Does anyone know how to give a very, very stubborn five-year-old medicine? My daughter and I were up at 4am and at the ER with a suspected appendicitis. They kept us there for hours to get fluids in her and to observe her. We were sent home “on alert” for appendicitis, but with a suspected UTI as well. She is supposed to take antibiotics, one teaspoon two times a day. She will never, ever take medicine. Luckily, she almost never has to. One time she had a fever, we had to give her a suppository (no, they don’t make antibiotics into a suppository). Anyway, we struggled and struggled for 45 min tonight just to get her to take it. She gets herself soooo worked up over it. I get afraid she will throw up because she gets so upset. We refuse to hold her down to get her to take it. We want her to do it herself. It is so stressful negotiating with her. It doesn’t matter what it tastes like. If you tell her it is medicine, she doesn’t want it. Any suggestions?
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My Child Won’t Take Medicine
July 13, 2007 — moodymommy309 Responses to “My Child Won’t Take Medicine”
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Moody Mommy 
July 15, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Can you mix it with juice or soda–something she loves to drink–without telling her?
November 16, 2010 at 1:35 am
We went through the same with our 16 month olf as everyone on this site: she would not take her medicine, would spit it out or force it out. Here’s what finally worked for us after many attempts.
I lay her down with her head in my lap. I firmly hold her head so that it is at about a 45 degree angle. My wife uses a syringe and injects a small amout of medicine into the very back and side of her mouth. One of the keys is to keep her head from moving too much while making sure she doesn’t choke by moving her head to the side slightly once the medicine is injected. But the reason this works is because I keep my index finger between her teeth (back molars) so she is completely unable to spit or force the medicine out. Try it on yourself: put a finger between your back molars and try to spit. Impossible. So a little bit of medicine at a time and they will get it all into them. Be sure not to give too much at once, and also be sure to move the head slightly to the side to avoid choking.
This may sound too agressive, and there will be screaming and tears, but that medicine needds to get into that little person or they will get very sick. Good luck all, I know the stress you’re under, but I also know the relief of knowing we can get her medicine into her. What a great feeling. Good luck!!!
December 22, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Thank You so much Dave! My son is three years old and we have this issue. i actually asked the dr. if they can give him a shot just so I don’t have to fight with him. We try all meathods that I have researched and I have not seen this method yet. Thank you again and I hope this works. he has got broncitis and an ear infection so he REALLY needs this ASAP!
January 24, 2017 at 2:31 pm
This method is the best one for crying sick children.
December 8, 2011 at 5:43 pm
I’ve been going through the same horrible ordeal the last 3 days with my 5yr old. Seems like everyone can agree it’s straight up hell. My Dr told me to “hold her down, she has to take it”. I understand how nessessary it is for her to get that medicine, but there has to be a less violent, and tramatic way. And after 3 days of constantly begging my brain for the answer, I got mine…Honey. Mixing med/honey a little at a time took 10 spoonfulls, but worked. Had I only come up with it sooner, I could’ve saved gas/time on the pretend drive to the doctor to get a needle routine! Best of luck everyone, stay possitive, and calm.
December 8, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Thank you for this. Did you mean you had to give your child 10 spoons of honey per dose?
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December 26, 2011 at 5:34 am
Ten spoonfuls of honey & med. The complaining was far less when I used a small spoon.
December 1, 2015 at 6:29 pm
you can say that it is like the sweet taste of candy?
July 16, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Thanks for the advice. That won’t work for this one. She pretty much only drinks water. Once in a while she will drink hot chocolate, but I don’t think I could add it to that. When I telephoned the doc to tell her my daughter threw up when we “forced” her to take it, she informed me that her urine culture revealed she didn’t have a UTI after all and we could stop the meds. Phew! The doc told me that next time, she can get the antibiotics as a shot.
November 19, 2007 at 5:02 am
Did you ever figure out anything that worked? i have the SAME exact thing w/ my 6 yr old daughter. She is 80 lbs and hard to hold down – and gets worked up enough to throw it up. My 240 lb husband swore after he said “oh – i’ll give her the cough medicine – i’ll be back in a minute!!!” .. famous last words. He said he will NEVER give her medicine again… lucky me!
May 29, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I just had the same problem with my 6 year old daughter and she is also autistic. We tried everything, she would usually drink liquid meds with juice. (BUT Not know) only she knows why. So we had to give her shots in both legs (VERY PAINFUL) she would have to get three more like this, until I asked the doctors for a pill form and crushed it up and put in Ice Cream. She will only eat a hoodies ice cream and It has to have half Chocolate and Vanilla. If I mixed it up she will not eat it. SO I cut the ice cream in half put the meds on on half and put the top back on. THIS WORKED!!!!
November 8, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Thank you so much for your idea. My daughter is 6 and Autisic. Im going to try the ice cream apporch. God I hope it works.
November 24, 2007 at 3:24 am
No. If we have to give our daughter antibiotics again, we are planning to beg the doctor to give it to her in a shot (as stated earlier). I’d love some advice from others.
December 10, 2007 at 2:11 pm
OH MY! I thought I was the only one with this problem! I’ve tried rewards, taking things away, hiding it in any food product! The doctor’s office kept telling me “it’s not an option, she has to take it”. I feel like a terrible mother! Everyone keeps telling me “You’d better get control over her now or wait til she is a teenager”. I’m sick of it. I have internal angst over this let alone other people’s opinions! The doctor finally (after crying) agreed to give her Rocephin–that is the injectible antibiotic the last time she was sick. The shot is VERY painful (I’ve heard this from adults). The shot usually is given is each thigh. She is sick again, and this time, my daughter received the shots AND was supposed to take liquid medication for 10 days following. I quick hold her down and forcing it after 4 days and now she is sick again! I am at the end of my rope! She’s going to the doctor again today and I’ll let you know if we find a solution. I would not wish this on any mom ever!
March 10, 2013 at 6:18 pm
Last year my 2 year old was very sick with an ear infection and the croup. He got Rocephin in both legs and we ended up being transported to another hospital because his oxygen levels were too low. We were in the hospital for 4 days. He ended up getting bad hives all over his body and it turned out he was allergic to the Rocephin. A year later he’s very sick again and refusing his medicine. Tried all kinds of ways. Sometimes he’ll take it mixed in applesauce or baby cereal. I’m afraid we’re going to end up in the hospital again because he’s still sick and won’t take his meds.
March 12, 2013 at 3:26 am
Dear Christi, I hope you find this thread helpful. More important, I hope your son is better soon!
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April 18, 2013 at 1:40 pm
I am in the same boat. My 5 year old had pneumonia and we managed with the help of friends to get the antibiotic in him for those for 4 days. When he went for his follow up he then had strep and ear infections. Now a 10 day two times a day and he will not take at all. I have mixed it with everything I can. I tried to lay him back and slowly give it to him and he got so worked up he threw it all up. My son a sensory dysfunction and he is afraid of medicine. I am so lost as to what to do
April 18, 2013 at 3:57 pm
Shelley, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. My best advice to you is to read through all of the ideas on this thread and maybe one will work for you. I learned something new when one of the commenter’s suggested a compounding pharmacy that can make medicine into gummies and lollipops. If something works, let us know. Good luck to you and I hope your little one feels better soon!
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December 11, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I had no idea the shot was any more painful than a typical vaccination. This is something to consider. Since my daughter is five, she may remember the pain and opt to take the medicine the next time she needs it. Luckily, my girl is hardly ever sick. I wish someone would invent a patch to give kids medicine. Just put it on their back and forget about it? How wonderful! Hey, I may blog about this at http://www.chicagomomsblog.com where I reach a larger audience. Thanks for commenting, my thoughts are with you and your daughter.
February 4, 2011 at 6:05 pm
That would be a great idea, except my daughter is allergic to the adhesive that is commonly used in band-aids and such, so the results are not worth it. But push that idea to see it would be great for most parents.
June 25, 2011 at 1:11 pm
My daughter is 9 and started out taking meds fine. But something changed and the last few years have been dreadful. She gets tonsilitis and strep throat and scarlet fever on a regular basis, and throws up if the meds even touch her mouth. She gags and starts to have to use the bathroom excessively, blow her nose, ANYTHING!! I am so fustrated, and my husband won’t help at all anymore. She has severe anxiety about this and my thought last night was maybe she needs to see a specialist about the anxeity and then maybe taking the meds will go easier for her. I don’t want to threaten her anymore because I can see now she has no control and doesn’t want this, she is little and doesn’t understand, she is only a child and is scared beyond normal. I think our child has severe anxiety toward meds for some reason and thats where I’m going to start this time. I wish you all well, and I hope maybe I have given you a different way to approach the situation.
June 25, 2011 at 6:02 pm
dear emotionally concerned mom, it can’t hurt to discuss all of this w/the pediatrician. Has the pediatrician had a talk w/your daughter about the importance of medicine and the consequences of not taking it? I wish you well.
December 14, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I sympathize with all of you and have the same problem with my daughter. She is almost 10 and she too prefers to get a shot. (and yes the Rocephin in very painful but they will usually add lidocaine with it to numb the area). My daughter is so stubborn about this that she even had her tonsils and adenoids removed without even taking one dose of pain medicine. I am an ICU nurse and trust me I have tried several ways to try to get her to take her medicine, but it is always a battle. Today we found out she has a horrible ear infection and Rocephin is out of the question this time…I’m leaving it up to Dad this time. It’s a small dose 4cc only once a day.
December 14, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Christina, I’m so sorry to hear that. At 10, one would think she could be reasoned with. At least I thought we had that going for us for the future. Your daughter would rather be sick? Yikes!
January 10, 2008 at 5:24 am
My husband and I have struggled with giving our son medicine. We have had to hold him down, ask his preschool teachers (which that doesn’t work any more since he started school), and doctors to give to him. He won’t tell us when he’s in pain unless it is to the extreme. When we hold him down and give him meds he throughs it up. He just starting seeing a theropist due to his social anxiety (with adults, no longer a problem with kids that I can see) and she said not to hold him down but now says you have to do what you have to do. He can still taste the meds in his drinks. He’s too smart. I’ve tasted his drinks and could taste the meds a little myself. We are going to try and get him to take pills instead. Most meds say the child has to be a little older like 2nd grade but since it’s a prescription and we have so many problems the doc does not have a problem giving us pills to replace liquid. We’ve even paid extra to have the med flavored (even if it already had flavor). We sat in the waiting room for over a half hour with him crying. One of the receptionist tried to convince him and it didn’t work. A nurse didn’t believe us that we tried everything. He eventually felt bad they finally asked the 6 people left a head of us if he could pass them up. I think they were worried he was going to scare the other kids. We had to have the nurse give him a shot. After the shot it was like ok everything fine. He would rather be in pain then get a shot or take meds. I know I didn’t like my meds as a child and tried to get out of taking them but I was never this bad. We also tried bribing him but he doesn’t stick to his end of the deal. I have asked the Pharmacist if there is a patch and they say not that they know of. I have searched the internet as well. My next step is to call Rosalind Franklin Medical University to see if they know of a patch that is at least in the works of coming to the market. I think a patch would be so good for my son and the other children. It breaks my heart to see him not able to take his meds; that he rather be in pain then take his meds and drink something afterwards to get rid of the after taste. Good Luck to all you parents. I hope you find something that works. If you do please post it for the rest of us.
June 25, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Let us know about the patch!! Great idea for older kids who really have severe anxiety. It’s so painful as a mother to see your child want a shot rather than take 1 tsp full of meds. I had the doc give her a more potent med so she could take less and that didn’t work either. I also looked for herbal remedies online that say they can work if you catch it early. I’m gonna try that as well .
January 11, 2008 at 12:59 am
Oh Sarah! I feel for you! Please let me know what Rosalind U says about a patch.
January 14, 2008 at 11:52 pm
We’re having the same problem. Our five-year-old son isn’t defiant about it, but he instantly gags and vomits as soon as the medicine gets in his mouth. We may have to do a shot, but I’d sure like to come up with another way to get him to take the liquid.
March 17, 2011 at 5:23 pm
desperate daddy…We have had the same problem with our 9 year old autistic daughter since birth! We have tried everything! I hope for your sake you are able to come up with something that works because we sure haven’t been able too..And for all those people who say, oh just shove it in there and get it done…Yeah , well once you’ve been vomited on 2-3 times a day…you finally reach the enough is enough stage!
March 17, 2011 at 7:24 pm
So sorry to hear you are going through this, desperate daddy. I hope you find some good ideas on this thread. You certainly have my sympathy!
November 6, 2011 at 3:27 am
my 10 year old daughter is autistic too . she is impossible to give medicine too. what i usually have to do is get those triamedic medicine strips that look like those breath strips (listerine). i take them and shred them in her juice or even give her a little bit of soda(it helps dissolve it quicker). hope that helps
October 20, 2015 at 3:37 am
Desperate daddy,
As a 21 year old who has never been capable of taking liquid medicine (bad cold tried liquid nyquil last night, couldn’t last 30 secs) You might want to try pills. then he can tip his head up drop it at the back of his throat, and swallow a whole bunch of his favorite drink.
January 18, 2008 at 10:09 am
We finally had some luck! If our son closes his eyes and holds his nose, he’s able to keep the meds down. It may have helped that his grandfather administered the first dose this way…and that the prospect of a series of shots was becoming more and more real.
January 18, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Desperate Daddy, I am soooo happy for you. You must be so relieved. Just the idea of having to give my daughter medicine gives me butterflies in my stomach!
January 20, 2008 at 3:52 am
As stated earlier, it sure is great to know that we are not alone. My husband and I have been struggling with our 5 yr old son who refuses to put Amoxicillin even to his lips. Every child loves amoxicillin! (I run a preschool). He says not everybody likes evrything! He got the shots – too potent to do it in one injection it was done in bioth arms at the same time…and he didn’t flinch! The nurss were amazed! he then cried out a bit after they left and the soreness wore off for him by the next day. Our pedi says that sometimes that Rocephin doesn’t take so if he doesn’t start to take the Amox he will have to get a stonger penicillin given at the ER. He’s refusing and would rather have another shot…even after geting one little taste in his mouth. We even tried the chewables and told him they were vitamins to keep his body strong while he won’t takr the medicine…no go!! Maybe having to learn to swallow a pill would be easier…less taste? A patch would definitely be the solution!
Thank you for all of the input!
January 23, 2008 at 1:43 am
My son is almost 5 and has a double ear infection.
I have tried to give him his medication (antibiotics) and he threw up and then spit it on me. He then begged and cried and screamed for me not to give it to him, oh god help!
It is so frustrating! I don’t want him to get worse.
He went to bed tonight with no dose!
I feel so guilty and horrible, I should not have let him, I just felt so bad for him, he was really traumatized by it!
I prey for a patch!!!
Cindy
January 23, 2008 at 3:24 am
Oh Cindy, I am soooo sorry! I have been there. It sounds like you need to call the doctor and insist on a shot? I bet you are more traumatized than he is. What makes our children so stubborn?!? If he fell asleep, maybe his ears are not bothering him that much. I once read that ear infections will go away on their own w/in a few days. If your son prefers to suffer the pain, maybe that is his choice. Talk to your doctor about the consequences of skipping the meds. You may discover he won’t get worse. Keep me posted!
January 25, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Its bit relieving that we are not alone struggling with this problem. We have two kids, a boy who is 8 yrs old and a girl who is 2 yrs old. Our boy is a fantastic kid, whenever he gets sick he never complaints about taking medicine, he even reminds us to give medicine. But our girl is a night mare whenever she gets sick. For her age she is too smart to differentiate taste of juice and medicine mixed juice, she never likes to take to any medicine in any form. Whenever we force feed any syrup she spits it out, cries a lot and eventually throws up emptying all her stomach. A year back when she got sick she had to be hospitalized and fed through a tube put through her nose to stomach. Leave alone giving medicine, she is so scared of strangers that she doesn’t like any one to say hi or touch her. It makes very difficult for us to take her to even doctors.
