Hey Parents...I need help/advice.

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JanetLM73
JanetLM73 Posts: 1,277 Member
in Chit-Chat
How do you get your little one (age 5) to take medicine? My daughter has been sick for a week, she also has impetigo which she has cream for. She told me her ear was sore today so I took her to the dr's and she has a bad infection in one ear.

I can't get her to take the antibiotics, she was in the hospital almost 6 months ago for surgery and the nurses had a hard time the whole week getting meds into her.

I've tried to hide it in many things....I have no idea what to do, I feel bad for her and I don't want to hold her down....she's been through more medical stuff then most adults, and I don't want to stress her out more then she is.
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Replies

  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
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    Just had this problem with my 2 year old, two antibiotics and some prednisone. I give him the option, if he refuses, then i hold him down, put it in the back of his mouth, and hold his mouth shut until he swallows. And next time guess what? His mouth opened right up!
  • kriggs1976
    kriggs1976 Posts: 117
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    With your daughter being 5, she is old enough to know to open her mouth.

    Give 2 options:

    either she opens her mouth

    or

    you hold her down and open it for her

    My son is special needs and even he knows to open up and take it or the alternative is no better...It is bad sometimes, but parents need to take control. We know the medicine is what is going to make them better, so the option of not taking it, should not be an option at all.
  • iNkedFiTmama
    iNkedFiTmama Posts: 277 Member
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    If you have to hold her down try one of those little medicine syringe things.. that seems like it would be much easier and it wouldn't get the medicine all over the place. My kids love taking medicine.. I actually have to tell them no when one of them is sick & the other that the non-sick kid doesn't need medicine because they beg for it lol.
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
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    our 3 year old would get 2 smarties (m&m's) if he took his medicine.

    rewards for good are better than punishments for bad.

    generally we found if we held him down and forced it in, he would get so worked up that he would just bring it straight back up after.
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,277 Member
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    our 3 year old would get 2 smarties (m&m's) if he took his medicine.

    rewards for good are better than punishments for bad.

    generally we found if we held him down and forced it in, he would get so worked up that he would just bring it straight back up after.

    That's what my daughter does, she'll throw it up.....we've held her down before and she was sobbing, she threw up a second later.
  • SueD66
    SueD66 Posts: 405 Member
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    I always used a suringe for the liquid meds. I actually never had a problem with my kids but some of the meds were nasty tasting so i thought it would help to be able to squirt it in the back of the throat. Good Luck and i home your kiddy feels better soon.
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
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    I have one really vivid memory of my dad holding me down screaming because I didn't want to take the medications for my ear (I had a lot of ear problems as a kid). He would do that, or reward me for taking it, or my parents would try and get better tasting meds. There was one antibiotic I loved the taste of (it was like Pepto) and I used to sneak doses when my parents weren't looking because it tasted so good!
  • hailie08
    hailie08 Posts: 87 Member
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    I work as a nurse at a childrens hospital and theres a few tricks that work really well if it's a liquid medication: and if it's not, you can ask your dr and most medicines can be prescribed that way!

    1.) Mix it in with something like chocolate milk. Something thin enough that it will mix in well, but has enough taste they won't taste the medicine. but in the medicine, a tablespoon of water, then the drink, Just don't let the child know!
    2.) If you can use a medicinal syringe, if you hold the childs nose while putting it in their mouth, they have to swallow. But we try to avoid that as it can be traumatizing and make future medicines worse to get in them.

    Talk with your child and see what he/she suggests. Let them know they have to take it no matter what , and they get to choose how. Sometimes something that seems silly to us is a solution to them.

    Good luck!
  • Jules0336
    Jules0336 Posts: 137 Member
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    It isn't always easy to hold them down and force it, my sister has that problem with my nephew and he will just spit it out or be sick. She found a pharmacy that will make medicine into a suppository, she has used this for antibiotics. If anything, they may decide that taking it orally isn't THAT bad :)
  • wiffe
    wiffe Posts: 224 Member
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    I use liquid and use the syringe. WE squirt it in. They can either take it little bits at a time (followed with chaser of THEIR choice) or we do it all in one big SQUIRT. Their choice.
  • sculley
    sculley Posts: 2,012 Member
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    With your daughter being 5, she is old enough to know to open her mouth.

    Give 2 options:

    either she opens her mouth

    or

    you hold her down and open it for her

    My son is special needs and even he knows to open up and take it or the alternative is no better...It is bad sometimes, but parents need to take control. We know the medicine is what is going to make them better, so the option of not taking it, should not be an option at all.

