa cakes if you're looking for some inspiration 😂