My one year old won't take her antibiotic. It's a real fight and I know she's not getting a whole dose because she spits most of it out. Thankfully, she's normally a very healthy child, and we've only twice before had to deal with medicines. But now that she's 1, she's got a bit more of a temper than she did the last time - and she's strong enough to fight me off when I start with the dropper. I've tried mixing it in food, juice and formula - with the same result... she sees right through me every time and will refuse it. I think I'm wasting more medicine than administering. Any suggestions?
Thanks, everyone for your advice! I tried most - she had 10 days of antibiotic, 2x per day, so there was plenty of opportunity to experiment! We found one method that worked... by mixing the antibiotic (which smelled fruity) with yogurt, she took it down with no trouble at all. Mixing it with other foods, even apples or peaches, didn't work - I think she was able to detect it. Another method that worked, even though she was miserable and it always made me feel bad, was giving her multiple smaller doses. This way, I was able to limit how much was spit out. Thanks everyone!
I understand this frustration. My 2 year old is that same way and she is on daily medication for her kidneys. My husband holds her and I put the medicine in her mouth, we blow in her mouth and that forces her to swallow before she can spit it out. It is a trick I learned from my sister and it works well, as soon as you put the medicine in, you blow directly into her mouth and she swallows. That is the only thing that has worked for me.
M.
Hi K., getting toddlers to take medicine can be very challenging! When I have to give medicine to children in my daycare, I would lay them across my lap(face up), lean my upper torso over their arms and secure their head with my arm. It wasn't pretty, but it did not allow them to turn away from the dropper. Hope it helps!
P. (licensed child care provider since 1996)
I personally took the kind of dispenser with a plunger, you can direct how much/little, etc. I would put it to the side of my daughter's mouth, cheek as far back as possible/reasonable and shoot it in her mouth. They don't take that big of a dose that they are going to choke. If is seems harsh, especially at first, do half and half. Then it may be difficult to get her to open up again.
To look forward for you, thankfully, my daughter, now almost 4, drinks it down out of the measuring cup (like a shot). Bad immage for down the road but she does great now. Good luck!
I agree with the others, and ask the pharmacist if he can add "FlavorRx" which is a flavor they add to the liquid, like bubblegum, strawberry, etc.I'm not sure if he needs the physician to write a prescription for FlavorRx but ask. It helps my daughter take her meds.
Hi K.,
I have the same problem with my 3 yr old. She had her first bladder infection newly potty-trained and it was terrible trying to get her to take the antibiotic. The doctor gave me an idea besides what you are doing mixing with the juice or any drink. She suggested mixing it in a yogurt or in slightly melted ice cream. Bottom line was keep trying. Hope this helps!
V.
Some of them can taste really nasty! Ask the pharmacist about adding flavoring of her choice to the med (some can make it taste like chocolate, grape, etc.)
Otherwise, you just have to restrain her :( I went through this with my daughter as well and it is no picnic. It's easier if you have help holding her arms.
Or maybe your pediatrician has a suggestion? It wouldn't hurt to call. Maybe they could just give it to her in one shot and you could be done with it!
Try mixing it in with some applesauce or something that she likes. Really it will have to be something with a pretty strong flavor in order to mask the antibiotic flavor. Also, don't let her see you do it or she'll figure it out. The other poster who mentioned peanut butter may be on the right track. Come to think of it, my mom used to give us medicine mixed into a glop of PB when I was young too.
I don't know if this will work but we found that the more we tried to restrain my son, the more he would fight the medicine. If we just let him stand next to us and gave him the medicine he would take it no problem. Also, maybe try a different delivery device. A cup might make her feel grown up.
I agree with all the advice. The only thing I have to add....and I am not sure if she is old enough to do it or not. Recently I have let my son give himself his own medicine. I put it in a syringe and he gives it to himself, he is 3 and he thinks that is the coolest thing ever. Now if he is in a bad mood its not as fun and if the medicine tastes bad, there is nothing you can do to make that fun....LOL.
I have had trouble with this with all three of my boys. I found that the syringe works best since you can shoot it straight to the back of the throat and they have to swallow automatically. Of course there will be times this is tough. Make sure you have their tongue out of the way. Otherwise it will just run out. Good Luck!!!
This happened to our son too. It took both my husband and myself to restrain our son. He still spit out the medicine all over us and the wall. Granted this medicine was horrible, but he started doing it with others too. We finally called the doctor (he needed this antiboitic to get better obviously) and he suggested an antibiotic shot. We took him to the Doctor and gave him the shot. Now we ask him if he wants a shot or to just drink his medicine...he's back to taking his medicine just fine.
Dear K. L,
I agree with Cari S. Since my daughter turn about 11 months she didn't want to take any medicine. Well we got the medicine dropper that is like a spoon. She will only take medicine if she can give it to herself. She hardly ever spills anything. She's happy tht she gets to do it herself and I am happy that she is taking it without a fight. Good Luck
B.
If your daughter uses a pacifier (if not, I have another tip below), try putting her medicine in one of those medicine administering pacifiers. They make a few different ones with different nipple shapes so they are similar to the shape your child has with her regular pacifier. Walgreens sells one kind, and I found another kind at drugstore.com.
The only other advice I could offer -- mean as it sounds -- is to plug her nose when you give her the medicine. Not only will this keep her from tasting the medicine, but it forces her to open her mouth and also to swallow, because she will have to swallow the medicine to breathe. I know that sounds bad, but if you're desperate to give her the medicine, you might want to give it a try.
Good luck!
I had the same problem. The only thing that worked a little is to blow in their little faces. They will automatically close their eyes and open their mouths. Someone told me to put it in the PB&J sandwich I haven't tried that. Good Luck
