Need Help Getting Medicine Down

E.,

I'm a grandma but when my kids were little (they are now 33 and 21) I used to taste all the medicine they were given by the doctor. Try tasting his amoxi; he may not like the flavor of this medicine compared to others. Then maybe you could cut it with a juice he likes to drink (cherry kool-aid), anything to hide the taste. I would taste the medicine in front of them and tell them that I thought it was pretty good which calmed them down quite a bit. Have you thought of having a close friend or another relative give him the medicine? It's amazing how kids will jump at the chance to do what someone else asks them to do.

M.

We tried everything including many of the suggestions listed already and my son did not care what flavor we picked at the pharmacy (hated them all) and if we put it in juice he refused the juice. My husband and I would have to pin him down and force it down his throat and he would still try to spit it out, it was awful. And he got ear infections every other month with 10 days of antibiotic fun. Then we tried chocolate milk which masked the flavor of even the worst medicines and he gulped the whole thing down every time. Best thing we ever did! Good luck.

Mix it with some chocolate syrup...works for my 3 year old...whatever it takes to get the meds in! :) Good luck.

1. amoxicillin also comes in pill form so if your child is used to chewing vitamins this might be so bad...they also sell the baby tylenol and such in pill form.
2. I also have a friend that has to get amoxicilin shots for her daughter who refused to take medicine. It is a one time shot but it is still a shot.

Good Luck!
J.

Hello E. B,

I wanted to throw out another suggestion (I'm not sure if it was already suggested) just in case. They do make Amoxicillin in chewable tablets. My son didn't like them but again, you can ground them up and put them in things like applesauce.

I wanted to throw that out there for anyone who doesn't know. I didn't until several weeks ago.

Next time get some flavoring added. I always bribe my daughter to wash it down with a little sprite after she swallows. Acetominaphen comes in flavored chewable form (cherry or grape). My 2 year old will take it and my 5 year old may tolerate it but my older daughter hates it. Good luck.

I had and still have (sometimes) the same problem with my boys. Ask you doctor if you could "hide" it in some juice. If that doesn't work....then sometimes telling your son that he may have to go back to the Dr may work. It got so bad with me, that one time he had to get the antibiotic in the version of shots!! Pretty much since then, my one always takes medicine orally....he doesn't want to have to get shots each time he gets sick!! Good Luck~

My daughter has just finished treatment for leukemia, so she had to take lots of not so fun stuff while on chemo. We kept a bottle of Hershey's choc and strawberry syrup. TO give her a little control, we would ask which flavor she would like today and she picked. We use a syringe, and first draw up the medicine in the appropriate amount. Then we suck up the syrup in the same syringe, keep a little air in there to have room to shake it up, then give it to her and she would squirt it in herself (that takes a little practice :-) ) Some other moms of cancer kids would do the same syringe idea, but they used Koolaid ir a similar type of product. You will lose some of the medicine, though, if you mix it with a larger amount of add in syrup, which is why we used the syringe to make sure she drank it all. Good luck!

You didn't mention your child's age---but our almost 5 year old prefers the medicine if she can drink it from the little medicine cup. She will clamp her lips shut for the syringe or spoon but will drink it from the cup. We also promise her a sip of some otherwise forbidden drink--like soda-- after she downs the icky pink stuff. Worth a try---good luck!!

Yogurt works great to get the medicine down, if you are sure he'll eat the yogurt. I would put a few teaspoons from the yogurt cup (could use pudding too I suppose)into a pretty dish and mix it with the medicine. After my child ate the first bites of the yogurt withthe RX, then I would say "now we can make a yogurt sundae. I would load in the rest of the yogurt into the dish and put a few sprinkles on the top.
Good luck.

Go to the Pharmacy and ask them to flavor the medicine Walgreens, CVS do this and I think even our Wal-mart does it now. It costs about $3 best money you could ever spend!

you can get things flavored at walgreens... we used to mix ours w/chocolate milk

Hi, ask the doctor if you could put the medicine into applesauce, this is what my sister had to do for her son ( her doctor said it would be ok )

put it in applesauce or pudding...good luck

hi E.,

I hope your son feels better soon.

My daughter has to take a bad-tasting medicine daily (she is four). I've tried the flavorings from the pharmacy - and they are really terrible too! I've tried mixing it with sugar, but then she didn't like the consistency.

The only thing that is working is to put a little bit of caffeine-free root beer in a cup and allow her to have a sip before and after the medicine. You could also try a weak, sweetened tea if he's too young for soda pop.

good luck to you,

W.

This site gives a lot of ideas for different ways to mask the taste/texture of medicines:

http://www.squirreltales.com/parents/medicine.html

Good luck!

my daughter has to take medicine every day and i use the medicince containers that has a nipple on the top (like a bottle). she is 22 months old and takes the container and drinks down the med's no problem. where as before i use to have to fight with her with the spoon or syringe. you can get these at walgreens for about 1.89

For that yucky medicine I mix it with a really sweet juice (like 100% grape juice). Works most of the time.
My son also likes to take it like a big boy, so he sips it from a spoon or sips it from the cup and then drinks a sweet drink afterwards.
Most pharmacy offer flavorings. Maybe have him pick a flavor(not sure if you can get the flavorings added after the medicine has been taken home, I would call the pharmacy you got it from and ask first)

Good luck

I've heard from a couple of friends that plugging their nose will inevitable make them open wide. Give it a try. Or try putting the medicine in a bit of juice. Good luck!

Greetings E.,

I don't know if this would change the effective of the medication so pls check with his pediatrician, but what about making FUN popcicles for him with either diluted fruit juice (I don't like the sugar) or pureed fruits in a smoothie and put the medication in them. My daughter is 5 now and the popcicles worked with her.
God Speed-

D.

My son can't stand certain medicines and it used to be so stressful getting him to take his medicine. He once even gagged and vomited it up, he is so opposed to certain kinds. Finally, after some trial and error, I put the dose in a cup with a little milk and chocolate syrup, mixed it up. He takes it very easily this way now, which is funny because he rarely wants regular chocolate milk!

How about mixing it with organic applesauce or a little organic plain yogurt?

We had a horrible time getting our son to take his medicine then we let him get a cup any one he wanted out of the cabinet poor the pre-measured medicine into whatever cup he wanted and take it on his own, then we just had juice standing by for the aftermath, but, he enjoyed thinking he was a big boy and could do it all by himself. So, maybe try giving him some independence with it. Hope something works.

if you are still having this problem or in the future just try to put it in some juice that he is drinking and he will get it that way to i wouldn't give him alot of juice but enough that he won't taste it

You didn't mention your son's age... my daughter was 18 months when we had to give her medicine which she refused to take. I ended up having to "hide" it in her yogurt, and she ate it all up! I gave her a smaller amount of yogurt though, just in case she decided not to eat all of it--I wanted to be sure not to waste the medication. Good luck!

You could try putting it in something like applesauce, or pudding or even something he really likes to drink, of course don't let him know you put it in there:)
Sunny