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Original poster

GIving foul tasting medicine to a small child - anyone else having nightmares with this?

26 replies

JackBauer · 22/08/2009 19:54

DD1 suffers from urine infections so when I saw the early signs of one 2 days ago I set off to the docs for anti biotics, they gave us some new stuff (normally trimethoprim) which tastes awful, worst than the trim she normally has.
She retched so much the first time she brought up her entire meal, which was fun. I have now resorted to lemonade between small amounts off the syringe (she won't have the spoon 'as that si what makes me sick' and then chocolate or sweets afterwards, this is after coaxing her out from under the table where she is cowering and weeping.

And I have to do this 3 times a day for another week

Any advice, better tricks, ways to convince her to not freak out so much? She knows why she has to have it but she is only 3.6 so that is nto a huge help.

OP posts:
rubyslippers · 22/08/2009 19:56

hide it in a yoghurt
hold her nose for her whilst she swallows it?

TheProfiteroleThief · 22/08/2009 19:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

chichichien · 22/08/2009 20:00

Dilute it in squash.

Or medicine followed by jelly baby

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OrangeFish · 22/08/2009 20:04

I confess I don't have much experience with antibiotics with DS, so I don't know if the following is appropiate. What I try to do with DS is to give the medicine before meals to ensure that is only the medicine that comes out if he brings it back.

I'm afraid I have not go through the chocolate route. DS has learned since early enough that considering his health problems, medicines are not optional and he has only has to swallow. For a long course of horrible medicine... I would offer a visit to toys-r-us, if he completes it without much convincing. But be careful, when my parents promised whatever I wanted if I completed the antiobiotics. But after a round of 14 injections... I could only think of the most expensive bike I had seen

Original poster
JackBauer · 22/08/2009 20:07

She can taste it in anything else I put it in. Bloody manufacturers. Even fake banana flavour would be better than this fizzy fake nasty stuff. Bleurgh

I did that 'Oh darling, don';t be so silly, it's not that bad, look'

'I'm just going to get some water'

cue me spitting in sink and wiping tongue with treatowel to remove taste

Glad you agree with the 'bribe them with sweets' thing, thought I was breaking some horrible taboo.

OP posts:
Original poster
JackBauer · 22/08/2009 20:13

OrangeFish, point taken!
I have got this weeks cbeebies magazine hidden if she can get through the first half and promise of next weeks when she finishes the course.

OP posts:
SpawnChorus · 22/08/2009 20:16

Is it worth contacting the pharmacist and seeing if they can do a different flavour?

Or could you try freezing it into tiny lollies? I did this with DD when she refused to have normal banana flavour ABs and it worked quite well. Pain in the arse if it's a longer term thing though.

SpawnChorus · 22/08/2009 20:18

Just to clarify, I mixed the medicine with fruit juice before freezing

quirkychick · 22/08/2009 20:24

My dd is really resistant to taking antibiotics after being sick with them and having a few spells in hospital with lots of medical interventions. In hospital they just force it down her, which doesn't really help.

I mix it with jam and give her jam sandwiches as a treat cos she's poorly . This seems to work. Banana stuff is good in raspberry but blackcurrant was better for the fizzier stuff. I gave up bribing/cajoling as I once spent an hour persuading her and rewarding her with sweets for her to sick it back up again. Nice.

I'm hoping when she's older I can reason with her more but she gets very agitated and associates it with being sick. They really should make the medicine much more child-friendly. The last lot was made with granules and bitty as well as fizzy. Yuck.

OrangeFish · 22/08/2009 20:29

But.. can you freeze antibiotics? and thinking of that.... hmm... I remember reading an article on juices reducing or canceling the effect of medicines. The article was talking about using juice, particularly citric juice, to dilute medicines of the elderly.

Original poster
JackBauer · 22/08/2009 20:36

I am a bit hesitant to mix it/dilute it in case it changes it, and she has always tasted it when I have tried it before with amoxithingy. Damn her sensitive taste buds!

OP posts:
OrangeFish · 22/08/2009 20:43

Amoxicillin? is she taking the paediatric version of the medicine? with plenty of sugar and tartrazine? or is there any possibility she may have been given the one for adults (in smaller doses), if the second, perhaps you can convince the GP to prescribe a different one?

bluejeans · 22/08/2009 20:50

My mum used to crush up an aspirin with honey and lemon for us - possibly because calpol was yet to be invented!