It is so frustrating and worrying whenever she gets sick and we had to give her medicine. The problem is whenever our son gets infected with any virus from school we get restless because eventually our daughter gets it and the show begins. We are just remaining positive that soon things will change for better
January 25, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Luckychak, That’s awful! Maybe you will get lucky and your 2 year old will grow out of all of this. Does she look up to her brother? Maybe he can give her her meds?
January 25, 2008 at 7:11 pm
My goodness, you would have though that someone would be there to help us all through this by inventing a better way for children to take their antibiotics. My daughter today was diagnosed with bronchopneumonia, what will i ever do. I have just come back upstairs from an hours labour in trying to get her to take her antibiotics. Well the result was pretty predicatable…….i convinced her to take it and then yes we all know this bit…..she threw it back up along with the only two mouthfuls of dinner she had today. I have another ten days to of this so should someone come up with a solution please post within ten days! HELP!
August 5, 2010 at 7:32 pm
I felt the need to reply after I struggled as all of you are with my 3 year old son. Today I had success with vanilla ice cream. A little on the end of the spoon and amox. directly after it. It took about 20 minutes but I got it all in without a wrestling match! No crying! This was at 9 am but I was at witts end. Good luck
January 27, 2008 at 3:28 am
We’ve had that problem with our oldest daughter in the past. Well 2 days ago she got a fever…about 103, and wouldn’t take medicine (like usual). She really hasn’t been feeling good since then and tonight was in pain because her ear hurt (her first ear infection). Took her to a med clinic and she preferred a (pinch) shot over medicine. Rocephin it is. I’m waiting on gummy bears that have anacetominiphine “sp” in it. They do for vitamins, why not medicine…just a thought. UGH!
January 28, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Hi Frustrated Parents and Mikka, I’m sorry for what you are going through. Gummy bear medicine would be a great idea. They do make chewable Benedryl, Tylenol, and other stuff, but my daughter won’t touch it. (They do taste a bit yucky).
October 22, 2015 at 10:27 am
My 4-yr old son will not take ANY med in ANY form. Last night there was such drama over it, culminating with Dad yelling at him. He has an ear infection & has to take amoxicillin twice a day for 10 days & cough syrup on top of that!! We’ve tried pinning him down & forcing it (he throws it up), hiding it in juice, many kinds of foods..NOTHING WORKS. We are both fed up & he’s going back to the doctor & getting shots. Taking medicine is by far the absolute worst experience with him, but so is brushing teeth, cleaning up after himself–my husband & I are beginning to feel like horrible parents!! We have rules in our home, we are consistent with discipline–he just fights us on EVERYTHING!!
January 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Wow! I am crying reading this…My three year old son was diagnosed with pneumonia on Monday. They gave him the two shots in the legs and sent us home with a perscription for amoxicillen for ten days. We have tried hiding it in food, bribing him, taking things away, forcing him, tried to let him do it himself (he squirted it all over his room). I went and got the chewable and tried crushing it and hiding it, tried giving it to him straight too, he just won’t do it! I hate his. I feel so guilty because I yelled at him. Now he won’t eat or drink anything at all. He does not even want me near him, he asked for daddy instead. I am so sad. He is so sick and now we are all miserable. He has to go in this afternoon to get another set of shots. The doctor said he can’t keep giving him the shot, he has to take the med. I am not sure what I am going to do now.
January 30, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Going Crazy, I’m so sorry! I’m also curious, why can’t the doctor give him any more shots? I hope you don’t wind up in the hospital, but it may be what you have to do as a last resort. Maybe the doctor has some good ideas. Don’t be so hard on yourself. This is a stressful time for everyone. Keep me posted.
February 21, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I know this is years later..lol but i heard they dont like giving the shot cause they dont get paid for the shot.
February 21, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Are you saying doctors don’t get paid to give an antibiotic shot? I’m curious about that. They certainly don’t get paid for an antibiotic prescription do they (that is the pharmacy that gets paid). Do you know any more about this? Enjoy naturally beautiful products: http://www.affiliates-natural-salt-lamps.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=1169
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January 31, 2008 at 2:37 am
I thought I was the only one with this problem. I have a 5 year old boy who gags and will throw up if he tastes meds. I have tried liquid which is too strong of a taste, tablets grounded up in foods seem to have a strong taste(he’s a smart boy and can taste the medicine in the foods except buckleys stripes( works if crumbled and mixed with jam or oatmeal) but not sure if it relieves much. I feel I’ve done something wrong and it breaks my heart. I try to ask him why he dislike’s it so much and he says it’s the taste. I try to explain it will help him and he won’t give in. He can take needles and depositories no problem. He’s not usually sick so I’m fortunate for that but when he is, he’s so stubborn. I think a patch for kids is a great idea. Please let me know if they come out. I also think they should make a flavourless medicine cause it would be easier to hide in foods. I feel for you all.
February 1, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Well, day 5 and he still won’t take the meds. We went in on Wednesday and got the shots again, one in each leg. Yesterday the doctor said he will probably want to see him Friday to evaluate how he is doing (much better I think!!) I am not sure if he will have to have more shots. I am conserned that because he has had to have the shot which is a stronger antibiotic that if he gets another infection we are really limiting the antibiotics that will work. We have been so lucky, this is only the 2nd time he has been on antibiotics (the first time he was only a year and we just gave him the meds). I am going to ask the doctor about this today. If he gets an ear infection next week (God forbid!) what would be the course of treatment??? Those shots are so painful he is still limping this morning!
February 1, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Dear Going Crazy, I’m happy to hear he is getting better. You can avoid more antibiotics by choosing organic dairy (and poultry and beef, I think, I don’t pay attention to stuff in meat b/c we don’t eat it). Cows who are not treated with hormones do not have to have antibiotics to prevent the infections caused by the artificial hormones. As far as an ear infection goes, what makes you think he might get one? Talk to your pediatrician, but I have read that ear infections clear up in a matter of days with or without antibiotics. The only thing that is good about the antibiotics is that it clears up faster and the child feels better. If your son is not suffering from the ear infections too much, you can let him ride it out or give him pain reliever suppositories. Keep us posted. My thoughts are with you. You are not alone!
February 1, 2008 at 5:50 pm
[…] 1, 2008 — moodymommy I have been getting a lot of comments on an archived article, “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” from frustrated and desperate parents because, like my daughter, their children won’t take […]
February 4, 2008 at 12:20 am
I don’t think he will get an ear infection, I just think it would be horriable if he did need to be on antibiotics for something in the near futrure. He has never even had an ear infection. I never buy antibiotics in meat either, I think it is scary how messed with our food is.
The great news is that he is taking his antibiotic! I am hiding the chewable in Yokids strawberry yogurt!!! He is doing so much better he is going to preschool tomarrow! The only time he really has problems is if he runs around, then he coughs really bad.
Some suggestions I got for getting the meds in him were hiding it in frosting (Pillsbury chocolate) or mealting starburst in the microwave for a few seconds (not too long) and then coating chewables in the mealted starburst, let it cool and harden and give it to them. I am personally glad that I was able to make it work without candy or frosting, but maybe these will help someone else. Good luck!
February 11, 2008 at 2:12 am
my 3 1/2 yr old son has autism. he usually takes prescribed medicine pretty well, sometimes pulling it out of the fridge and asking us to administer it to him (this is huge, considering he doesn’t talk much). EVERYTHING CHANGES though when it’s simple cough syrup. lately, my wife and i have had to hold him down like a convict, with my wife gently swirling her finger around in his mouth, to trick him to breath/bite and in turn swallow the medicine. it’s not fun, and it’s really messy. when we’re 1-on-1 with him, it’s near impossible. i tried the mary poppins with a spoonful of sugar, but that was a granulated mess. we’ve tricked him before with mixing it in his juice, but that rarely works anymore. i’m usually a super patient, easy-going fella. this is driving me nuts. i don’t like having to be stern with him, telling him to simply swallow it. (he gets it in his mouth, then swooshes it around, but eventually spits it out.) PLEASE, IS THERE SOME MAGIC TRICK OUT THERE?! I JUST WANT TO GIVE MY SON SOME COUGH/COLD SYRUP! IF HIS NOSE IS RUNNING ALL DAY, THEY WON’T LET HIM GO TO SCHOOL, WHERE HE RECEIVES A GREAT AUTISM-ORIENTED EDUCATION! HELP!!
February 15, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I talked to my doctor about how stubborn my son is with medicine’s and he said when he just has a flu or cold there is no need for medicine. There are other ways to bring down fever’s. If antibiotics are need you can get capsuls that open up an put the pwdr in jam or oatmeal or soup and they can’t taste it. Mention that to your doctor’s for the future.
February 27, 2008 at 2:19 am
My Daughter has the flu and infected ears. She is taking Tamiflu and Amoxicillin. Giving the medicines have been rough. This morning we held her down and forced it in her. Well she spit it out all over her us the cat etc. We where upset she was upset. I thought this is something she will never forget. I did some research this evening which is how I came to this site. I had success. First I told her in advance what was going to happen but assured her she was going to do it herself. I had her suck on a popsicle to get her tongue numb and put the meds in the freezer to get them cold as well. She took her meds in sips between bits of popsicle. Reward is 7 skeetles. I was amazed she did it. I made sure that she new I meant business and we would make her have it if she didn’t do it herself. We’ll see how she is tomorrow. She wants to try licking a sucker between sips tomorrow. I think the popsicle is key though for dulling the taste buds.
October 4, 2011 at 1:17 am
Wow! This is a great idea! I think this will help me, since my (almost) 4 yr old son spit out his Amoxicillin twice tonight! He loves popcicles and m&ms would replace your skittles! Thanks for this post!
February 27, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Maysmom, what a clever idea to use the popsicle! We had quite an incident last night. I am curious, how old is your daughter? We had quite an incident last night. Eva’s ears were hurting her and I begged her to take some Tylenol. Just the idea of it made her throw up! I think she either has the flu (stomach and cold symptoms) or terrible anxiety over meds, or both! She was in such pain and I felt so bad, yet angry at the same time b/c I felt like she could have helped herself but she was too stubborn to try some meds. Even if she has an ear infection, there is no point in bringing her to the doc b/c she won’t take antibiotics anyway. I’m glad you had some luck!
February 27, 2008 at 1:03 pm
[…] pain. There is something seriously wrong with our society’s views on death and aging. Well, Eva has a terrible cold and will be home today. I’d bett Posted in Fed up, Government Failures, death, […]
February 28, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I am having the SAME Problem. My 4 year old son has always been good about taking medicine. He had a double ear infection diagnosis about 2 weeks ago, finished his ten days of antibiotics (struggle every time but he did it) and now he was back at the dr. yesterday with double ear infection STILL and he is refusing this round of anti biotics. I think its become a power struggle because he knows how strongly I feel about it. He takes 30-45 minutes to finally even take it and then he is spitting it out. Its ending in both of us crying. I HATE this! I’m making my husband try it tonight. We plan on mixing it in some ice cream but I have a feelign he’ll find that suspicious.
February 29, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Dear Alie, Good luck. Keep us posted. Did you see Maysmom’s comment about using the popsicle? Worth a try!
March 3, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Thanks! I did and we tried the popsicle but it has become such a power struggle that the popsicle didn’t work either. BUT we have hidden it in Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra ice cream and he is eating it right up with out even knowing!
April 26, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I always thought I was alone in this! This Blog is a HUGE relief! I keep thinnking I’m just a terrible parent, that I must have done something wrong because when i go to the doctor and they tell me my daughter HAS to take her medicine, they look at me like i have am some kind of nut with no parenting skills when i tell them i cannot make her take medicine of any kind. my daughter just got strep today and i am already having an anxiety attack and diarrhea because of the dread of knowing i have to fight my child twice a day for the next 10 days to take an antibiotic. she is a picky eater and drinker and also won’t use toothpaste! i swear she has something wronmg with her tastebuds or maybe her gag reflex!
May 14, 2008 at 1:54 am
Wow! I’m not alone at all. I know this is an old post, but this emotion is still very fresh in my brain: I just finished a one and a half hour negotiation with a 4-year-old about taking her antibiotics for her UTI. It’s her 3rd dose out of a potential 20 and it seems to be getting harder rather than easier. As with OliviasMommy, I swear my daughter has extremely sensitive taste buds and gag mechanism, and the gag reflex is worse when she’s upset, so there’s no choice but to talk it out. She can be pretty creative too when it comes to changing the subject. I asked her for a suggestion of how else to get the medicine in her to make her better and she said “put it up my butt”. Unfortunately I don’t think they make antibiotic suppositories. I eventually put her in control of the syringe and gave her a spoonful of icecream for each little bit that she squirted in, but it was NOT easy. Now I know about the shot, it may just be easier…. and if it’s really painful we may hold a trump card come the next illness.
June 7, 2008 at 6:16 pm
My 4-year old daughter has always been skiddish about taking medicine, but this time I’m at my wits end! She had her tonsils and adenoids removed 3 days ago and she refuses to take her pain medication — spits it all over the place when we give it to her. She was fine with the amoxicillin and Children’s Tylenol for a few days, but now refuses to take those on her own. We have to pin her down and force the antibiotic on her because she HAS to have that. If she wants to live in pain, so be it, but we can’t let her develop an infection. Anyway, we feel just awful and we’ve had lots of tears in our house this week. She gets to screaming and crying and shaking (which I’m sure isn’t good for her throat!) and therefore spits out half the medicine and chokes on the other half. This is ridiculous! I thought she’d outgrow it, but from the posts I’ve read I’m afraid we’ll have to pin her down when she’s 10!
August 8, 2013 at 3:15 am
I am so happy that I found this site. I usually have tricks up my sleeve to make my 2 year old son take his meds. But today was really a nightmare. He has hight fever and inflamed throat and needs to take amoxicillin and fever reducer. Mixing it in a milkshake, juice or icecream didn’t work. I lost my cool and wrepped him up in a towel and forced both meds down his throat. it was a traumatazing experience for both of us, since we are extremely close. He was hysterical. And now i feel like a criminal and I am afraid that he will remember this. I never thought that being a mom would be so painful at times. I hope I can forgive myself and have a better luck tomorrow. I am getting tylenol suppositories tomorrow. Which only leaves the antibiotic for the next 9 days.
August 8, 2013 at 4:28 am
Try mixing it with chocolate syrup, milk and sugar, the chocolate usually disguises the worst flavors, but only use a small amount so he won’t have troubles finishing it all. I tried the forced feeding method and it ended up with my baby throwing up and me drowining in guilt and frustration. But now I used the chocolate syrup and it’s been working, if you still have troubles maybe offer a treat if he finishes the chocolate.
August 8, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Thank you for that tip on the chocolate. As parents, we can only keep trying different ideas until we get it “right”. All ideas are helpful!
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August 8, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Oh Olga! I’m so sorry you are going through this! All I can say is, I’ve been there and I promise as they get older they will be so much easier to reason with. My daughter is now 11 and refuses to learn how to swallow pills (ugh!) but she still thinks medicine tastes horrible. She found a way that works for her. She lines up pretzels and water, swallows the medicine and then stuffs her mouth with pretzels and washes it down with water. She sometimes gags but she gets it down. :-) As for now, you MUST forgive yourself because you were being the best parent you could be at that moment and that is all a child needs. We will all make mistakes and have regrets. I’m not saying that what you did was a mistake though, your child needed medicine and you gave it to him. If you can find a less traumatizing method to use in the future, of course that will be better for both of you. I hope your little one gets better soon!
