Help, Can't Get Daughter To Take Medicine

Anniek1969

Need help, my 3yr old had a sore hand and took her to the doctors yesterday, we thought it looked like a burn but the doctor said that she's picked up a virus and it has managed to penetrate the skin on her hand between her fingers. She gave me cream for when it drys up a bit and she also gave me penicillin but I can't get her to take it. The first time was fine but after she swallowed it she was almost sick and now I can't get her to take it at all.

Anybody any ideas how I can get her to take it. Spent about 3 hrs last night trying everything from bribery to putting it in some juice but she still won't touch it. She gets really upset to the point of almost being sick so I don't want to keep pushing her. Do you think it would be ok to see if it clears up itself over the weekend and if it hasn't then ask the doctor for something else? The doctor didn't seem too worried about it and said that it was quite common and nothing to worry about, I just worry that if she doesn't take the penicillin then it could get worse.

Thanks for any help, got 2 other daughters who took their medicine no problem so never had this problem before.

missk_ensington

Can you try mixing it in some yogurt? Juice is a bit obvious since the consistencies are completely different!

You could tell her that Barbie/Wayne Rooney/Noddy anyone she likes drinks it all the time and it has magic powers?! This works with my son! Normally though I just hide things in his food if he won't take them!

mellyp

maybe try it in a milkshake?

my friend used to have to do this for her daughter

Anniek1969

Good idea, never thought about yoghurt and she loves them so will get some this morning and give it a try. Thanks

Anniek1969

Just had milkshake last night before we went to the doctors but maybe give it a try if the yogurt won't work. She'll probably end up not trusting me with anything after this, thinking I keep spiking her food lol.

jellyhead

is the cream an antibiotic? i don't know how bad the infection is but my son had impetigo twice in the last year, and the first time he had cream but the second time they gave him medicine because it works faster, i had a newborn baby in the house and they wanted it to clear up quickly. if it's not a bad infection perhaps an antibiotic cream would work, but might take a bit longer?

i read somewhere a tip about ice lollies, if the child eats an ice lolly first they don't taste or feel the medicine. i don't know if i works, haven't tried it yet.

Anniek1969

The cream is Hydrocortisone and she said not to use it until the wound dries up. It's not too bad, just looks a bit like a blister from a burn and it's burst and she's not complaining about it being sore it's only if she bumps it against something that she says it's sore and she won't let me touch it. I think I'll just have to keep trying and if she won't take it I'll phone and ask if the doctor can give me something else.

patchwork_cat

If she won't take it in yoghurt talk to your doctor.

Josie_Jump_3

I had this problem with my 3 year old, I tried to hide it in yogurt, food, ask her nicely, ask her not so nicely etc. In the end I found bribery was the only way. I let her choose a toy from the Argos catalogue (nothing expensive before I get shot), then I did a little star chart covering all the days she had to take the medicine and cut the toy picture out and stuck it on the chart. I explained that we would buy her the toy only if she took all her medicine and filled the chart with stars. It took a bit of effort on the first days but by day 5 she was asking for her medicine ! Now we have no problems with her taking it and don't need to resort to bribery either.

Some people may frown on me for going down the bribery route, but getting my daughter to take her medicine was the most important thing.

purplepurple

my two will only take medicine from a plastic syringe (from kids neurophen) because they don't taste it on their lips, it just goes straight to the back of the throat.... they hated the taste on their lips when using a spoon.....

hardpressed

Which anti-biotic is it? My youngest couldn't take the orange coloured one but was fine with the yellow. If you can't get her to take it, it would be worth asking if she could try a different one. You don't want to put her off taking medicine at this early age in case there comes a time when she really needs it.