Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Giveing them Medicine

Ok, this has become a huge source of frustration and worry for us. So I wonder what anyone else does.

Mr W is very, very perceptive - and combined with his intelligence and stubborness, we have run into a brick wall.

He became very sick this weekend and he was prescribed some antibiotics. The pharmacy did not mix the liquid with a sweetener so on his first dose, Mr W was very upset.

After that he decided to reject any and all meds including Motrin which he needs to keep his fever down. Prior to the antibiotic episode, he has always been very good from the syringe.

We have tried several techniques, and they work the first time, but he clues in. This weekend was an arms race to trick him into taking his meds with him making adjustments each time.

We have gone the argument route as well, telling him what it is, why he needs it, etc. He will agree with us and even get to where he will open his mouth, but at the last second, he shies away.

We seem to be at the stage where his emotions trump his intellect yet his intellect sets the stage for his emotions to be keyed.

Maybe you could ask him to help you problem solve and give him a choice for delivery method such as just swallowing fast or mixing with some food to mask taste (applesauce has always worked for us).
In addition, we always had better luck with Tylenol Meltaways rather than liquids for fever reduction.

BTDT. When the medicine *has* to go down and reasoning doesn't work, there is a quick, simple way. Got this from one of Dr. Sears books. Parent 1 sits on top of child, pinning child's arms to body with thighs, knees on side of head. Parent 2, with dropper ready, holds child's nose shut. Mouth will open, squirt medicine in, child must swallow to breathe, release nose when all medicine is gone. They are spitting mad, but the whole thing is over in less than 30 seconds vs. hours of wheedling and cajoling. HTH.

This is a tough one. For us it only got easier when ds got older.

Here's another one from the sears book (or maybe it was the the website) cold is supposed to numb the taste buds so medicine doesn't taste as bad. Have child suck on a popcycle or ice cube right before and right after the medicine. This still requires some cooperation on the part of the child so may only consistently help once Mr. W is older.

Or could work now as a one time distraction. Good luck!

Can you go back to the pharmacy and trade your old bottle of antibiotic for a new one with sweetener mixed in?

Failing that and if he's already decided he hates all medicine, regardless of flavor:

Umm. This approach works with my cats (if you think it's hard getting a young child to take medicine, try a cat). I mix the medicine into something they really, really like. Pureed-chicken baby food is always a winner. Yum! A treat!

Scaling this approach to a child, you could try mixing the antibiotic into something that will hide the bitter flavor of the medicine, such as soupy ice cream. You may have to do a little trial and error to find an amount of ice cream (or whatever) that will hide the flavor, yet not be too much to eat in a single go.

Val

Nikita- Tried Dr. Sears' method once... and it resulted in me being immediately and profusely covered in vomit. And we had to start over. I don't recommend it unless you are absolutely certain there is no other way!

Austin-
We have insisted since DS was 2 that the doctor give us chewables. Believe it or not, nearly all kids meds come in chewable form, though you may have to cut it down to size (like 1/2 or 1/4 of the tablet). DS has a huge gag reflex and GERD. Anything liquid that tastes nasty is NOT going to go down no matter what. I've given up. I've also taught him how to swallow pills and that is a thousand and one times easier. He takes medication daily and it's not coated. We just have him open his mouth, hand him a cup of ice cold water (numbs the tongue) and have him take a swallow, then plop the pill on the back of his tongue and he swallows again.

You can also ask your doc for the recommended motrin in chewables. I put these in a handful of skittles. Cut the motrin about the same size and the taste is nearly identical.

He has my taste buds.

We tried masking the stuff and he figures it out. The second time it won't work. For example, he loves applesauce - now he won't touch it.

Adding the flavor in to the meds did not help.

This made it much worse. He knows from our body language and gets really upset.

He is 20 mos old. The verbal reasoning is just not there yet. I think that in another year, this will work. We can tell him this will make him feel better in a few minutes. And he gets it. And he wants to feel better. But his emotions trump his intellect.