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June 11, 2008 at 1:38 am
Hey Frustrated and Fed Up, Hang in there! Try suppositories for the Tylenol. Ask the pharmacist if you have trouble finding them on the drugstore shelf. They are yucky to use, but they work. At least when you hold her down, she doesn’t throw up like my daughter, now six!
June 16, 2008 at 8:40 pm
hi i recently read your post have you ever tried getting your daughter to dress up as a nurse and give her a plastic spoon to give pretend medicine to her dolly and tell her she has to have some at the same time it worked for my nieces they loved it
June 16, 2008 at 8:43 pm
frustrated and fed up your child is stubborn by the sounds of things explain she will be very unwell i had my tounsils and adnoids out at the same age doctors used to cram the medicine in and make me eat toast
June 24, 2008 at 3:47 pm
It makes me sad how unhelpful some of your doctors are…shame on them! My 5 year old is very picky…throws up applesauce, let alone medication. Often, I will take her to our doctor just to have him talk to her, and he is always happy to do it. He will always listen to her concerns, help her come up with ideas on how to take her medicine (honey, popsicles, soda), and she will agree to try. He also helps her understand the consequences of not taking her medicine…he will explain what strep is and what happens to your body when you don’t take medicine, and he can do it without threatening and scaring her, but she is motivated to make it work herself. In the end, her knowledge about the medicine and the holding nose and closing eyes followed by a sip of juice is what is working for us. In short, if your doctor won’t help you, try a different doctor! This is why they went into pediatrics, they are supposed to be good with children! Keep trying, and get more good people to support you.
August 5, 2008 at 1:46 am
Hi I am so glad that i discovered this Blog because i was starting to think that i was really doing something wrong. My 5 year old has just been diagnosed with a serious chest infection and tonsilitis and she refuses to take antibiotics. I have tried everything from disguising it in food and drink, taking away all her toys, bribing her with new toys and a trip to her favorite places and even ignoring her( we are very close and i thought this would upset her enough to take it, worse on me than it was on her). This whole thing is really distressing me because the doctor has told me that if she does not take it then she could end up in hospital. My daughter keeps telling me that i am nasty and as a mother who prides herself on having a great relationship with her kids, her words are tearing my heart out. I have tried explaining to her that i am doing this because i love her more than anything and that i am trying to make her better and keep her out of hospital but nothing works. Unfortunately the antibiotic is not available in a shot so i am absolutely stuck. I think i will have to make an appointment with the doctor again today and discuss our options. Thanks to all the above comments and i will definitely try the dressing up as a nurse idea, in fact i am going to try it right now.
August 5, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Dear Lilly, I’m so sorry for what you are going through! I hope you can work it out and I hope your daughter feels better soon. Keep us posted!
August 18, 2008 at 4:49 pm
After trying lots of things I never thought I would try and going through all the emotions you all have gone through, I have found that a lovely pot of natural strawberry yoghurt with medicine mixed in works wonderfully well. Ice cream didn’t work (thankfully, as he rarely gets that), neither did chocolate bribes, new toys, etc etc. He has yoghurt most meals, fruit flavours are a fav so it has been an easy ride since.
September 13, 2008 at 4:39 am
Well, I am glad I read the last post about the yogurt. I am going to try that tomorrow after just having a drag out brawl with my 4 year old. Just found out today he has a double ear infection and was put on amox., I had it flavored with strawberry per his request (who was I kidding thinking even with that he would take it). After we got home he informed me he wanted grape flavor. Ugh!!! The second dose tonight was horrendous..I finally had to threaten taking him to the hospital for a shot if he did not take his medicine (I hate threatening him like that, I don’t want him to be afraid of hospitals!). Anyway, with much gagging in between sips of water and candy corn and him telling me it was not working, he managed to keep it down. I dread tomorrow, why don’t they make something like a z pack for children..you know 3 doses in 3 days…not 2 doeses a day for 10 days! Well, hopefully the yogurt idea works…thanks!!
September 14, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Kelann, I know it is terribly stressful. I am considering asking for NO flavoring (I don’t know if it can be done) so I can mix it w/a strong flavored something my children like. For my children, these strong artificial flavors are not what they are used to at all. I wish you luck. Have you considered ear drops? Our doc gave us some to numb the pain. With my daughter’s past ear infection, I told her she had to either get the medicine down or have ear drops. Just another idea to throw out there.
September 23, 2008 at 4:03 pm
My son is 2 and half and he is allergic to many food items and also has RTA(Renal Tubular Acidosis) Kidney desease. To cure RTA we will have to give him liquid medicine 3 TSP twice a day with the meal or after the meal until it’s completely cured(which could be years). The test of this medicine is very citrus and doesn’t test well. So far me and my wife have tried tons of way for getting the medicine in but my son is very stubborn and he is very choosy/picky on food he eats. He has learned how to throw up whenever we give him medicine which he doesn’t like. It is really difficult for us as this is not a weekly matter or couple of days matter. It has been a year and probably few more years to go. So far our experience/tips are below.
1. He doesn’t get medicine on time
2. We had to skip medicine sometime wheever he was sick or cries a lot
3. In a week he throws up atleast 3 times. And the problem is we have to give the medicine after the meal or with the meal.
4. He throws up whenever we hold his legs and hands and try to give the medicine.
5. So far best option for giving medicine is to mix it in a COKE or PEPSI or anyother soda he likes. We keep changing the flavor often. Since last few days we’ve been trying the caffine free grape soda.
6. We also try to keep him busy with something he likes and parallaly give him mixed medicine.
7. I’ve recently started a new trick which is I ask him to pose for a picture and ask him to close his eyes and open his mouth and when he opens his mouth I put the medicine using syringe.
8. Play pick-a-boo game with him and when he does the pick-a-boo usually he is laughing and that’s when I throw some medicine using syringe.
I will keep posting more tips as I discover them.
September 23, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Dear NS, My heart goes out to you. Have you checked w/your doc to see if this is the only form the meds come in? Maybe they can make a chewable? Somewhere down the line, maybe he can learn how to swallow pills. This is something I have yet to work on my 6 year-old but I keep thinking about it. Good luck!
September 25, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I have the same problem. My child is 4 years old and needs to take meds since she had her tonsils taken out. She needds the antibiotics to help her heel and she throws it up. The doctor’s say the same thing, she has to take it. Well easy for them to say. I don’t know what I am going to do.
September 30, 2008 at 6:11 pm
My son is 20 months…Almost 2 years old. He has a double ear infection. The doctor gave me liquid antibiotics. Well everytime i give it to him he pukes it up along with the food he had eaten before. I am so frustrated and don’t know what to do. I really want him to get better, but i don’t think he will if he dosent take his antibiotics!!!
October 2, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I’m so happy I found this message board! I wish I had some advice to give. I’m in the same boat with my almost 3 year old. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 7 months ago and has had to be spoon fed two things (babyfood, applesauce, soy yogurt) twice a day in order to get her med and supplement.
Last week she had to do a prep for colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. 20 oz of liquid with Miralax were supposed to be consumed! It took us ALL DAY and half gagging/vomiting. Anyway, test went WELL. No sign of disease. After coming home and resuming normal diet, she won’t tolerate yogurt, applesauce or babyfoods.
Here it is a little over 1 week later and 1 week off her colon med and she’s having bloody diarrhea like a flare-up. We still have to get stool cultures.
But I’m scared. She won’t eat. I tried giving her Pedialyte by syringe (she won’t drink it) and she almost puked. She hates all juices, gatorade, flavors…everything. She will only drink water and sometimes soy milk. I can’t hide anything in her water or soy milk, she KNOWS.
I’m so frustrated and worry and don’t want her to wind up in the hospital but it looks very much like that is what will happen. It may be a “bug” the stool sample will show it. Then we will be giving her oral antibiotics. Yeah, right!
I’m in the same boat. Holding her down doens’t work, she throws up or spits it out. There HAS to be a better way! I hate seeing her look so weak and unhappy. And I HATE being a mean mom and forcing things in her mouth!
~M
October 3, 2008 at 12:23 am
Dear MJ, Kristen and Desperate, Hang in there and work with your pediatrician. Eva FINALLY took medicine twice a day for ten days! We got the chewable antibiotics for her Strep Throat. This was what we came up with (as a family). Eva put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. Then, she held her nose and I shoved the chewable into her mouth. After chewing for a while, she put a Jelly Belly into her own mouth to cover up the taste. Then she ate the rest of her tiny scoop of ice cream. Ok, so she had ice cream two times a day for ten days. I didn’t care! She took her medicine!!! Yeah!!!
October 5, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Wow this is a wonderful site! I am having the same issue as you all, getting my 4 yr old daughter to take antibiotics, but for a bladder infection. So her doc prescribes amoxicillan for 7 days in liquid form. I know right away that she will puke it up, been there done that, and you can not hide that bubble gum flavor in anything for her. So I’m explaining to her that I know she will puke it up because I know she has a weak stomach for any meds, and she quickly intterupts me and says ‘you don’t have to explain to me.’ I thought that was SOOOO rude! But I didn’t tell her that. Anyway she came back with a new prescription for chewables. I had never tried these before so I thought she would maybe take them because she does take a chewable probiotic. NOT A CHANCE. I’m not sure which is worse. Well I called the pharmacy and asked him if we could get the liquid intsead and he informed me that its harder to disguise in food, drink, etc. He told me to try chocolate, he seemed to think that hid the taste better. So I go to the grocery store to get chocolate syrup, and see the kind that hardens when you put in on ice-cream so I got that and some lactaid ice-cream, cause she’s also lactose intolerant. HA. It worked for her this time. So she’s eating ice-cream dessert after breakfast and dinner now. I’m going to try some hot cocoa with marshmallows and see if that works too. I’ll just try using a little extra cocoa maybe. It’s all so frustrating though, thanks for the vent!
October 5, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I was just reading some more on this medicine taking and found this link. This is quite blunt and to the point.
http://www.hawaii.edu/medicine/pediatrics/parenting/c12.html
Kinda harsh, or no?
October 5, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Now I see why my doc didn’t want me to explain, she has no tolerance for why we’re sensitive to medicine, and I still think it’s rude, there are really sensitive people in this world and my daughter and I are some of them. But the article was informative but I don’t think it will work for everyone.
October 5, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Nicky, Thank you for citing that article. It was very informative and perhaps enough of a push to keep us parents plugging away!
October 26, 2008 at 12:14 am
I did a google search to try and find some answers. My 4 (almost 5) year old is very headstrong and stubborn about this as well. SHe has a staff infection from a bad scarpe she acquired falling down. It wasn’t getting better and had a smell to it so we to her to UC and tehy gave her dextrim, OI think it was, anyway, she had an allergic reaction to it and there was only one other thing they could give her which was worse tasting. So bad that she spit it back up and refused to take it even in chocolate, brownie mix and finally we were able to get her to take it in a vanilla milkshake. But it takes about 45 minutes to get it down. And she has to take 2 teaspoons 3 times a day!! That’s 30 milkshakes! SO I asked the doctor to give it in a pill form. ANd that is worse. It’s a capsule and if she would only learn how to swallow it it would only take a second to take and there would be no taste. But she won’t she put it in her mouth and spit it out 3 times and the 3rd time it broke open and it tasted horrible. So now we are at square one. I am going to have to get the liquid form again and do the shakes. Staff is a serious disease that could cause oen to lose a limb.
I too feel like a terrible Mom as though I have done something wrong in parenting that has caused her to be so stubborn.
November 29, 2008 at 5:43 am
we have a stuborn 3 year old refusing to take his antibiotic for an infection on his toe, cause by a bad door jam mishap….we even tried mixing in choc pudding! he lives for chocolate!!!it is frustrating and I feel mean and horrible.He also has a history with being forced as he sufferes from excema)and had to take anti-histimines just to not be itchy and so we could all sleep.we tried every trick in the book, it went on for a year….and I gave up and he scratches his skin off and we sleep less as I have to wake up and try to sooth his itch with lotion every few hours….so his toe looks awful and I fear he will lose it….we don’t have a Doctor as we live in canada and have a terrible sortage and have to reley on clinics…or next the hospital emergency…..this really bites!
November 29, 2008 at 5:48 am
I meant to say”shortage” of doctors…..no doctors taking on new paitients……a problem only getting worse.I would pay to have a Doctor for my children if I could.
December 1, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I too am a frustrated mom to a beautiful but incredibly stubborn, picky, strong willed child. I think I’ve covered everything. She is the light of my life but taking medicine is something we both dred. I tried taking things away, telling her she can’t go to Girlscouts, not watching TV or going on the computer. Nothing has worked. Yelling was the first thing I tried and all that did was just make her cry but still her stubborness prevailed. I am going to try the ice pops. She’s on Penecillian, 2 tsp 2x day. I am trying to keep it together. This morning I really went overboard. I took all of her barbies and put them in a pile. Everytime she didn’t take her medicine she lost a barbie and would have to earn it back. Which means if she takers her medicine without us siting there and watching her then she get’s the doll put back. Well, that didn’t work either. PLease, Please, is there any other adivce. I feel like such a bad Mom. It was good to know that I’m not the only parent out there going through the same thing.
December 12, 2008 at 10:17 pm
When I told the doctor that my five year old son will not take medicine, she just looked at me and said, “you’re the Mom, make him take it.” She is not his regular pediatrician. On a previous visit she said, “look at his size, he obviously doesn’t mind putting food in his mouth, why won’t he take medicine?” We will not be seeing this doctor again. She made me feel like I’m the only Mom in the world who has this issue. Fortunately my son rarely needs medicine.
December 30, 2008 at 1:08 am
My 2year old just started refusing her amoxicillin..she has always been good about taking meds. It’s my 3 yr old that doesn’t take anything unless we hide it in sorbet. it’s the only thing that disguises the taste. she was always too smart ..refusing juice because something was in it. I didn’t know what I could do with the amoxicillin but it looks like we will have to try sorbet with her..or the chocolate ……so if you haven’t tried mixing it in sorbet ….it’s worth a try I think it has more flavor and hides tylenol or motrin very well. hopefully, the amoxicillin too
January 20, 2009 at 5:10 am
Thank you all for sharing my pain! My four year old throws up whatever she hasnt’ spit up and screams, cries, hides under the bed etc. I’m hoping for a shot tomorrow. We tried the chocolate pudding, soda pop, etc. as well. Why don’t nurses understand that you are not a bad parent or a wimp, you just have an obstinate and eventually hysterical child.
January 20, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Good luck Erin’s mom!
February 3, 2009 at 4:27 am
I have a very stubborn 3 year old who takesmeds when HE feels like it. Sometimes just fine, other times you’d think I was trying to kill him with the very medicinehe had a day earlier! WE have found a little succes with a couple M&M’s before and after medicine but even this doesn’t always work. It’s very hard to do but please try to be as patient as you can to avoid a traumatic experience for them. Good luck to all parents. We all feel your pain!
February 18, 2009 at 7:24 am
Ok, reading that other people have this problem is making me feel better. I am sorry though that others pain makes me feel better 🙂
My son is 4 and has had several eye surgeries where they give him pink liquid medicine before the anesthesia. Ever since the last surgery, he refuses to take any medicines. He came down with strep throat in early December and needed antibiotics. We have held him down, plugged his nose and tried to force him to take it. He literally would rather not breath than take the medicine.