I've been known to add pink food colouring to DDs medicine in the past - worked a treat

SpawnChorus · 22/08/2009 20:51

Hmm, I just double-checked my old posts on the archives and amoxycillin mixed with juice (and frozen!) was OKed by my GP. Obviously it might be diff for other neds though. Sorry you're having this problem. Reading my old posts has brought back what a worrying pain in the arse it was!

Original poster
JackBauer · 22/08/2009 20:54

No she isn't on amoxy now, she is on augmentin this time. She has had amoxy before for chest infections, which was fun as she said that tasted grim as well (which it did, it's too 'fake' sweet IYSWIM)
I dont think she has ever had anti b's that tasted nice, but the cheapo calpol we get is really nice tasting.

I hate forcing her to take this stuff, much sympathy to those of you that have to do it every day, I feel like such a cow with her sobbing and weeping and trying to be brave

OP posts:
PitysSake · 22/08/2009 20:55

yes ds1 still wont have calpol
he is

11

sorry!
(then he discovered pills = preferred them a LOT)

foreverchanges · 22/08/2009 21:37

make into a strong jelly ? just a thought

Original poster
JackBauer · 22/08/2009 23:00

Have had a quick google and found a lot of info that says augmentin can be mixed with food, shall call chemist tomorrow and double check and see if DD will let me mix this with something else.

I am hesitant to hide it in food without her knowledge anymore as she was so upset when she realised the 'nice treat' had medicine in it last time I tried hiding it in yoghurt.

OP posts:
yawningmonster · 23/08/2009 07:11

have you tried getting her to suck an ice cube before she has it. It numbs the taste buds temporarily and medicine doesn't taste so foul. Works for mine.

Supercherry · 23/08/2009 09:40

I vaguely remember being given a spoonful of bitter tasting medicine when I was a child followed by a sugar lump to take the taste away. Could you try that? Lots of sympathy and cuddles and treats too.

I would certainly enquire at the GPs if there is a better tasting version.

jybay · 23/08/2009 21:54

Unfortunately, the age of dental correctness means that most children's meds are only available in sugar-free formulations. I think it's the artifical sweeteners that made them taste so vile. They usually only come as one flavour, so it's unlikely that your GP will be able to provide an alternative, though ask your pharmacist to be sure. Be careful about freezing - it will make some antibiotics ineffective.

TBH it sounds as if you are doing well. One other option would be to try mixing with chocolate pudding - the strong flavour of chocolate makes it a better disguise that yoghurt etc.

Original poster
JackBauer · 24/08/2009 20:22

I had a long talk with me and she told me that she didn't want me to hide it in anything and that she would 'be very brave and have water and a sweetie afterwards, please' and a cbeebies mnagazine when the bottle is empty.
Now she wants extra doses

Thanks for advie/sympathy though, it's so rubbish. jybay, that's interesting, as well as being obvious, it tastes horrible sweet and the ingredients say loads of artifical sweeteners as well as orange, lemon and strawberry flavour. All together. Bluergh.

OP posts:
jybay · 25/08/2009 16:17

I hated liquid meds so much as a child that I had pills from 5y on. Most (though not all) medications are available as a tablet in a children's dose so this may be an option for her in another year or so - or possibly even now. After all, tablets are much smaller than the average mouthful of food so there is no reason why a child can't swallow them if motivated to do so. You could try her with a children's vitamin as a dry run and - if she succeeds - she could have pills next time if available in a child's dose.

pigleychez · 25/08/2009 19:04

I feel your pain.

My DD is 13mths and is a huge battle to give her any medicine, Even calpol!

We usually have to resort to holding her down and syringing it down but 9 times out of ten that gets spat back up at me!

Hope the sweeties and water work for you
Unfortunately my DD is abit too young for bribery yet

oldraver · 29/08/2009 21:35

Do you think she would take it in tablet form ?? DS is 3.7 and has a long history of taking Omeprazole in every form and combination available (no proper paediatric version) He now manages perfectly fine with tablets

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