DS5 was given some TRULY NASTY tasting antibiotic to take recently, and had to take it for THREE WEEKS! Now, he is actually very compliant re: taking meds, so I'm not sure whether or not this will help.

The doctor recommended to give him a potato chip or two before and after the medicine. The oil/salt coat the tongue and prevent the taste from being QUITE so horrible. It doesn't get rid of the taste issue, but it did help for DS5. The added thing here is that we don't eat chips often, so this was a real treat. I took DS to the store and let him pick out 3 different bags of chips, so he could decide what he wanted. He was then allowed 2-3 chips before and after the medicine, and no one else in the house was allowed to eat them.

Good luck with this. You'll get through it!

I am encouraged to hear that other people fight this battle besides us. Both our kids fight any kind of medicine tooth and nail. Even the "good" tasting stuff. I don't have any great advice. We've used 2 techniques - telling them in a very serious voice that we may be in the ER if they don't take it and bribing (after you take this medicine you can have or do X). My DS8 literally will throw up antibiotics. Not pretty.

Good luck - here's to a fast round of antibiotics. I always feel like celebrating when we get done with a round. It's non-stop stress the entire time they're taking some.

Edited to say - sorry, I didn't know your child was so young. I did have to use the pin down method in a number of circumstances when we had to get it done NOW. Or giving them a little treat to have with the medicine. Ugh - so sorry you're fighting this battle. That's the worst!

Mr W will deliberately spit it into my face.

Did you try something creamy/fatty? I'm thinking that applesauce is watery and the flavor of the meds won't get "lost" in it. Alternatively, if the antibiotic molecules get coated by the fats in ice cream or whatever, he might not taste them as much. Plus, his tongue will lose sensitivity, as someone else pointed out.

I'm speculating here (don't know which antibiotic you're using and if it could be coated by fats), but it might be worth a go if you haven't tried it already. Just make sure you aren't supposed to take the medication on an empty stomach.

Val

Oh yeah, been there done that, with an evil look in his eye too I'll bet!

Every time someone else gets sick, I am so grateful that other than the first two years of misery, my kid is relatively healthy! This is the kid who refused motrin after breaking his foot because it tastes bad. (and when we discovered the skittles trick!) He'd rather writhe in pain than take a liquid. I seriously understand!

I hear you. We went through this recently, as DD had a fever of roughly 104 and refused to take medicine. Honestly, I just waited until she agreed a few hours later. It was hard--really hard--to feel how hot she was and see how much discomfort she was in, but there's no way to trick her or force her at this age (3 1/2). I'm just glad it wasn't a life-threatening situation. In the past, when her fever was higher (106+) and she was younger, and she couldn't keep anything down, we used a suppository.

We do the pin down and force method. I can do it all by myself now. Yay practice! Sigh... After one or two doses administered that way with the explanation if you won't take it nicely and get a treat this is the other option even my ultra stubborn Bear has been known to relent...

You could also tell him that antibiotics also come in shot form...

I mixed it in with yogurt!! The little bugger figured it out too late and ate it all.

Ok. What is the skittles trick? (The suppository comment below has me really curious.)

And, yes, I saw Lucifer in his eyes!!

Congrats on the yogurt!

Good luck on the next round, since he is now wise to the 'gurt!

I, too, am so glad it's not just me--although I'm sure that doesn't help you one bit!

I can finally get DS7 to take nasty medicine (and no matter how good they claim it tastes, that sulfa mix stuff he always seems to get is just nasty) by holding his nose for him and having some tea handy to wash the taste out fast. He still refuses to swallow pills. I'm heartened by the fact that so many things are starting to come out in "strips" now, that don't taste bad and dissolve on the tongue.

DD3 actually doesn't mind it as much as he does, and in fact even hounds me with "medicine? medicine?" when it's not even time yet!

Austin-
You might have missed my post on page 1- I had some other tips for you too. The skittles trick:

You can also ask your doc for the recommended dose for motrin in chewables. I put these in a handful of skittles. Cut the motrin about the same size and the taste is nearly identical. Grape motrin tastes just like grape skittles!