He just continues to pass strep to us and never get rid of the strep throat. He did have the shot after the 3rd positive strep test in 2 months (which was very painful), but at this point we don’t know if it worked because it is not typically given for strep throat and he has it again (4th time since early Dec.). However, my step daughter has strep throat, so the shot could have worked and then she could have given it back to him. ACK!
Anyways, I just wanted to post and say thank you to everyone for sharing. This is helping me know, it is not just me!
February 18, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Dear Jennifer, I hope your son gets better soon and stops getting strep. Have you checked w/an Ear, Nose & Throat about getting his tonsils out? Of course, after the operation, he’ll have to take antibiotics. Personally, the liquid is totally gross. Have you tried to get him to take the chewable form? My daughter will take it, though reluctantly, with a jelly bean or ice cream if we plug her nose while she’s chewing. It’s still an ordeal, but at least we can get her to do it. Good luck to you, and thanks for reading my blog!
February 18, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Ok, I have one for everyone. I have a 14 yr daughter and she was diagnosed with pneumonia today. She has to take antibiotics but can’t take them in pill form and they don’t have it liquid. I’ve tried crushing them, cutting them, putting them in juice, wrapping them in bread, you name it I’ve tried it. The pills cost $82.00 and I am frustrated. She has to take them or she won’t get better. She also has to take the pumps and that took an hour for her to take. It’s going on 2 hours to take the pills and I’ve wasted 3 pills so far. She gets herself so worked up that she vomits. I just don’t know how to get to take them. They are too big to take at once and they taste awful when chopped. Any ideas? She’s sobbing now in her bed and it’s killing me!
February 19, 2009 at 12:09 am
Oh Darlene! I feel so awful for you! I think your only recourse is to talk to the M.D. because pneumonia is very serious and her best hope may be hospitalization. I hate to think that anyone that old would not cooperate and take her medicine. She’s old enough to know the consequences. Maybe a night in a hospital hooked up to an i.v. will get her to cooperate. Keep us all posted.
February 22, 2009 at 3:59 pm
oh me . I am so glad i ran across this website. I was at my witts end and thought I was the only one who had thir problem with my grandbaby who is 5. She has strip throat and chest congestion and on penicellin liquid. I put it in all kinds of flavored soft drinks. Last night about 15 minutes later she threw it up.. i AM so tired of begging, threatening . and whatever else it takes.. Helpp. THIs grandma is fed up .. and so tired.
February 22, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Dear Worn Out Granny, I’m so sorry you are going through this. Please make sure you talk to the pediatrician for ideas for meds. I’ve found the chewable works best in our family. I’ve even mushed it to a powder and put it in the frosting of a mini cupcake b/c I know my daughter will always eat all of the frosting. Good luck and keep trying EVERYTHING!
February 25, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Dear MoodyMommy, I posted to this blog back in Dec of 2007 and after reviewing it again today, I can’t believe how many more moms have posted! My daughter is now 6 and things have gotten better. She ended up with a high fever and we had to give her a tylenol suppository…she did not like that at all…so she started using the grape flavored chewables. Thankfully, we have not needed amoxicillan or any other liquid types of antibiotics because I’m still not sure she would take it. Although I appreciated the link Nicky posted, those things are easily read than done. When we, the ones trying to give the meds, are going through it, it is heartbreaking and definitely not as simple as it sounds. It upsets me that we don’t have support from the physicians…I had to call 4 times and cry before the dr would even listen to what I had to say. Good luck to all of us caregivers! It is so nice that we can vent on this blog!
February 26, 2009 at 4:30 am
Dear Marielle,
Wow, welcome back! I’m glad to read things are a bit better. Let’s hope that our children will become more reasonable as they age. In the meantime, I am always interested in reading about people’s ideas and progress they make in trying to get their children to take meds. Thanks for visiting and come back again soon (hopefully w/good news) Sophia Leto
February 26, 2009 at 1:00 pm
WOW I cant believe how often people have this problem It drives me crazy my daughter is 7 years old and everytime we tell her that she has to take meds she freaks out and then when she puts them in her mouth she starts gaging im so sick of it. Its very frustrating this has been going on since she was very little she has two other youger siblings and they take meds very well hopefully some day they will come up with a patch for tylenol because im going insane
Michelle
February 28, 2009 at 12:37 am
Hello Moody Mommy, I’m back. I posted on Feb 18th about my 14 yr old daughter with pneumonia. We continued to try for three days after that with the meds but to no avail. After sitting her down and really talking to her I found out that it wasn’t because she didn’t want to take the meds because she knew she needed them, it was because of fear. She was afraid of choking. The fear got the best of her. After doing some research on the net I found out that it happens alot and it’s a phobia that alot of people have not just children. Some children grow out of it and some don’t, it’s all about time. Relieved to let you all know though that she is getting better just by using her pumps. The first pump opened her air ways enough to allow the second pump of medication to get down in her lungs and clear it up. We were lucky this time. I also found out that there was an alternative medication that the doctor did not tell me about that she could have taken in a liquid form, not better tasting but if you block your nose did you know that your taste buds don’t work? For all you mothers out there try it with a jelly bean or something like that and you yourself will see that you need your sense of smell to taste. By the way the medication she was perscribed was BIAXIN XL (pill form only, the XL stands for extended release) The other BIAXIN’S have a liquid form. As for the money we spent, well, we will just chalk it up to a lesson learned and we are just very happy that she is better. There is no price on your child’s health. Thanks for the support.
February 28, 2009 at 4:02 am
Darlene! I am soooo happy for you! Oh, and thanks for posting the info on the Biaxin.
March 3, 2009 at 5:15 am
Wow. Some relief to know you’re not alone. My 4 year old vomits even at the site of the medicine, or the container. Tried every disguising method know to man. Equally frustrating is the lack of compasion from Doctors and Pharmacists, who react as though I’m being lazy, or not stern enough. Recently he asked when he could take an Advil like mommy. Hmmm. An idea. What if he was able to swallow a small capsule or pill? He would NEVER chew one, as of course we have tried numerous times, but swallow one? Practiced with a mini MnM. Worked first time. Today, needed anti-biotics for MRSA Infectiction. Tried chewable tablet quartered, to swallow with water- NOT chew. Done. I’m amazed. Hope this helps someone.
March 3, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Caryl, It is comforting to know that a 4 year-old can learn to swallow pills. I’m going to have to get some mini m & ms today! Thanks for posting and I’m glad you’ve had good luck!
March 3, 2009 at 9:11 pm
It has been about three weeks since I posted about my son’s 4th positive strep test. Well we are going back to the doctor today to have him tested for the 5th time. He will NOT take the medicine. To answer your question, he will take chewable tylenol (it is not easy but I can make it happen)…however as for a antibiotic he is allergic to penicillin and they do not make a chewable antibiotic that is not penicillin based.
Our doctor has called many drug companies to find something and they just don’t make it. I have no idea what to do and I hope the doctor has some better advice.
March 10, 2009 at 1:46 am
I have struggled with my five year old over and over again. it feels a little better not being the only one. He will not take any medicine, he has to take a daily dose of claritin for his allergy I usually give it to him at night when hes real sleepy so its easier still he throws up and since he has bad allergies he runny and whiny all day it even now affects his school work. I had to stop trying to make him take it cause the vomit started wearing on his teeth thank god there not permanent yet I hope he gets passed this phase. I read in an earlier post that one child was 10 that frightens me! I didn’t know about the shot I never spoke with a doctor about this defiance now i see I can i will definitely look forward to the patch. Stay strong to all the parents battling this situation.
March 21, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I found this site after visiting the one posted above (hawaii.edu) that was pretty harsh and basically said that children have to learn to be good medicine takers. I was feeling like such a jerk because I basically ruined our family’s evening last night because my 6 year old wouldn’t take her chewable amoxicillin so I told her she couldn’t watch Star Wars until she took it. I was sure that would work because she looks forward to watching it all week with my husband. Nope. She went to bed hysterically crying, but chose to skip the show rather than take the medicine. I was able to talk and reason with her a little bit. I even took one of the pills to see how bad it was. It did have a cloying flavor and aftertaste but it was not that bad. I think knowing that I tried it helped her. She says that it burns her tongue, and I think she is just holding it in her mouth too long, letting it melt because she doesn’t want to swallow it. She has to take two pills three times a day for seven days. This morning she took one of the first dose before her swimming class, and we said she could take the other when she came home. We will see – she is there with her dad now. I am going to try the popsicle thing, and I also have some of that chocolate that hardens when you cool it. I told her about how we used to put pills in grapes for our dog to take and she found that very funny and seemed to feel a little better that it was not just her who didn’t like to take pills. I may also try cutting the pills in half and seeing if she will swallow them. She has taken Benadryl pills this way in the past. Maybe this would work? Anyway, thank you to all the moms out there who took the time to post. I totally relate to all of you and you are NOT alone in this and your feelings are shared by me and everyone on this board, it seems. I’m so glad I found this site just for the relief of knowing that I am not an inadequate mother.
March 25, 2009 at 12:46 am
I am glad that I found this post & responses. I am so stressed out and frustrated that my daughter refuses her medicine. She’s been on antibiotics for a few months due to a kidney condition. She had surgery for the condition 4 days ago and has been so stubborn with meds…constantly spitting them out. In the hospital she had IV antibiotics, but since we came home 2 days ago it’s been a battle. We got a different formula of the antibiotic (one that she’s had not problem with in the past)…but she totally refuses. She even said it smelled good. She needs to remain on once a day antibiotics until her follow up surgery late next month. Right now I am sitting with her trying to get her to drink her fruit smoothie laced with meds.
The stress is really getting to DH and I. We are fighting a lot. Our teen has keyed in on it and is really pushing our buttons when we are stressed out. The Dr knows how stubborn our daughter is. She was a fighter when she came out of anesthesia and nearly pulled her tubes out/off.
I know there is probably not any answers (and I didn’t want lots of advice so I am not posting on my blog about it), but it is comforting to know others have experienced the same.
March 26, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I have a 7 year old son that is on the low end of the autistic spectrum. We have never been able to get him to take any oral medicine. When he was younger we had to force it into his mouth and when he did swallow some of it, within seconds it was being puked up.. and to this day I can’t get him to take anything. Nor can I get him to take any vitamins. I have tried to mix it in Apple Sauce, he notice that it tasted different, and now he won’t even eat Apple Sauce to this day. I have tried adding it in lemon lime soft drink, but he tasted it in there. I wish they would these medicine with no taste at all. I have even tried to add it to his Cereal, he always notices a change in taste, and will refuse to eat it.
He is also a very picky eater and will only eat a few items, like cereal, Hot Pockets, Corn Dogs and Chicken Nuggets from McDonalds. He will eat french fries and all what he drinks is water, lemon lime soda, and milk. He doesn’t eat candy or chocolete, except for a sucker once in a while.
He has been sick twice this month, with high fever, and there has been nothing I can do for him except take his temp and give him a cool wet wash cloth for his fore head.
He simply refuses to take any medicine, liquid or pill form. I don’t know what to do for him. Any body know what to do?
March 27, 2009 at 2:01 am
Randy, My heart goes out to you. I wonder if there is anyone in an autism support group that has some good ideas. In fact, all of us who have posted on this site about this issue probably have something in common with autistic children (forgive me if I misspeak, I don’t know much about autism) in that there is something about the texture or some irrational (to us at least) fear of meds. If you do have success, please share your ideas with us!
March 30, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I wanted to check back in after my week of chewable amoxicillin tablets with a crying six-year old. I told my daughter I had been on this website because there are other kids who don’t like to take pills, and told her some of the things I had read. I gave her a choice of which one she would like to try. She chose the popsicle method, so we got out a freezer pop, she sucked on it until her tongue was numb, took a sip of juice, and then I poked the pill in between her teeth. NO PROBLEM!! She took the rest of them exactly the same way for the rest of the week, even first thing in the morning before school!! Thank you, thank you to the woman who posted that hint because it saved my sanity!!
March 31, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I am so happy I found this site! My 5 yearold and I have been having a 3 day BATTLE over her taking an antibiotic for her double ear infection. The strange part is that it has never been an issue before. Grandma and Grandpa are in town and today she chose to stay home while they took her older sister to SeaWorld just because she wouldn’t take the darn medicine. They want to take the kids to Universal Studios tomorrow and Disney on Thursday and I don’t think it is going to matter to my stubborn little Ava. I can’t believe that anything could taste so bad that a 5 year old would pass up Disney World!!! I am going to try the popsicle trick with her later today and see if that may work. My husband just lost his health insurance through his employer so I have already spent $300 on this ear infection between the Dr visit and the medicine (half of which was spit in my face). I can’t afford for her to not take this! If anyone has any new ideas let me know, I’m at the end of my rope!
March 31, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Dear Ava’s Mom, What if you drove her to the parking lot of Disney (or wherever you are going) and asked her to take her meds or you will turn around and leave? Perhaps seeing her siblings walking toward the park away from the car w/out her would motivate her. Good luck to you and keep us posted!
April 8, 2009 at 11:26 pm
My employee just e-mailed me this blog after I teared up at work from sleep depravation and frustration. My daughter has a sinus infection and we leave for Disneyworld in 9 days. I’ve done it all as well. Currently she spits out the antibiotic chewables after sucking on it for 5 minutes or so. I cringe at my exasperated rants and wrestling matches so she’s healthy but scarred for life. Every night I lay awake thinking what haven’t I tried. And last night it came to me… hypnosis! I met a great child psychologist just last night at a business association dinner and she offers counseling plus more. She says hypnosis may be the immediate quick fix I’m looking for plus counseling to get at the root of my daughter’s need for control when it comes to food, medication, etc. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
April 15, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I am glad to have found this site regarding taking medicines. My son is 11 yrs old and what terrible trouble it is to get him to take it. He is very stubborn and defiant regarding medicines. He takes risperdone medication which is great as it has no taste, no flavour and added to his water this is great and not a problem but at the moment we have eliminated him having a teeth problem so we know now it is his ears, he doesnt have infection that the doctor can see but his ears were a little red and and was using ear spray for him but gradually getting worse with pain and generally not himself. I am beside myself and feel terrible that the doctor said ok then we will give antibiotics abd see how he goes. Well….it is not going Jay is refusing completely, he cannot be held down as he is too strong and taller than me, treats, bribes are just not working he is just too distressed and getting very aggressive with me. My son is also off his food which doesnt help as he usually onlly drinks with food or maybe a snack. I have tried hiding it in foods, yoghurts but as he is not eating as usual and would be able to taste this amoxicillin as i can even taste it. I really dont know what to do as its effecting his general behaviour and has been staying in his bedroom under the quilt not coming down. The pain generally comes and goes even paracetamol tablets i have crushed in his food but he is not eating very much. Is there anything i can do i feel so terrible for him and not being able to do anything.
April 15, 2009 at 2:00 pm
My son is on the low end of the spectrum so it is very difficult and that i do give in to him and say ok no medicine as he is just so so distressed. He would rather stay in his bedroom all day than face anything like medicine.
April 23, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Thanks for your blog. My 4 year old just started an ear infection and needs to take amoxicillian for 10 days. Had a hard time getting him to take it, like the rest of the other moms. So glad to hear that I’m not alone and that I’m an okay mom.
April 27, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I am so thankful I found this message site! My daughter, 6 years old, was just diagnosed 3 days ago with pneumonia and was prescribed augmentin. She REFUSES
April 27, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I don’t know what happened with my last message, so I’ll try again.
