DS 4 ASD wont swallow antibiotic for tonsillitis. help?

[pillsthrillsandbellyaches]

hi. darling ds (4) with autism, seen gp today who said he has tonsillitis.
he wont even take calpol. he's non verbal. any ideas about how we can get him to take medicine?
it tastes vile so no chance of mixing it.
anyone know what would happen if we just never gave him it? would it go away on its own?
am gonna try and track down paed or other gp tomorrow and see if there is another more palatable one he could get, but will still probably have to restrain him. and he's a big strong boy!
anyone got similar experience?

I had to use a syringe with mine, and put it to the back of his throat so he swallowed it.
And I had to restrain him

If his tonsils become really infected, it could get a lot worse, so he probably needs the whole 5 days.

we mix it with juice or yoghurt for my ds age 4 with autism, weve just moved so not sure on new gp yet but old one understood we struggled and if lots got wasted happily gave us more! or what about a syringe squirt to back of mouth so little choice but to swallow?? sorry not much help i guess

use a syringe and squirt the medicine into the side of his mouth aiming towards his cheek. Apparently there is a reflex that will cause him to swallow. Got this tip passed to us by a lovely nurse in A&E. HTH

I've had to sit on my 10 yo and syringe antibiotics into his mouth 3 times a day for a week. It sounds so simple when the doctor prescribes them!

Not all antibiotics are created equal. Some taste far worse than others.

Amox is the usual one and even that varies depending on the manufacturer. The one most often supplied is yellow and tastes of fake banana. Some like it but most kids HATE it. Glaxo smithkline do a version (it's white, in a glass bottle) which mostly tastes of bland; it's better tolerated and by the same token easier to hide in other stuff.

If I get a scrip for amox, I phone round the local pharmacies till I get one that guarantees they have the Glaxo version before I take my scrip to them.

Also tonsillitis makes swallowing anything extremely painful. DP had it badly a while back and couldnt even turn his head, his neck was so swollen.

He had to gargle with pain killers in order to swallow the antibiotics.

If dosed with pain killers, it will make the swallowing a little easier, unfortunately it wont improve the taste of the medicine though. Its always been a hold down job with ds.

Good luck.

I offer a small sweet in return of swallowing medicine. My dd will do any thing for a sweet.

I really sympathise with you. My DD had recurrent tonsilitis from 6 weeks to 4 years when she had a tonillectomy. We tried everything to get her antibiotics in her:

mixing in fromage frais
diluting in milk (and offering this after something dry like milk)
syringing and squeezing cheeks (on instruction by hospital)
sweets

There are nicer tasting antibiotics. If you call your surgery and ask to get your child's GP to call you back, explain the situation and they are normally happy to prescribe an alternative. They can also prescribe one that is a stronger solution so the four daily doses can be reduced to two.

If this still doesn't work then bacterial tonsillitis can resolve by itself, but takes a little longer (according to DD's GP). Again i would query with your GP if the new antibiotic doesn't work.

Is it the taste or the pain? If it is too sore to swallow at all ask chemist for rectal calpol. It is surprisingly easy to administer and works more quickly and effectively than orally. Rectal calpol is quite expensive (about £20 for the packet) but i was willing to pay out of desperation.

Syringe - There is technique that I think is that you put the syringe into one side of the child's mouth and your finger into the other. Theory is that the child has to swallow.