    A little harsh in the delivery but can't say I disagree and this is coming from another mom of a special needs child that used to always protest now he demands to take all three of his pills in one gulp
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,277 Member
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    It isn't always easy to hold them down and force it, my sister has that problem with my nephew and he will just spit it out or be sick. She found a pharmacy that will make medicine into a suppository, she has used this for antibiotics. If anything, they may decide that taking it orally isn't THAT bad :)

    Yep, we've been through that as well, they had to give her tylenol suppositories while she was in the hospital.
  • MellyLikestoRun
    MellyLikestoRun Posts: 83 Member
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    At 5, she should grasp the concept that this is meant to help her. How about role playing - can you have her "dose" a doll or stuffed animal with a syringe of water first, so she gets that it's not meant to hurt her? I don't think anything of slight bribery in these situations. There has to be a small token that she wants that can be a reward for taking her medicine. Anything from a star on a chart to some jelly beans or a designated amount of time on her favorite TV show, etc. etc. Best of luck!
  • jsmith2377
    jsmith2377 Posts: 208 Member
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    Just had this problem with my 2 year old, two antibiotics and some prednisone. I give him the option, if he refuses, then i hold him down, put it in the back of his mouth, and hold his mouth shut until he swallows. And next time guess what? His mouth opened right up!
    ^^ This. We had a particularly difficult time not too long ago getting rid of some antibiotic resistant pink eye. The medication stung going in and there were instances of having to hold him down. It took a month for the pink eye to finally get kicked so it was a long month.
    We also use stickers as a reward for good behavior at home so we told him he could have a sticker at the end of the day if we didn't have to hold him down at all that day. Unfortunately, there were times where I had to hold him down and it sucks but it has to happen.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    My son would listen to his pediatrician better than he would me, so when I needed him to take some nasty meds, I'd tell him that Dr. Brown said he absolutely HAD to take it. He did. I still don't know how or why that worked because even now, at 23 years old, he doesn't like anyone telling him what to do.
  • Perdeks
    Perdeks Posts: 3
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    Most pharmacies now can give the med in different flavours next time let your little one pick out the flavor they like.price chopper does this and hannaford I think walgreens as well.
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,277 Member
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    With your daughter being 5, she is old enough to know to open her mouth.

    Give 2 options:

    either she opens her mouth

    or

    you hold her down and open it for her

    My son is special needs and even he knows to open up and take it or the alternative is no better...It is bad sometimes, but parents need to take control. We know the medicine is what is going to make them better, so the option of not taking it, should not be an option at all.

    A little harsh in the delivery but can't say I disagree and this is coming from another mom of a special needs child that used to always protest now he demands to take all three of his pills in one gulp

    I agree, she is not special needs, but she has had 2 major operations, the last on being 6 months ago, she had surgery on her skull/forehead her eyes were swollen shut for 3 days and were black and blue, she had major anxiety after we got home and things were back to normal, but after seeing her sob today it was like we just got home from the hospital today, I understand that she needs the medicine, I just wish there was an easier way.
  • KatFierce
    KatFierce Posts: 252 Member
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    my son is 3 and we have always had trouble getting him to take it what works for us is ...
    1-i use the syringe to give me some juice, then him some juice, then him medicine, make it like a fun thing.
    2-cheer ALOT when he does take it
    3-bribe with m&ms or a movie to watch or a sticker/hand stamp
    4-put stickers on it of like spongebob and ask if he wants spongebob medicine ( along the idea of character shaped vitamins, way more fun if its something they like)
    5-allow him to push the syringe( he loooves to do this one), we put it in he puts his finger over mine and we push together he usually asks for more!!! so I split the dose in half with this one or allow him to do juice after.
  • abigailm83
    abigailm83 Posts: 110
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    My son has special needs and hates taking meds. I've done the holding him down thing but he is sooo strong it makes it hard for me to do it myself. I've gotten to a point where I just explain that it's the meds or the hospital and if he wants to feel better he has to take it. I also give him a chaser of choc milk, it seems to get the nasty taste out of his mouth quicker than juice or water. Hope you little one gets to feeling better, hate when little ones don't feel good. :frown:
  • danipals
    danipals Posts: 143 Member
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    I had read that chocolate takes away the bad taste immediately so I let my son have 2-3 m&ms or chocolate chips immediately after swallowing the meds. He has them in his hand ready to go the minute he swallows and he says it takes the bad taste away.

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