My daughter was diagnosed this past Saturday with pneumonia and was given augmentin. She positively will not take this medicine. We have held her down, she just spits it back at me. I tried the loving, caring, gentle approach – I know the stuff tastes horrible. We are feeling like the worst, and most stupid, parents ever because we cannot get a 6 year old child to take 1.5 tsp of medicine. This is truly insane. I tried yogurt, pudding, chocolate everything, ice cream, took it back to the pharmacy at 9:30pm to have them flavor it another flavor – nothing works. She’s sitting here with chest pains. I’m waiting now for the doctor to call back and tell me she can take a pill or another drug, hopefully. I simply cannot believe she is this difficult. She actually refused to brush her teeth because she believed the brush wasn’t wet from water, that I had wet it with her medicine. Completely irrational.
April 27, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Dear Lori, I am so sorry you are going through this. You have a stubborn child, welcome to the club. I hope you have an understanding doc who can help you out with it. Please know that you are not alone and you are not a bad parent. You are a great parent for trying so hard. Did you try taking something away like TV, video game, favorite book or toy? I hope your child feels better soon.
May 4, 2009 at 5:15 am
Thank you for this site…at least we know we are not alone. Our almost 10yo daughter gets almost hysterical about taking medications. Luckily she’s not sick much, but she now has either a viral infection or strep (we find out tomorrow) and will not take anything for the sore throat, and it will be a major battle over an antibiotic tomorrow. Like one previous poster, I/we ruined a night on a trip to DC because she refused to take some Tylenol…I took away TV and the pool at the hotel for 2 days, and it didn’t matter, she wouldn’t take it. It reduced me to yelling, which I hated myself for. So, my plan tomorrow, should she need to antibiotic is to pick it up at the pharmacy and drive her to the clinic, pay the co-pay, and make her sit there until we get into see a doctor and have them make her take it. I’m hoping the humiliation will knock some sense into her…she’s way too old for this. I just don’t know what else to do….
May 5, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I think I’m getting some really good tips in trying to get my daughter to take her medicine. What I was doing in the past was to add about 2 tablespoons of chocolate or strawberry syrup to her medicine with a little milk to make a very sweet drink. Some of you parents may want to add even more syrup to overpower the medicine in taste. I don’t like all the sugar, but I’ll do it if it means she will actually take her meds. I also let her know that even though it looks like chocolate/strawberry milk it will taste a little funny because it has medicine. Part of the problem we had was her expectation that it was supposed to taste perfectly good like normal chocolate/strawberry milk. If she has it in her head that it is supposed to taste a little weird then she reacts a little better. She will drink it, but extremely slow. It takes about an hour of sipping until she finally gets it all down. My problem is in the morning we don’t have a lot of time for to drink becuase then she’ll be late for school. After reading the ideas on here I think I might try getting it extremely cold as well to numb her taste buds, or maybe get a chocolate pudding pop to numb her tongue before she drinks her super sweet medicine drink.
So, the main advice I think is to make it extremely sweet, get it very cold, set up the child’s expectation of the flavor. Also, holding the nose so they don’t smell it. Smelling plays a big part of taste. People that have lost their sense of smell also cannot taste anything, so holding the nose works on that principal. But, you have to do it in short steps because they need to breath, obviously.
May 8, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Joe, Thanks for those tips. My daughter now holds her nose before having a chewable antibiotic pill and we think it helps.
June 9, 2009 at 7:01 am
Our daughter has OCD. She doesn’t admit to it. She has never taken any medication, even an aspirin for the last 13 years of her life. The doctor prescribed medication for her anxiety which she refuses to take. We haven’t tried to hide it in any food yet but before doing that I wanted to find out the legal issues surrounding secretly giving medication to children. Are parents liable for delivering medication in prescribed quantities? Are there any legal issues? I asked the question to her therapist and he said we should discuss the issue with an attorney. Any help?
June 9, 2009 at 11:40 am
This is an interesting question that really seems off the topic on the blog, which is getting children to take medicine who are not yet at an age of consent. I can’t answer as to the legal issues. Who prescribed the meds? The doctor who prescribed the meds will probably know the answer and will save you attorneys fees. If your daughter is over a certain age you may be required to get a court order. However, is her OCD that bad that you would want to make it such an issue? Good luck.
June 9, 2009 at 11:41 am
Sorry for all the question marks. I have no idea how they got in there!
July 10, 2009 at 2:40 pm
My 4 yr old daughter has never had a problem taking kids otc medicines, they taste good to her, but she came down with strep throat and the doctor perscribed amoxicillin. This was a big fight! Coughing, crying, gagging, hair and feet flying… I can’t do this 2x a day for ten days! I started searching for someway to disguise the taste and that yucky smell. While I was searching the internet I came across this site. When my daughter came up and asked what I was doing, I told her I was reading about a little girl who had to take the same medicine she did and how she made it not taste so bad. I told her the little girl said to put chocolate syrup in it and it would taste better. She helped me make the “get better fast recipe.” We measured out the medicine in the little measuring cup, added a liitle bit of sugar, with her special spoon. and mixed well while singing “a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down” (a la Mary Poppins). We then got a colorful kids straw poured some chocolate syrup down it, to coat the inside and then mixed some chocolate syrup in the medicine itself till it turned a chocolate cherry color. (drinking it thru the straw keeps it further away from her nose – yucky smell). With a little coaxing she drank it up, in several small sips with a lot of cold water chasers. (another great benefit!) I know it sounds like a big production and a lot of sugar but it was much better than the fighting and crying. We are both much happier.
July 24, 2009 at 1:38 pm
My 6 year old daughter wouldnt take her medicine ( congestal) properly ,,it would take like 5 hours convincing her to take it…i’m so tired with her and her stubborness..! she wouldnt take neither with juice nor food…
antibiotic injections is what she’s taking now and a supp of voltaren…her fever wouldnt go down for 6 days now… is it becuz the med shes’ refusing?
July 25, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Norene, I’m so sorry you are going through this. The question you are asking is for a medical professional. This website is by a parent (me) who has a stubborn little girl who won’t take her meds and for other parents to vent and throw out ideas to help one another. I hope your daughter gets better soon. Age 6 seems to be a very common age for these stubborn kids!
August 7, 2009 at 9:50 pm
My 18 month year old daughter has step throat and although she would normally take calpol without any fuss, she will not take the antibiotic. Unfortunately holding her down does not work as she spits it out. Have had a little success disguising it with milk (morning and nite bottle) but I wonder how affective it is when diluted? Think will try the yogart theory to see how it goes. Is the syringe eaiser than a teaspoon?
August 20, 2009 at 2:46 am
Hello to all the moms and dads out there. WOW… I can certainly relate and feel your pain. I just spent over an hour reading everyones comments on how to deal with a child that won’t take meds… it is such a scarey thing!!! All we want to do is make our child feel better.
While I did not finish reading everyones comments, I am having the same problem as everyone but my daughter is 14 years old. I can understand more about the younger kids refusing but I’ve been going through this for 14 very long years!!! She will NOT swollow a pill … out and out refuses. She is afraid she is going to choke. I have no idea why she has this fear… she sees me take all my meds (eight pills) every single day (all at once) and have never had a problem!!! It really is frusterating.
Three days ago she got an absessed tooth and it caused her jaw to puff up alot. She had the tooth pulled yesterday but had to get an IV at the ER for the antibiotic to work quicker. Now she has to stay on an antibiotic for the next 10 days, either 6 oz four times a day or three capsul powers four times a day — She will NOT take the pills … the taste if horrific!!! The ER dr even said it is the worst thing you will ever taste — which didn’t help my case to get through this!! I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!!?!!?!??!?!?!
This is a very strong antibiotic and there is not other one to replace it. I have tried mixing the liquid and powder from teh capsul in pudding, juices, ice cream, cake icing and tried each of these with very little doses at a time — nothing at all works… she is refusing to take it. I am so afraid that she is going to get even a stronger infection.
I wish there was a good food or drink out there that would help with this issue … the patch someone mentioned would be wonderful!!!
Frustrated in NC!
September 15, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I’m sorry that I don’t have any solutions. I am just another parent, with a stubborn kid and about at the end of my rope. My daughter has an infection in her lymph nodes. She has refused to take her antibiotic. This is nothing new. She has always been this way. The only problem is, this time, it could be life threatening. I tried for 5-6 hours last night to get her to take her meds. I spoke to the doctor, after hours last night who said to try; bribery and if it doesn’t work, take away her most prized possessions. The doctor said that sooner or later, she would cave. I spent the entire night, packing up everything in her room, she lost every single toy, picture, her TV, you name it, it was gone. She is down to a bed and a dresser. My back hurt and she was just plain mad! My six year old even packed a suit case and told me she was “out of here!”. She was going to move out and find a new mom who wouldn’t force her to take medicine. Of course she came back less than 30 seconds later, but still, something has to give. I tried leveling with her, being honest with her about her condition and discussing the consequences, to no avail. It is so hard, to see someone you love, refuse to take medicine that they need. It looks like we will be admitted into the hospital for some IV antibiotics, since the shot in the dr. office won’t be strong enough. I love that patch idea that someone mentioned up above. That would be a life saver! Good luck parents! I am glad that I am not alone.
September 16, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I am soooo sorry you are going through this. I have a daughter just as stubborn and I can imagine the exact scenario happening in our home. I hope a few hours in the hospital convinced her and I hope she is on the mend. Please give me an update when you can. Moody Mommy
October 17, 2009 at 4:39 pm
OK, my son has H1N1 swine flu. He was put on Tamiflu oral suspension. I had it flavored grape on the small chance that my 8yr old might actually take it. First dose took an hour to give, but he was too sick to fight me much. Second dose this morning was a battle and ended with him puking it back up. Now what? He is a very picky eater anyway. Won’t eat applesause, frosting, or any other “sneaky” methods. I tried grape koolaid but he wasn’t fooled. Refused it, so that dose was wasted. I tried rewards and bribes. No good. I tried threats. No good. I tried to reason with him and explain why it was so important. His answer-“I’d rather die than take that nasty medicine.”
October 18, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I am so so sorry you are going through that. Right now, we are struggling to give Charlie iron supplements and boy do they taste yucky. Now he won’t even drink his favorite grape juice after having to drink the iron mixed in it. I wish you all the best with your child. I hope he gets better soon. Please let us know how he’s doing, and what, if anything, the doc suggests about the Tamiflu.
October 18, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Yes, it is very hard trying to get someone to do something that is only good for them. When our children are sick and we have a solution that will take care of them all we want to do is get the meds inside their bodies!! I have this problem with my 14 year old daughter and now I am a similiar problem with my 71 year old mom. She just had surgery 10 days ago and she refuses to eat… she doesn’t have an appetite!!
Pretty crazy…
October 19, 2009 at 12:36 am
My daughter finally took her medicine. It took two shots from the doctor to push her to take her medicines. She was so scared that she was going to get more shots that she finally took the meds.
October 19, 2009 at 9:00 pm
So happy it is working out!
October 20, 2009 at 1:52 am
hello everyone , i am sooooooooo tired of trying all sorts of things over the past few years.. my son who is now 7 has made me cry and cry and cry…because he just wont take medicen he simply just pukes it all out !!!.. its getting a little better now.. actually lets just say that i am getting use to it. Anyway there is is one thing i do i give him his medication always in front of the bathroom sink and i run cold water ,let him play with the water …AND i keep a teaspoon of Nutttela in one hand and the medicen in the other . It has made a difference ….do try it…it has worked for us to some extent….my heart goes out to all parents with this problem …..
p.s my daughter is only 4 and actually enjoys any kind of medicen ….!!!……..
October 20, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I can’t believe I’ve found this page!
My son is almost 6 and has autism. He’s been iffy with meds most of his life but I was usually able to hide them in things if he flat out wouldn’t take them.
He came down with a fever two nights ago. At first it took some convincing (he’s almost nonverbal but understands everything we say and can be reasoned with) but he took his chewable ibuprofen on his own. Well last night was The Worst. It ended with him crying, daddy upset and mommy crying. He just WOULD NOT take the ibuprofen to help bring his fever down. Refused. Clamped his jaws shut. When we got it in liquid form and used a syringe to get it in his inner cheek he (of course) spit it back up. We even tried the holding his nose and he would just rather not breathe then, haha. But when the mouth would open again he would shoot his tongue out immediately and push out whatever we tried to pour in.
As far as that doctor from that article posted way up, the one in Hawaii… Most of us have enough of a hard time struggling with wondering where we went wrong and we don’t need some holier than thou patronizing *Saint* to tell us what we should try when we’ve all already been there and done all of that. Shame on you, I say to him/her! My son didn’t start giving us a hard time until he was 2 or 3, so his/her claim of ‘if they learn to take meds by the time they’re 1 everything will be fine’…bull!
He doesn’t like applesauce, ice cream or frosting, but I did use that method mentioned a few posts up and put it into an icee today while it was still thawed then I froze it. He ate over half of it and the only reason he didn’t get to finish it is because his cousin (a toddler) snatched it out of his hand and spilled it all over the floor. But it looks like the icee idea works for my son! Hooray!
October 20, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I’m glad you found something that works. Next time, if you are just concerned about getting a fever down, a cool bath could do the trick. Also, I would consult w/the doc b/c with some fevers it is only a matter of making your child comfortable. If he can suffer through the fever (and if you can too 🙂 ) and the doc says it is ok, perhaps doing nothing at all is another option. I hope you get some rest, I’m sure you need it!
October 22, 2009 at 3:12 am
I don’t think what im gonna say is gonna help anyone but here goes..
I am the mother of a 4 year old little boy named ryan..
when he was a little over 1 he was diagnosed with 2 forms of treatment resistant kidney disease and is now in late stage 4 kidney failure.. he has to take 14 yes you read that right 14 meds a day and injections at home weekly let me tell you he hates taking meds too … but hes not given a choice he has to take them or he will die
what all of you need to understand what what they need to understand is this .. you are the parent they are the child they don’t have the option to take only what they feel like and not take anything else… they need to take what you give them and realize your doing it for a reason and that’s to help them get better even if it means you have to hold them down and make them then that’s what you need to do it may not be fun for either of you they may throw it up which we deal with daily but it’s something they have to do .. and they will understand that even if they don’t want to they have to and no matter how many times they make them selves puke you have to keep trying or they win and you will deal with it for life ..
my son spends weeks at a time at the hospital and like all of your children came up with all kinds of excuses like it takes bad or it’s yukky or w/e the excuse maybe the nurses tried to crush the pills up and mix it in choc syrup, choc ice cream, pudding, drinks of all kinds and he wasent having it
well let me tell you after spending most of his free time in time out and staring at a wall for a few days and doing nothing fun he has decided it’s easier to take them and get it over with because he knows now if i don’t i will be in trouble and won’t have any fun .. i wish you all the best of luck with your children i know it’s hard but you have to be the adult and stand your ground about things like this since after all your the parent not them !!
October 23, 2009 at 3:56 pm
[…] favorite, grape juice. Always willing to give a food or drink the ol’ college try (unlike my Eva!), he drank most of it. When I offered it to him the next day, however, a look of panic came over his […]
November 10, 2009 at 1:06 am
Oh my gosh i really dont know what to do. I’m 16 and it’s my little sister i’m worried about. She’s 10 and she has the starts of pnemonia from a flu. She also has problems with authority and she’s seen a counciler before.
The flu she’s had for 8 days now. The entire time she’s been sick she’s missed school(which she’s not good at) and Mom hasnt slept at all.
We are having trouble getting her to take a liquid medicine. My mom, the people pleaser, has tried beging, bribing, and hiding it. Then it led to screaming from both of them. Then my stepdad, the law, came home(her dad). He tried talking to her nicely and explaining everything to her but so far it hasn’t worked.
I can only see the next 10 day as a living nightmare.
