Advice for Giving Medicine to Infants

When I my son was 3 months old I used to wait until he was asleep and put a bottle nipple in his mouth then put the medicine in the nipple. He took it down like nothing. This might work.

Good luck!

My little one always had a small fever after her immunizations (2,4,6 months). We gave her tylenol in a pacifier especially made with a compartment to put medicine. This also worked well when she had an ear infection, and we had to give her liquid medicine for a couple of days. We got it as a baby shower gift so I can't help you out as to where to possibly find one.

There are these things called Fever All suppositories. You can get them in any drug store although in Wal-Mart they have them behind the counter and you have to ask for them. They go where all suppositories go and you do not have to worry about the child swallowing medicince. these work great for older kids who are throwing up as well. Also though with so small a baby with a fevor I would call the doctor to see what the underlying cause is.

Unless it is a very high fever, 102 and above, strip the kid down to her diaper to cool her off. You can also put her in a warm/cool bath to reduce the fever. The fever is telling you that her immune system is doing what it is supposed to do...

Hi M.. If none of the other suggestions work, acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol) comes in suppository form (but not in the "Tylenol" brand name). My Pediatrician instructed me to use it when my son (9 months?) kept spitting-up the liquid Tylenol. I found it at Walgreens and it broke his high fever.

Does she take a pacifier? Maybe try sqirting it in then sticking in the pacifier. I feel like blowing in their faces causes them to gasp for air before swallowing and thus they end up inhaling the medicine, but maybe it works. Sometimes I have to close my babies lips and tickle his throat a little.

I have given my daughter mediciane since day one what worked for me is giiving it to her in the nipple of her bottle. I would squirt the medicine into the nipple right before she would feed. she never knew the differance. Hopes you find something that works! Best of luck to you both!

Try putting it in a bottle nipple.

L.

What I did was cool baby down in a cool bath first, and then gave baby Smart Water (Smart Water has sodium bicarbinate-helps tp retain water and electrolytes-to help keep hydrated). Some hospitals will recommend Gatorade if they can't take Pedialyte.
Any time after someone baby up to adult is sick, wait 30 minutes to try and keep something down. That is when I gave my babies/children any medicine at all.
The bath should take the temperature down while you wait for the stomache to settle.
Good luck.

Get ahold of her ped. right away. It's important not to let her dehydrate; it happens so easily. Maybe you can dab some pediasure on her lips or water on a cool washcloth for her to bite on. She may be teething. In any case, call that dr. mommy.

My daughter takes medicine just fine, but my boys were a hassle. I used to put the medicine in their mouth and then blow in their face. Just a quick blow, not continuous blowing. The sudden wind makes them swallow whatever is in their mouth. It worked for me, maybe it'll work for you. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.

I used to make a tea with chamomile and slippery elm for my girl when she was sick and then feed it to her a little at a time with the medicine dropper. Also - rub vicks vapor rub on her feet and put socks on her - that's what my doc told me to do!

what about making a small icecicle and letting her suck on it? I don't know... hope I can help a little.

Suppositories. When she's older she'll probably grow out of this. My oldest did.

I, too have heard about the squirting the medicine to the inside of the cheek and blowing into the face. The swallow reflex follows. This was also the same method that vets have instructed me in years past on how to give medicine to dogs/cats. I hope this helps.

What always worked for me was putting the medicine in the mouth then immediately blowing in their face. Blowing in their face triggers the swallow response and the medicine goes down easily.

Hi M.,
Mine is a bit more of a holistic approach. I would try a tsp of raw apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs-its a natural antibiotic), mixed in 8 oz of water. It will be a bit bitter, but you can sweeten it with stevia which is a plant based sugar- so it doesn't have the affects of sugar on the body- no heightened rush- it just give it a sweet taste. There are all different kinds of stevia, too- flavor wise.
You also might want to try making coconut kefir. Check out www.bodyecology.com for more info. Most of the time when we're sick its because there is something wrong with our digestive systems- and our body automatically goes into fasting mode to give the digestive system a break. I don't think you have to worry too much about her not eating, but I'd push fluids for sure. Digestion is very taxing on the body so the less she eats the better -until she's feeling better that is. I hope that helps.
blessings,
J.

Try a Tylenol suppository. My peditrican swears by them. You can go to the drug store & ask for them. Sometimes they are behind the counter. It just depends on the store. They are sold under the name of "feverall". I use them for my daughter all the time & it works really well.

Tylenol can be obtained in a suppository format. Talk to your pediatrician and/or your pharmacist for advice on this. I recall having a baby with a fever...she kept throwing up...we were trying to figure out what to do and we got the tylenol suppository and it helped to bring down her fever. We were on a trip at the time...in a rural area...and we went to the emergency room for help.
C. L
mom of 3, yoga teacher prenatal/postnatal

Have you tried Tylenol suppositories. That is what my pediatrician gives my infant before shots. You can get it over the counter from the pharmacist. Try that at least that way you can get the meds in her. My ped. said as long as it does not come out within 1/2 hr. b/c it can make her feel like she has to go to the bathroom, than it is fine. I only used it once and it seemed to work great. Good luck. I hope it works and she feels better!

