Our child won't take medicine

Al1x

Callie22 wrote: »

Maybe you could try sticker chart on the wall, where he gets a shiny sticker every time and a new toy after so many stickers? My mum used to do this with me and it worked because I could see the stickers building up.

Tried the stickers but no luck with them.

sheramber

j.e.j. wrote: »

Daft question, but why a syringe and not a spoon? If the child is 3 years old they can easily take medicine from a spoon. A syringe would be far more off-putting, I would think.

Correct dosing is important in a child. It is easy to give too much and a little extra can be too much.

A syringe is much more accurate for measuring a dose than a spoon, which might be full to overflowing or full to just under the correct measure.

Al1x

double_mummy wrote: »

have you let LO play with the syringe? get him to be a doctor with you and give teddies medicine with you and then its teddies turn to be doctor and your son has the syringe in his mouth (empty) after a bit of time playing add some fruit juice to the syringe and get him to have that let him put it in his mouth and get teddy to help push down the plunger - if you have a spare one just give it to him and let him get used to it being around all the time

We have tried filling the syringe with water and even when he sees it being filled he won't take it.

Armchair23

Am I missing the point , it seems like it's possible to get the medicine down but the kid vomits it up.

My deepest sympathy, I was that kid.....

IMHO it's something in the carrier medium that is the problem.
I have a massive memory of pink syrup, cherries and nausea. Given I'm almost 60 that's a long old sense memory.

Is it possible to get the same medication but in a different format ?

Al1x

TBagpuss wrote: »

have you ever tried to give him any medication in non-liquid form? My brother, at a similar age, would not take medications in liquid form but was perfectly happy to take tablets or capsules.

My parents had trouble getting doctors to agree to try prescribing it as a tablet rather than syrup, but once they did, it worked like a charm.
I was similar but less stubborn - I would take liquid if I had too, but always found swallowing tablets much less unpleasant.

Thank you, I didn't know they would prescribe tablets to children. I think I'll try several suggestions from here tomorrow and if nothing works I'll ask the doctor about tablets.

trolleyrun

I was going to suggest blowing gently on his face when giving the meds as it makes children (and others) swallow instinctively, but I see your child vomits it up straight away.

If you can get tablets, ask if they can be crushed and add them to yoghurt, pate, cream cheese or anything else he likes.

bylromarha

pollypenny wrote: »

I had to wrap DD in a towel, do that her arms were down, hold her nose, so she'd open her mouth, shove the medicine in and hold her nose again.

It was a nightmare, but had to be done.

We used to have to force our littlies too. Absolutely horrid to do, but no amount of carrots worked to get the medicine down. DS stopped vomitting post medicine when he clocked on he'd just get another dose straight away if he brought it back up.

OP - keep on trying those carrots and good things to get the medicine down. Hopefully one will work, but if it doesn't, you do need to get the medicine in someway somehow, and if forcing is the only option left to you, then it doesn't make you a bad parent if this is what you have to do.

Toxicity

Al1x wrote: »

Your doctors sound the same as mine, they make it sound so simple don't they. Sometimes i feel like taking him there at medicine time as see how difficult he is.

I might try a fizzy drink, he's not allowed them so he might think its a treat.

Yeah, so very easy to force feed a stubborn child who is distressed, crying, thrashing and gagging/puking.

If fizzy drink would be a treat for him then it is defo worth a go. At first LO would insist I had a little sip of it in front of her, 5ml of the pink antibiotics with a tiny bit of diet coke, just tasted like cherry coke to me and was gone within a couple of sips. The few times she did protest I was a little mean and told her it was this or the syringe - that worked well.

Good luck!

southoftheriver

It does make a difference which antibiotic it is. Depending on its spectrum there may be a similar antibiotic which isn't as foul.

GobbledyGook

What flavour is the medicine? Have you tried Angel Delight? They do that in banana and strawberry. Make it up into a few dishes, mix the medicine into his and all have it? Same with youghurt, ice cream (strawberry ice cream with bits in can be quite effective for strawberry antibiotics I find), ambrosia do little tubs of flavoured custard as well which are quite good for hiding things.