November 10, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Your sister is very lucky to have a big sister like you. Do you know why she won’t take her med? Does she look up to you? Maybe you can reason with her. If not, the doc may say she has to go to the hospital. Keep the doc informed at all times! Good luck and I hope your sis gets well soon.
November 11, 2009 at 1:48 am
She doesnt really look up to me but we did find a way!!!!! We used a little dropper thingy and she let us shoot it towards the back of her throat! 🙂 Less icky taste especially if followed by a gulp of orange juice! Halelujah!
November 11, 2009 at 3:45 am
So happy for you! What a great idea!
April 22, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I’m glad to hear I’m not just a terrible mother. I have yet to figure out to get medicine in her! I have tried mixing it with yougart, icecream, popsicles, ect. You name it and I’ve tried it. This medicine does not come in a patch and can not be given by a shot (which she is also deathly afraid of. The only suggestion I get from every doctor is to try to mix it with her favorite food (duh) I guess when I told them I’ve tried everything they missed the EVERYTHING part. We have ben struggling for months with this. I’ve tricking and hiding it and being 8 she eventually figures it out and now refuses to eat foods she used to love because she is scared I hid medicine in it and now doen’t fully trust me which breaks my heart. We try for hours each morning and all it does is create tears for all and still no medicine!! I don’t know what to do!!!!
November 10, 2009 at 4:54 am
Moms out there. I have bad news. Once a child is stubborn about taking meds, they will always be. My 9 yr old son would rather suffer his illness, make us all ill, and keep us up at night instead of taking any medicine. It IS a nightmare and it doesn’t get any better as they get older.
One hint for medium ear infections. Warm olive oil drops in the ear helps sooth them. Maybe 2 drops each side. Ear infections do clear up and DON’T always need antibiotics.
November 10, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Susan, That is just not true!!! My seven-year-old who used to be completely resistant now takes certain meds when before she wouldn’t take it at all! You just have to find what works. For us, it is a chewable and plugging her nose and following it all w/a jelly belly and /or ice cream. As far as the antibiotics for ear infections, your doc is the best one to determine that, but I believe studies have shown that they go away on their own eventually. The key is whether you child is uncomfortable or not. Good luck!
November 10, 2009 at 4:57 am
For those who have kids too little to take honey, use Agave Nectar as a substitute. It is a milder sweetness and tastes great.
January 12, 2010 at 5:28 am
Just wanted to thank you all for sharing your stories and advice. I truly thought I was alone in this struggle. Tonight has been a hard night. Dealing with an almost 3 year old with a bad cold and fever that REFUSES to take medicine. I am extremely excited to hear that they make Tylenol suppositories! Never thought I would ever say that 🙂 The patch is an awesome idea too. Good to know about the antibiotic shot. I will have to ask his doctor about that next time we are there. Thanks again. I feel like there is hope after all.
January 13, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Mommomia, I hope your child gets better soon! He/she may grow out of the aversion to meds as s/he grows up. My daughter, the stubborn one I wrote about is seven now and will usually take medicine because she finally understands that she can feel better with it. It may still be a struggle regarding taste, but she is finally old enough (and rational enough) to work with us to find something she likes to go with it. It is usually ice cream or jelly bellys. Good luck! Moody Mommy
January 27, 2010 at 8:31 pm
My 4 year old strong-willed son was diagnosed with pnemonia and bronchitis. We’ve been fighting with him to take his antiobiotic for days. We’ve tried everything. He’d rather get the shot. Finally…finally found what worked for us. We put small amounts in a teaspoon of chocolate frosting till he finished his 1 tsp of medicine. The frosting is thick and sweet to disguise the taste. I hope this can help others going through the same thing.
January 28, 2010 at 11:31 pm
What a RELIEF to read all your posts. My just turned 5 year old has to take a small capsule every morning and it’s turned into absolute hell. We’ve tried putting the cap in yogurt, both whole and opened and sprinkled and covered w/more yogurt. He used to take it fine, now he won’t take it either way. I was 2 hours late to work today and he still didn’t take all of the powder in the yogurt. He can taste it in any liquid, so that’s out.
Bribes, time outs, taking things away, charts w/smilies & rewards, holding him down and plopping the bit of yogurt on the back of his tongue…yeah, THAT was a good one.
I feel SO BAD. I’ve had mothers tell me “I just told my son he had to be a big boy”.
Well, I’ve tried that.
Dr said “Just put the cap in a bite of ice cream. What kid won’t eat ice cream?”
Well, Dr….MINE.
My dh refused to try to give it to him b/c he would get so upset, so I took over and it worked for me for a few days but now he won’t take it for me either.
I think I’ll try the chocolate frosting, though I know he’s going to wonder why the heck he’s being offered chocolate frosting in the morning, which will clue him to the fact that there’s medicine in it and he won’t take it.
I can’t “reason” with him, like get him to hold his nose or numb his tongue first.
I just feel drained.
February 9, 2010 at 2:56 am
you all should talk to a pharmacy that does ‘compounding.’ these pharmacists can make anything into a lollipop, a gummy bear or a freezie pop. i live in canada and they do this here. it’s awesome! they hide the taste of medicine. it costs a little extra, but it’s worth it. just ask your doctor if he knows of any pharmacies in your area that do ‘compounding’ of medications.
February 15, 2010 at 5:09 am
This is great advice. I will find out. Where I live, all our pharmacies are chains (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) Maybe there’s one lone pharmacy out there that compounds. Thanks!
June 26, 2010 at 4:28 am
I actually thought of that before too! And am really surprise to know that its being practiced already… This is enough for a campaign!
My son outgrew his fear of meds but I just spent 2 hours tonight trying to give antibiotic to my 2 year old girl! This is only day 2 (our doctor split his hours between his 2 office, so even shots might be available, it would not woRk for us. I’ve also tried the pill method but doctor feared that I’d mess up the proper dosage. Too bad she only drinks water & milk…
June 26, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Doc thought you’d mess up the dosage? Do you mean b/c you can’t monitor how much your child will take or b/c s/he doesn’t trust you to cut the pills and administer them? Isn’t it worth a try? Good luck and I hope your little one gets better!
February 10, 2010 at 1:32 am
Our 5-year old son has been the same way as many of you described since he was 1 years old. I was hoping he would grow out of it, but it seems to have gotten worse. And now that hes bigger (and more stubborn), its a bit harder too hold him down to administer any medication. I have tried basically everything Ive read online and nothing works except pinning him down by sitting on his chest, holding his nose, and sticking the dropper into his mouth while he screams, bites, gags, choles, and coughs out about half of what I give him. And when Im done he becomes extremely angry with me and gets all worked up. Its horrible to do and watch (wife usually in tears) and I feel like Im causing more pychological damage than the good Im doing by getting the medicine in him. I explain to my son afterwards the reason for my actions, but man, I just feel so guilty about it and have a hard time believing that it wont have some long term effect on him or between us. The funny thing is our 3 year old son is the complete opposite and takes medicine like a champ – gets mad when he cant have more. We are also fortunate that our 5 year old only has to take medicine for common fevers, earaches, etc. and has no medical conditons that require daily use of a medication. I dont know what I would do if that was the case – and my heart goes out to anyone with a child in that situation. But words cant explain how frustrating and wearing it is when your kid wont take medicine. It can test every ounce of patience you have when you are trying to adminster medicine at 3 am and the kid is screaming bloody murder for 20 minutes. I have lost it a few times and yelled at him, but that only seems to make matters worse, as well as make yourself feel worse about losing your cool. Whoever invents a solution to this problem will become rich person and likely be idolized by many, many frustrated parents. Im at a point where I would spend any amunt of money on some method to cure this problem. Im actually thinking about taking my kid to a hypnotist. My regards to anybody else in the same boat we’re in.
February 10, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Dear Senm, Hang in there! I’m convinced that going through all of that is worse for the parents than the child. Please let me know what happens if you do see a hypnotist!
February 10, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I would love to hear how it goes with a hyponotist too! Please update us if you decide to do it. I have thought about it also for my daughter.
March 8, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Here’s yet another tip for those of you pulling your hair out. My VERY strong-willed three-year old hates taking medicine, so I try to disguise it whenever possible. (Otherwise it takes 2 of us to hold him down, pry his jaws open, squirt it in and clamp his mouth and nose shut to keep him from spitting it out. Not pretty.)
This time around I used his very favorite special treat, juice boxes. Before I gave it to him, I squirted the meds from the syringe through the straw hole after sipping out a small amount of juice. I shook it up (finger over the hole), inserted the straw, and he drank it right down. We’ve done four doses now and he doesn’t have a clue. Phew!
March 18, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I just went and told my daughter what you did and said to get strong good juicey juice box not generic kind they seem to be watered down and not much taste. She going to try it.
Thanks for the tip
March 18, 2010 at 2:32 pm
We are going through the samething this morning with my 5yr old grandaughter…It’s hard to see her go through this just for taking medicine.
I believe it would be to the Pharmacy companies advantage to invent a patch. If they can make a patch for smokers and pain meds, then they should be able to make one for childrens medicines. Also, the doctors should realize, that my child is not the only child out there that won’;t take medicine and quit treating mothers or grandmothers like they are incompedent and don’t know how to make there children take meds. I hate to see my grandaughter crying ,shaking and throwing up it is just heart breaking.
So you smart guys out there do for the children that you did for the smokers make a PATCH!!!!!and do it soon I know it will sell.
March 18, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Thank God I am not alone. My 3 yr old daughter has been coughing and having on and off runny nose for a month. Four times with the doctor, different medicines. Last night was her last dose of antibiotics but she spitted it out, and we forced to call the 2 securities from the building to assist us. Good thing, she was a bit scared that other people were in the house to watch her, she at last taken the medicine. But there will be lots of struggles for sure as I have 26 days more to go for her broncho-Vaxom oral vaccine which I have no idea where to mix it (juice, ice cream or milk)
April 27, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I let my 3 year old give me some medicine (tiny amount), then she’ll drink. We sometimes pretend to give some to her toy animals. Hope this works and God Bless.
April 27, 2010 at 1:53 pm
My daughter (age 4) had her toncils and adenoids removed yesterday morning… the operation went well. After the operation she ate 2 sandwiches and 2 packed of crisps, in the evening she ate chips and sausages (given to her by the hospital) she took her medication with no problem at all. in the night she started vomiting and refusing to take her medication, when she woke up the nurse “forced” her to have her medicine which resulted in my daughter vomiting again. this morning she was sent home even though she hasnt had any medicine, drinks or food. Im still not able to give her anything, ive tried ice cream, cold juice and ice….. she is in so much pain and i cant even get her to have a tiny bit of the medicine the hospital gave us.
Has anybody got any advice? im at a complete loss here
April 28, 2010 at 3:34 am
My Eva had her tonsils and adenoids removed too. She refused to drink for hours and our stay in the hospital was hours and hours longer than it should have been. She hated the hospital more than the drugs so we were able to reason with her that she’d have to go back to the hospital if she didn’t keep down the meds. Eva was older than your daughter so it may not be so easy. What is the doctor’s advice? Try to bring her to the doc and maybe your daughter will take it in the doc’s presence as sometimes children will listen to a doctor over a parent. Good luck and I’m so sorry you are going through this!
April 27, 2010 at 2:08 pm
HELP! My little girl has just spent 9 days in hospital on the antibiotic drips into her hands and feet, she has now been released however they have given her 2 lots of antibiotics both to be taken 4 times daily. One is 4ml the other 6.5ml. This is needed for a whole 6 weeks. She screams and screams and we have to pin her down and force her, however she just spits it out. I’ve tried everything. I can get it in her mouth, just can’t get her to swallow it but that is really distressing for all involved. I’ve talked to her, I’ve gone mad, I explained she will have to go back to hospital, I’ve tried reward charts, treat’s, everthing. I couldn’t bare another hospital stay.
April 28, 2010 at 3:31 am
So sorry you are going through this. Can you get a chewable? The liquid med is horrible to smell and taste, you can hardly blame these children! Good luck and I hope your daughter gets well soon.
May 16, 2010 at 7:38 pm
my son is 3 years old and will not take any sort of meds. at the moment he is suffering with ear ache and i know if i can get him to take some paracetamol it will at least ease the pain for him. but every time i manage to get a little into him he makes himself throw up. i have tried everything.i hate seeing him in pain and i know he’s too young to understand that the meds will help him. please any advice would be greatly appreciated.
July 4, 2010 at 5:16 pm
my son wont take his biaxin…..when he was on ammoxicillin a year or so ago i woulod cut the mr freezie top off and put the medicine in it then put a clothes pin on it and refreeze it….but dont work with biaxin, good luck to everyone
August 4, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Oh my gosh! I can’t believe how many others are dealing with same thing. my 6 year daughter has lyme disease and has been on antibiotics for 6+ months. Its been a STRUGGLE daily, she is now on her 4th different antibiotic. Some worse than others. She is refusing her new Rx, even though I had it flavored grape. Beside myself what to even do. Am thinking of holding her down and forcing as only option available, but afraid she will just throw it up. then all you’ve done is upset the child and their meds till aren’t in them. I like the freezie pop idea, but have my doubts it will work on her. (we have had suspensions, chewables, flavored, etc…), have crushed pills, mixed liquid with juice, made malts, etc…. A spoon full of sugar does NOT help the medicine go down.
August 4, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I’m so sorry you are going through this! Keep us posted on what works.
August 5, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Hi Amy! I don’t have an solutions for you. I wish I did. I definitely know what you are going through. The only thing that works with my daughter is shots. When she needs antibiotics and refuses to take them, we are forced to resort to injections. It is tough on everyone. I, like you, have tried just about everything – as you can see from my earlier post. Hang in there and be patient. I am sending you and your daughter my prayers and best wishes.
August 7, 2010 at 1:17 am
“out of options” Does your doc do it? When we thought we’d have to resort to the shot the doc said we’d have to go to the hospital and each one was $300. What is your experience?
August 8, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Our pediatrician has been great and understanding. She will administer the shots in her office. I do have to pay our co-pay every time we go, which can really add up quick but it is still cheaper than going to the hospital. The last time my daughter was sick (with her spleen), they did discuss having her admitted for IV antibiotics but luckily we were able to bypass that and going to the dr.’s office for daily shots. Eventually my daughter starting taking her medicine orally just because she was sick of the shots. There has been one major downfall to this, she associates the dr.’s office with pain and she gets scared to even go to her well visits. We are working on this.
-Renee
August 5, 2010 at 3:02 pm
This site helped me immensely last year when my 7 year old would not take her antibiotics. After reading through all the hints, I told her (my daughter) about the site and about how other children have solved their issues and asked her to choose one method that she thought would work for her. She chose the method of numbing her tongue with an ice pop before taking the meds, then drinking juice right afterwards. It worked, I think in part because she had a say in what would be happening, as opposed to my trying to come up with ways to trick her into taking her meds. I don’t know if this could help anyone else, but it might be worth a try.
September 14, 2010 at 6:51 pm
this is definitely a problem.
i have similar issues with my own mom.
but she is an adult so how can i convince
her to take her medicine regularly ?
September 14, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Offer her a popsicle. No, I’m kidding. I’m sorry you have this problem. Fortunately, I haven’t had to “take care” of my mom or anyone elderly just yet. I wish you luck!
September 29, 2010 at 8:00 am
Wow after reading alott of this your still responding to people also looking for answers. I’m up at 3 am looking for answers myself. But I guess finding out that alott of parents suffer through the same thing make me feel better. Thanks moody mom for staying intouch with all of us looking for help.
September 29, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Paul, Thanks for your comment. I hope some of the “commenters” (did I just invent a word?) gave you some ideas and I hope your little one feels better soon.. Cozy up to your little one and get some sleep.