We use a Numimed paci with a little medicine cup in it. I bought it online, but I think you can also buy them at the pharmacy or Babies R Us. Another mother also told me that if you put medicine in a nipple, that the baby will take it. (Though I've never tried it.)

I would check with the doc but my son can not tolerate the smell of medicine let alone the taste and I get him suppositories. If you go to Walgreens they have them in the refrigerator behind the counter a lot cheaper than the ones on the shelf!!

What does your pediatrician say? I would maybe give her some rice cereal with breast milk to thin it and put the tylenol in that(feed with spoon). Otherwise....I would just hold her with her head down and put the dropper in towards her cheek..it is harder to spit out that way. Good luck!!!

Some kids don't like medicine and throw up because they are upset about the process. Beware, though. I eventually figured out that my kids were actually allergic to some of the dyes (red specifically in our case) that caused them to throw up immediately with some medicines. When I give them grape instead they are fine. Just a thought.

Icky response but ask your pediatrician and pharmacist * not sure if its over-the-counter* about rectal ibuprofin and tylenol. I had a similar problem with my son cause he spit up so much.

If she is refusing all fluids you need to call a doctor. I don't know if you can give pedialite at this stage yet, but I think you can. Call the doctor if she is refusing to eat or drink.

I was given a small saringe (only holds 1 tsp) from my pharmacy and you are able to stick in in the mouth on the side and shoot it directly down the throat. That is the way my Son who is now two still prefers to get his medicine.

My youngest refused to take any type of medicine, and she was taking meds to prevent some unexplained seizures. My pediatrician advised to use the tylenol infant drops which is not a liquid, but... I forgot, a strong dose in little amount. They suggested to put the drops inside the cheek toward the back of the mouth. I had to give it little by little in between screaming, but was able to get most of it in. I'm not a big suppository fan, so I was pretty persistant in getting as much of the dose that I could down.

M.,
I am a registered nurse. I worked in pediatrics for 8 years and now I do emergency room nursing. I have a few ideas for you. First of all, try the Tylenol infant drops. You only need to give a small amount. Also, squirt just the smallest amount in her mouth at a time with her cradled in your arms, then either give a gentle blow in her face or a gentle pinch of the nose. This will stimulate her to swallow. You may be doing this already, so the next thing I am going to suggest is using suppositories. I know it doesn't sound pleasant, but it is very important not to let your childs fever go too high. High fevers can cause many problems one of which is dehydration. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Does she take a pacifier? My 2 year old HATED taking medicine but was addicted to his paci so I was able to buy one of the pacifier medicine dispensers and that worked.

Our doc told us to avoid the dyes and sugars by using a suppository. Not pleasant, but you know the exact dose taken and it works fast, no throwing it up.

When my daughter was refusing medicine at about that age, a nurse told us to squirt it inside her cheek, then quickly blow in her face. This apparently stimulates the swallowing reflex. I know it sounds odd, and some may even disagree with this method, but it always worked with my little ones. Hope that helps & hope she feels better soon!

Hi M.. I'm an ER nurse and I also have a son who is almost one. With my patients and my son I have had the best luck using an oral syringe with the plunger instead of the ones that have the bulb suction on the end that come with most Tylenol bottles(any pharmacy or your MD office can give you one just make sure you are using the correct dosage). It's easier to control the flow of liquid with the plunger on those types of syringes. I place the syringe in the inside back of the cheek and inject a very small amount of medicine at a time. It takes longer but giving them breaks lessens the vomiting and allows you to get more of the dose down instead of having it spit back at you! My son was a fighter and hated medicine, but if you can slip it far enough back and give small amounts at a time they shouldn't be able to spit it out and doing it slowly will decrease the vomiting which is usually more of a gag response to the bolus of medicine. Hope this helps. Good luck!

It sounds like the upset stomach is preventing her from taking the meds more than the aversion to the taste or something like that. Check with your pediatrician but I think they make suppositories that will bring down the fever (i assume that is what you are giving her the meds for). Also if she is not taking any fluids, you might want to check with your ped about pedialyte to keep her hydrated (that's what my pediatrician recommended for my 1 month old when he wasn't keeping any formula or breast milk down). The pedialyte might even settle her stomach enough to keep the meds down. Good luck and I hope your little one is feeling better soon.

I don't know if your little one is taking juice yet,but I would mix it in a little bit of apple juice and they would always drink it in a bottle.
Good luck!

Hi M.,
what has worked for me is i actually place the medicine inside the nipple - of the bottle - not attached. once my girls finished the medicine i would then attach the bottle. it is worth a shot!!!
good luck.
K.

I know you already have received plenty of advice, but my daughter would not take it either when she was newborn. The nurse at the Pedi's office gave me a tiny narrow syringe (I think it was actually a shot needle with the needle removed). I gave her the Tylonal mixed with a little a small amount at a time while she was sleeping. This is the only way it would work. She too would gag and vomit all over. Good luck,
T.

I had this problem when my son was a baby, and found out too late that there are Tylenol suppositories for infants. Ask your pharmacist. (We had a long ordeal with a bad pediatrician who said that he might have a kidney infection because he was uncircumcised, blah blah, and ended up trying to circumcise him, all for a fever that lasted for less than 24 hours. Needless to say, I switched pediatricians.)