October 25, 2010 at 2:47 am
I have the same problem with my 7 yr old daughter. It is so bad I dont know what to do. People give me advice like put it in some juice soup etc…it doesnt work. I tried to make jello shots one time that didnt even work. This is so difficult I have lost my patients.
November 6, 2010 at 12:56 am
I know how you feel. My son has been having chronic ear infections. He is 2, and absolutely refuses to take his antibiotic. I don’t know what else to do. I have tried disguising it in food and drinks, and holding him down (which we both hated). He vomited. I called the doctor’s office and they told me to try ice cream. Other than that they didn’t know what else to try. I tried making him a milkshake and it didn’t work. The doctor wants to put tubes in his ears. I do not want that. I don’t know what to do.
November 9, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Terri, Ask your doc about this b/c I’m not a doc but ear infections typically don’t need an antibiotic and clear up on their own. Overuse of antibiotics is a problem in our nation and can hurt your child and the community as our “bugs” and bodies get more and more resistant to antibiotics. The problem is that ear infections can be painful so we want them gone fast! So . . . Whole Foods and possibly other stores sell homeopathic and/or herbal ear drops to deaden the pain. Ask you doc about such ear drops if the only concern is the pain. I hope your child feels better soon!
November 12, 2010 at 4:22 am
Terri, if you can avoid ear tubes I would! my daughter just got them Nov. 5 and it has been a night mare. shes on 2 different types of antibiotics twice daily and ear drops and the Doctor said she cant go off the antibiotic’s until he says so which can be months. I wish I would have known that before we went trow with it. It has been like hell in my house and we have tried everything under the sun to get her to take her antibiotic’s. one of them looks like paste its so thick it takes forever to get it out of the bottle…… I have been thinking about just taking her to the hospital because her Doctor wont even return my phone calls.
November 12, 2010 at 5:02 am
we have been struggling with this for 3 years now and it seems to be getting worse. I’m to the end of my rope! my daughters former Doctor said her behavior with this is my fault and that I need to put my foot down. I wander if shes a mother! (I feel hopeless)
November 12, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Bonnie, I’m so sorry for your struggles. Thank you for adding that information about antibiotics needed for ear tubes. That’s probably something a doc should mention before the children have to get them.
November 21, 2010 at 2:37 am
I figured it out for our 3 year old son. My wife sat on top of him and held his arms down. I used a syringe and put it in his cheek towards the back of his throat. He can’t easily spit it out and it only takes 1-2 minutes to safely get it all in. He did not gag or choke at all. We were going crazy trying to figure what to do until we did this. I previously took us 1-2 hours to get him to take it. I hope this helps someone. I feel your pain.
December 26, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Josh, Thanks for this post, I guess it helps some people. That didn’t work for me b/c we had too much kicking and screaming and vomiting from a strong-willed child. Luckily, it has been a few years since my original post and I can reason w/my children now (finally!). To those of you who try this method of sitting on your child and holding him/her down, just please make sure that, when everyone is calm, you explain to him/her why you did that so that s/he understands you were doing it because you had to give them medicine to make them better and that you would have preferred not to do that. Pinning one’s child down (I’ve had to do it too) can be traumatic for all involved.
December 24, 2010 at 10:11 am
Thank you Josh Blake (and everyone else).
After reading this blog something snapped inside me. It is 5am here. My 3 year old child has autism and has always had eating issues (food avoidance) and disliked putting anything in to his mouth.
He now has a double-ear infection, pneumonia, and strep-throat. He is also wonderfully allergic to penicillin, so options are limited.
Up until about 2 months ago he would happily take cold medicine and even request it when sick. After having a nasty cough for 6 weeks, he has decided that he no longer wants to take any medicine. We started with hiding it in food. Peach applesauce and cold medicine was working well for a while (make sure the medicine is some fruit flavour as well, bubble gum flavour doesn’t cut it), then suddenly he stopped taking it that way (likely can taste the medicine). Chocolate pudding was working with crushed chewable cold medicine and was working for a day with the newest antibiotic liquid. Then today…nothing. 4 hours of negotiations…I pulled out Christmas gifts with the promise of him being able to have them if he ate the pudding…nothing…wouldn’t touch it.
After reading this blog and getting to the bottom and reading Josh Blake’s last post, I snapped. I woke up my wife and did exactly what Josh posted…and it worked. I think it finally sunk in that no matter how traumatic is was for my son, he needed the medicine or possible complications from the illness would be oh so much worse.
He screamed, he screamed for help, he cried, he scream to stop, he cried and spit, he screamed to stop, he tried to trash around, there was so much snot running out his nose we couldn’t keep up with it…and then it was over. Maybe it is the autism…but he was completely fine and happy after the event.
Thank you all for encouragement to do what I needed to do. It was awful…but hopefully the next time will go better and if not, at least I know it can be done.
For those of you with gag and puke reflex children…I really feel for you. I can’t imagine what I would do if that was the reaction. Hopefully you can overcome it somehow.
December 30, 2010 at 12:10 am
I know this is an old topic, but I stumbled across it while having this issue with my 4-year old DD. She takes OTC medicine (tylenol, ibuprofin) ok – meaning she whines a bit but takes it. But on Christmas day she came down with a nasty case of strep throat and was put on Penicillin. Even with the flavoring from the pharmacy, it is AWFUL. Yes, I tried a bit, so I could see what I was up against, and it is truly wretched tasting.
Anyway, after the first little sip, she threw a fit and refused to take anymore. Screaming, crying, saying she was scared, begging, and eventually working herself into such a state that she gagged most of it back up. After that, every time I even mentioned medicine it sent her into a panic. So I found this thread, and found something that works. She now takes her medicine with NO PROBLEM AT ALL, and even reminds me when it’s time (she has 5 days left). Here’s what we do – it sounds complicated, but it doesn’t take long:
1 – We bought a bunch of popsicles in different flavors. I start the process by letting her pick the flavor of popsicle she wants so she feels involved.
2 – I get a cup of water ready, and a knife, and a spoon.
3 – She gets to start with a sip of water, and then I cut off a small piece of popsicle for her to eat by herself.
4 – Next, I pour a small amt of the medicine (about 0.5 mL, or a tenth of a teaspoon) onto the spoon, cut off another piece of popsicle, and put that on the spoon as well. Then she gets a bite of medicine mixed w/ popsicle.
5 – Then she gets a sip of water, and another plain (no medicine) bite of popsicle
6 – then she gets the medicine/popsicle combo again.
7 – repeat until done. Sounds like a lot but it only takes about 5-10 minutes. It’s getting faster each time.
Another thing I found that really helps is to distract her while I’m giving her a bite of the popsicle/medicine. She really loves to hear me tell her stories about when I was a kid, so right as I’m about to put the bite in her mouth I say something like “You know, when I was a little girl, I was really sick once too and my Mom…..” so she’s listening to my story instead of concentrating on the medicine.
Another thing that helped is to be honest with her. At 4, my daughter can be reasoned with, and I just let her know that there’s nothing that will make the medicine taste GOOD, but we are trying to make it taste less bad.
Hope this helps someone – good luck all!
p.s. – yeah, I know I’m giving my daughter 2 popsicles a day with this method, but they’re the 100% fruit ones and as long as she’s getting her meds, I really don’t care.
December 30, 2010 at 1:16 am
Mary, Thank you so much for posting this method. I think the cold also helps b/c it numbs the tongue to tastes. Really, who cares if your child is having popsicles? Frustrated parents will do whatever it takes to get medicine to our children. Anyway, the fluids from the popsicles are probably beneficial! 🙂
January 1, 2011 at 2:10 am
Ok guys, so I see I am not alone here with my 2yr old not wanting to take her meds….My little petal is 2 with Cystic Fibrosis, and a history of feeding difficulties. Over the last two weeks she has stopped taking her enzymes, which are required at each meal or drink. Problem is that unlike antibiotics, there is no alternative but to give them to her orally, and we are talking 10-15 times per day!!! and not taking them is making her sick (Tummy pain, weight loss, and oily poo’s) Before this she was taking the capsule whole in apple sce (good girl) and I have tried everything! capsule whole, opened into granules, in apple sce, tomato sce, yoghurt, custard, sweetened condensed milk (boy that is sticky), in juice, I have tried bribing with stickers, and chocolate, I have tried mixing it with her food…..and nothing seems to work…..holding her down dosen’t seem to work as she just spits it anyway, and doing that 10-15 times a day, would drive both her and I nuts!!! ANYONE have any ideas??? PLEASE!
February 13, 2011 at 1:31 am
Just found everyones cure. Suppositories. Acetaminophen or “tylenol” that goes in the butt.
Honestly works wonders. Starting to take action in 10 to 15 minutes
March 19, 2011 at 3:31 pm
I hear you about kids not taking their medicine, my 8 yr old daughter won’t take hers unless its Bubblegum flavor (then sometimes she will) other times we still have problems; Also another question, does anyone have trouble when their kids go to the doctor? Like my daughter has a fit when she has to have a strep test, any shots or eyedrops at the eye doctor, Me, my husband, or both of us and 2 Aides have to hold her down ( and she is really strong)_ then the doctor does their thing, Any suggestions on how to stop this from happening, so we don’t have to keep holding her down? We’re really tired from all of this, as you can well imagine. HELP!!!!!!
March 19, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Oy! Just took my son for a strep test yesterday and had to hold his arms down. My daughter goes crazy when they have to clean her waxy ears. Unless your children are old enough to respond to reason . . .”the doc is trying to help you . . .the pain or uncomfortable feeling will only last for a second, etc,” I don’t know of anything else but to hold a child down when they resist. It breaks my heart to do it, but sometimes parenting is about making the hard choices. Good luck!
April 16, 2011 at 9:59 pm
how about flavourless meds! then sneaking it in their juice wont be an issue!
April 21, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I have an 18 month old son who won’t take amoxosilin. We’ve tried everything I can think of. I thought maybe getting the chewable kind would be eaiser (since he likes the chewable “melt away Tylenol”) until i poured them out of the bottle and they were horse pill sized… (for an 18month old!?) I cut them in half, and gave him a melt away at the same time trying to trick him… he’s to smart… he looked at them and said “not red” and his melt-a-ways are red. So i popped one in his mouth like i was giving him a bite of food. Big NO resulted out of that, he hates them. He wont eat food that they are crushed up in, or drink anything I mix it with… I was desperate enough to hold him down with half of a pill crushed up in his spoon. He stuck his tongue out of his mouth with the white powder on on and wouldn’t swallow… and of course it was there until it was drooled off…
April 21, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Chelsea, I’m so sorry you are going through this! I hope some of the tricks on my blog submitted by desperate parents like you can help. Is it an ear infection? Talk to your doc but most go away on their own. To keep your child’s ears comfortable in the meantime, you can use a natural remedy in the ears to help. Always check w/the doc though. I hope your little one gets better soon.
May 11, 2011 at 6:21 am
Get your kiddo to hold her nose with one hand and a bottle of water in the other on standby as you do quick squirt of antibiotic from syringe then she/he’ll drink the water down fast as many sips or preferably gulps as possible. What is yucky is the taste – and smell plays a big part in taste. Syringe makes the process quicker and minimises the smell unlike a spoon or cup. Put a tissue on the end of the syringe to also minimise smell as you get set! Bad smelling medicine often makes them nauseous if already feverish and feeling sick. My daughter used to run about the house like a hullabaloo no matter how poorly to avoid yucky medicine (and heck yeah aren’t people judgemental when kids let off some steam – had complaint from charming new neighbours only yesterday objecting to the usual poorly kid theatrics! what do they expect from a tired hungry poorly kid?!), now today she has taken her medicine with a smile using this method – of course it helps that her fever has settled but after I explained the plan she was very willing – we’d tried same with a cup before but some smell and therefore taste was still bad – syringe really works better – hope this helps – if it doesn’t work for you keep trying, these little people are all unique and you’ll find a way – many kids do this and they live so don’t worry! the appendicitis meds I had at 12 I recall as appalling and I remember being a stinker re taking them even at that age and I think i’ve turned out an okay adult and wasn’t a tearaway teen! I think my parents crushed the tablets I couldn’t swallow like flagil into honey or wrapped them crushed in bread. Also your family doc may be able to give a once-a-day option – our usual GP is a star with great rapport with kiddo so she’s very compliant if it’s him – our only problem this time round was it was a locum who gave her twice-a-day most hated medicine so we were back to old tricks! But do try the kid holding his/her nose and syringe n water trick it had our little warrior all smiles again in seconds and feeling very chuffed and brave and she realised it wasn’t so bad at all! Take heart and good luck!
May 11, 2011 at 3:29 pm
thank you for this advice!
May 17, 2011 at 10:21 pm
My 9 year old daughter has a hard time taking a pill. She suggested putting it in sugar to get it down. Just like the saying goes: A spoon full of sugar….
May 26, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Thanks for this thread! I was on day 2 of trying to give my 6 year old antibiotics… The trauma was awful… sobbing, vomiting… what to do.
Suggestions here led me to blending up a fruit smoothie – bananas, strawberries and milk with his medicine mixed in. We went from sobs to “yummy” in 5 minutes.
May 27, 2011 at 1:18 am
Brett, I’m so happy things worked out!
June 5, 2011 at 3:44 am
I was so relieved to read some of these posts! I am going through such a hard time right now with my 7 year old. He has been diagnosed with Lymes Disease and put on a terrible antiobiotic for 21 days!!! He is allergic to penacillin so we don’t have much of a choice. I can get him to take Motrin for the fever and aches but need to get him to keep that antiobiotic down. If he doesn’t take his meds in the morning we need to go to the hospital. I may try the smoothie idea.
June 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
To Lauren, wow, I am so so sorry to hear your child has such a serious disease. Is a shot an option? It is super expensive, but in his case worth it! I hope he gets well soon.
June 23, 2011 at 8:56 pm
My son has been on alot of medications for alot of different reasons (ear infections, acid reflux, adenoids removed and tons more). Since he has been born. He ALWAYS took his medicine without any problems but once he turned 22 month he refused to take them. I asked the pharmacist to make it a flavored kind I try and get the apple flavor. Then I get really small juice boxes and squirt almost all of it out but leave some and then squirt the medicine in the juice box with a syringe and shake it up and tell the kids her is some apple juice. Works everytime =) Hope this helps I got this idea from another parent =)
June 25, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Lisa, Thanks for the helpful hints. All of these hints are sure to help and really make a difference!
July 5, 2011 at 7:53 am
Solution to this prolem is very simple!
I have a 3.5 year old who is very determind to the point of screaming and tantrums if it doesnt suit him. As with any child if they are calm and you can communicate with them there should be a solution. We absolubtly could not in any way get our child to take liquid penecillin for his tonsilitus, he spat it out refused point blank knocked the medicine out my hand, screamed and got very worked up. We tried the forcefull method squirt it in via a syringe then hold nose and close mouth so he has to swallow before breathing, he spat it out and got more frustrated. I calmed him down and explained all about why he has to have it even though it tastes horrible as it kills all the bad bugs in his tonsils but even calm that medicine was going nowhere near him.
Ok here is the trick,
sit down with your child and make sure he/she is very calm, give the child a nice drink like a fruit shoot in a bottle and say at any time they can drink the fruit shoot. Say your going to play a game, get a cushion on your knee as your sat down and get child to sit with back to you sidewards and tilt head back onto the cusion about 45%. Place a finger on the back molar and ask the child does this hurt, to which they say no as it doesnt. Say right now when I take my finger of your tooth you have to be real fast and drink the juice ok lets see how fast you are. Take your finger off and quickly get the child to drink the juice. Make a big song and a dance about how brilliant and fast they were and say lets do it again. This time after placing your finger on the tooth introduce the syringe and say ok im going to do squirt in your cheek (at the back), only squirt about 1 mil at a time. Squirt in one mil into the cheek and say swallow, then say quick drink the juice to take the taste away. When they have done that BIG PRAISE about wonderful and fantastic they were. Hitting the cheek at the back keeps the taste from the tonge and the quick drink gets rid of all in mouth. Repeat these steps one mil at a time and have great fun.
My child now looks forward to medicine time.
July 18, 2011 at 9:45 pm
For amoxicillin suspension, make an ice cream or yogurt smoothie/milkshake/ or malt. Yogurt is good, because it will help prevent diarrhea that the amoxicillin may cause. Put drink in smallest glass you have (only a couple of tablespoons!) . Add amoxicillin dose and mix. Tell your child that the choice is theirs; he/she can take the medicine in the smoothie or you will have to force it down. Remind them that you know they will make the right choice and that when they finish this amount, they can have a full sized drink. Keep reminding in the form of “I know you’ll make the right choice. I trust you to do it the easy way.”
July 19, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Nicole, Thank you for your idea and I know it will help someone. I just wish that stuff didn’t taste so incredibly disgusting.
August 8, 2011 at 12:46 pm
hi me and my partner hav a 7 year old boy who has epilepsy for the past 2 years he has refused to take it.we have punished him in always and docs have changed meds many of times to see if that works well none of it has and now we have just tryed the last med you can get for epilepsy.the docs have said the only think left is to insert a tube into is stomach we have told him this and even shown him pics yet he still insits on not taking his meds.
August 8, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I am so very sorry you are going through this. Most 7 year-olds will respond to bribery (if you take this . . . we can go for a bike ride) or taking away privileges (no t.v., computer games, etc,) until you take this. I’m not sure what kind of “punishments” you are imposing. Perhaps a graphic explanation of what will have to happen to his body if he has to get the stomach tube will scare him into taking it. Have you tasted it? Is it totally horrible? At 7 he may be able to learn how to swallow pills. Try practicing w/mini M & Ms. The idea of swallowing anything w/out chewing freaks my 9 yr old out but maybe your son will try that. I wish you luck and I hope you will find some ideas from the commenters on this site.
August 9, 2011 at 8:06 pm
we have tryed al those things hes had tabs and liq.think the tube is the only way forward.
August 9, 2011 at 9:15 pm
ughhhhh! so sorry! keep us posted.
November 3, 2011 at 8:46 am
Sorry but is it coincidence that 9 out of 10 of these stubborn children are female….(hope you moms can laugh about this)…in any case my young 3.5 year old daughter has an ear ache and reading this site did help. The following is what happened. After 35 unsuccessful attempts of trying to convince my youngster (female) to take her medicine, I found and read this site. (Lucky me!) So I walked out and said “Mom, get ready we’re going for a ride!” Mom say “where we goin’?, “to the doctor, the little one has to get a shot.” The little one looked at us both in anguish and said “I want Mommy to give me the shot!” I said “No, no now we are going to the doctor it is to late” The little one then begged to take the shot and mommy gave it to her with ease.
December 14, 2011 at 5:31 am
My son only likes Bubble Gum flavor
Medicine. So when he got strep throat
& refused his liquid Cherry flavor
Medicine, I poured it in a glass of Coke
& offered him a Cherry Coke!! Worked
Like a charm!! He was thrilled to have
soda while he was sick. It’s normally
Allowed max 1 X per week. Good luck
December 15, 2011 at 3:46 pm
I have a baby with asthma like symptoms, which requires her to take antibiotics and orapred (Prednizone in liquid form) from time to time, along with your normal fever reducing medication. This girl drinks nothing but water and milk. She cannot tolorate juices and throws them up. She is a very picky eater and has a strong gag reflex. We struggled for years getting her to take her medicine.
What finally worked was a combination of things. 1) She got older and was better able to control her gagging (not ALOT better, but sometimes just enough) 2) We were able to convince her that by mom or dad holding her nose, that it was impossible to taste. (Partially true, and usually good enough to get the medicine down and keep it down). We hold the nose before giving her the medicine and dont let go until SHE says it is okay. She also drinks water right after, which can be tricky with a nose being held shut, so the reminder to remember to breathe is always a factor : ) – Third is the bag of prizes we buy that she gets to pick from after the medicine has been taken. ANything from stickers to coloring things to plastic jewelry.
We thought we would NEVER be able to get this girl to take medicine, but she went from crying and screaming before, to “LET’S DO THIS THING DADDY!”
One other helpful hint was we were able to use Zithromax when an antibiotic was needed (whenever it was possible). Since Zithromax is a once a day for 5 days med vs. others which are 2x a day for 10-14 days, the struggle was lessened.Obviously this is not always an option, but at least worth asking about.
Good Luck!
January 8, 2012 at 6:59 pm
hi guys. i have a four year old daughter who has kidney problems she has to take antibiotics in medicine form every night she has done since she was born but getting her to take it now is a nightmare. its smells like aniseed so can u imagine the taste. however im at the end of my teather iv tried alsorts but with a smell like that she knows straight away please someone help with a good solution. all i get out of the doctor is she must take it. i know she must take it but i would love to see him trying to give her it.x
January 8, 2012 at 11:32 pm
I hope you find some good things to try somewhere in this thread of comments. I wish you luck and good health to your family.
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February 2, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Our 3 1/2 year old likes to help out. Today was her first liquid prescription. I asked if she would help me pour the medicine from the medicine dispenser to a spoon. Worked like magic! After 4 night of restless sleep, I call this a win in the Mommy column and for our lil one.Best of luck to all.
February 10, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I read this page last night after a horrible night with my 4 yr old that has an infection in her ear and I couldn’t get her to take her antibiotic. All that happened was me losing my temper and trying to force her to take it which ended in her spitting it back out and me feeling like the worst mom ever. Then I read somewhere else that if you mix it with chocolate syrup it might work so I tried it today, she tasted it but didn’t not care to eat it all, even though it was one part medicine, one part chocolate syrup and a little bit of extra sugar. I got frustrated again but said nothing and just kept thinking of another option. And THEN IT HIT ME! She loves coffee, which she hardly ever gets no matter how much she pleads, so I dumped the chocolate medicine mixture in some slightly warm milk and added a little bit of decaf instant coffee and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. She drank it all with a smile on her face. I know coffee may not be the best option but it sure is better that me nearly choking her and all the screaming from last night. Anyways, what I’m saying is just don’t give up and try different options.
February 10, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Marie, Coffee?!?! That is soooooo funny. Whatever works! Good for you! I hope your little one feels better soon.
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February 18, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Hi everyone. My 6yr old daughter has autism. She does well taking medicine when she is sick. But I have a question…she is sick right now :(. She had a low grade fever about 100 to 101 on thursday night. So I gave her tylenol..she went straight to bed. Then she started coughing up alot of mucus but wouldnt spit it out. On friday..and last night she had fever again! And when I got her fever down,,,she started throwing up all mucus and liquids since all she would have on friday at her grandmas was water and a yogurt. So what can I do, because she asked me for a toast with jam on it. So I gave her one thinking, Yay she is feeling better. But now she is laying in her bed saying oh no, oh no and she starts counting,. 😦 I know its her throw up oh no’s..My question is should I take her to see the dr ? If its a virus they always tell me they can’t do anything..And is it ok that I soak her in a bath when her fever spikes? Ugh I dont know what to do..She is a real tiny 6yr old…picky eater…but everyone in our house is sick with the same fever and cough, but Paige is the only one who has the additional throwing up! My poor baby..so I am laying in bed with her now and trying to stay awake, I have been up all night with her. I am afraid if her fever gets really high she will have a seizure? Someone told me that…help…..Desperate for answers Paige’s mommy
February 19, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Dear Paiges Mommy, Please follow your doctor’s advice in this situation. This thread is for those seeking and sharing strategies for administering medicine proscribed by physicians. �Whenever a child is throwing up, dehydration is always a danger. Consult your doctor at once. I hope everyone feels better!�
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February 21, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Ive had the same problem of sorts. My 2yr old will happily take calpol as she calls it medi but she has a chest infection n now i have to force her to take it even though i tell her its medi. Its all down to colours. Calpol is clear, whereas most medicines r coloured so your child knows its different. My advice is to hold their head bk n drop it in n they will cry loads but then offer a choccy button or fav biscuit. If they realise they will get a treat, they will take the medicine xxx
February 21, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Dear Gem, Thank you for your comment. I hope your little one gets better soon.
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March 2, 2012 at 12:57 am
Mix with Strawberry Pancake syrup!
Took two full syringes afterwards but our daughter thought it was candy.
Happy all around!
March 4, 2012 at 4:57 am
strawberry syrup! Oy the artificial coloring and flavors. Well, a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s got to do! Glad it worked and thanks for sharing. Hope she’s better soon! :-)
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March 22, 2012 at 1:00 am
My 10 year old daughter is almost turning 11, and she hates medicine. She doesn’t eat very much so she is very weak. She hates medicine and throws up ALOT!!! She also has lots of problems: ezema, hyperhidrosis, and more )stroke,kidney problems, and other sickness run in the fam. Any good advice? She’s scared of shots and medine so its really hard
March 22, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Hi Mad Mom, I’m so sorry for all the troubles you and your daughter are experiencing. I hope you have had a chance to read through this whole thread for all the great ideas struggling parents have contributed. Maybe one of these ideas will help your daughter.
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March 25, 2012 at 6:31 am
My dear daughter (5 year old) is on her second round of antibiotics this month. SHe is terrified of shots (she panics enough to aggravate her asthma and then vomits). Last week I mixed her med. with chocolate syrup and still took about an hour to take it twice a day Now we are on a stronger one (one a day) and I have had success mixing it with some crystal light (raspberry tea) in her water bottle and getting her to drink that every morning.
March 25, 2012 at 5:39 pm
thank you for sharing your strategies and I hope your daughter feels better soon!
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March 30, 2012 at 1:53 am
Plenty of kids are like this it’s not autism or add. Sometimes kids are ok w medicine or haircuts or nail cuts and then they go nuts at the prospect. Try giving them some control over some component Ultimately if the medicine is a necessity you will have to force. Some kids are quite strong. I’d talk to the doc if you really can’t get it in. Don’t go nuts. Many parents go through this.
April 5, 2012 at 7:06 pm
My son is 5 years old and has oral sensory problems…it is extremely difficult for him to try new foods. One taste of childrens flavoured amoxicillin, he threw up his dinner everywhere. I tried cajoling him, explaining, being firm, shouting, forcing, non of this was good for me or him, it hurt us both. He tried his hardest to take it with milk and water, he tried hard to do it, bless him, a sip of milk a sip of amoxicillin, he won’t touch juice and vomitted it all back up immediately because of taste. In the end I decided after waiting for two hours and no reply from my doctors office, to try again. This time I mixed his amoxicillin with flat coca cola….flat without fizz as I didn’t want him feeling full of cola and unable to drink all the dosage. I know cola is bad for him and I made sure that his teeth were brushed afterward and it sure is better than the alternative, complications from untreated strep throat. He tasted it and loved it, drinking soda is a rare treat for him. I am having no problem giving him his medicine now, it is no longer deeply traumatic for the both of us. I know some people will be upset by the cola…..I am more worried by ten days of antibiotic induced trauma! Hope this helps!
April 5, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Dear Louie Louie, You say, “I know some people will be upset by the cola.” Well, what others think is simply not important. You found a way to get your child to take something he needs to be well. Sugar is not ideal, but Mary Poppins didn’t sing “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down . . . ” for nothing — it’s true! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your strategy as it may help other desperate parents out there. I hope your son feels better soon.
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April 19, 2012 at 1:46 am
Speaking of cola…they sell cola syrup at pharmacies, its great for upset stomach.
April 17, 2012 at 3:31 pm
i have a 23 month old daughter who was just diagnosed with and ear infection on top of strep throat and i cant get her too take her medicine we had tried to hold her down she just vomits it back up,tried to put it in her juice she notice the difference in taste and wont drink it. also she has diarrhea and they put her on the Brat diet and my daughter wont eat nothing on the Brat diet she is very picky when it comes to food. I need some suggestions how to get her to take medicine and to make a diarrhea too go away?
April 18, 2012 at 3:16 am
Dear Zamantha, my heart goes out to you. I’m afraid I have nothing new to suggest to you that hasn’t been already said in this threat somewhere. Read through it and maybe you’ll get some ideas from other worried parents like you. Recently my 10 year-old had to be on the BRAT diet b/c she was getting over a stomach flu. She got so mad at me that I kept offering her the same things (I included jello on that diet too — check w/your doctor on this). Eventually, your child will get hungry enough to eat something . Try a little Braggs or soy sauce on the rice for flavor. Try freezing the banana for variety. Also, check w/your doc on chewable probiotics which I find helpful with tummy upset. Good luck!
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April 19, 2012 at 1:42 am
My daughter was 3 when she decided she didn’t like to take her medicine. We tried everything and eventually the doctor said she was old enough to take pills, she had no trouble swallowing them and the fighting ended.
April 19, 2012 at 2:53 am
She is 7 now and just had her tonsils out and has to take liquid medicine, but she refuses and knowing that she has so much pain in her throat i am struggling with the fact that when i get home tonight we are going to have to hold her down and force her to take it 😦 she is currently running a fever and hasnt eaten anything for 2 days and has not drank anything since last night, she is starting to get dehydrated. i called the hospital and they said to just force her to take it so she doesnt have to get an iv for fluids.
April 19, 2012 at 3:34 am
Oy! I’m empathize with you! Do you know what our hospital bill looked like after my daughter got her tonsils out? She was not allowed to go home until she drank something and she would not! We spend hours and hours and finally the hospital gave up and let us go home at midnight! The bill showed charges for each hour in the recovery room — ouch! Little girls, in particular, can be very very stubborn. I’m assuming you are allowing ice cream and popsicles? Good luck to you. I hope you find some helpful hints. Maybe you can take her to the store and bribe her with anything she wants to eat or drink. I hope she gets better soon.
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May 23, 2012 at 4:59 pm
My wife and I have been having very similar problems with our 5 year old daughter who has Epilepsy. It has been a constant grind getting her to take her medication. She hold it in her mouth sometimes up to 30 minutes. We’ve tried everything; ice cream, cookies, pudding, chocolate milk, etc… And nothing seems to work. Last night my wife was crying begging her to swollow it, and she wouldn’t. I brought my daughter in the bathroom by myself and I put her head back and opened her mouth with my hands and it forced her to swallow. It was incredibly heart wrenching…
One of our best friends suggested making a sign on poster board, and every time she takes her medicine without incident she gets a star. After a set amount of stars are achieved she get a reward (and not just any reward). Something she REALLY wants. Ie: going to Disneyland (as we live 30 minutes from the park so it’s easy for us). Every time she does not take it or gives us a hard time she gets a demerit…
I will let you know how it works. Fingers crossed.
May 23, 2012 at 9:38 pm
good luck!
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May 24, 2012 at 5:07 pm
So far the “Star” system seems to be working PERFECT… She is excited to put new stickers on her “Star Board” and already thinking about the time she’s going to spend at Disneyland. I could not be any happier…
June 28, 2012 at 1:20 pm
The antibiotic may be able to be changed to a less strong smelling one. You could have a flavor added to the antibiotic. Or ask for the antibiotic to be in a caplet and mix it with a small amount of smooth applesause and give it with a teaspoon. If it doesn’t come in a caplet but a pill instead- you can smash the pill with a nut crusher and mix with applesause. Some parents mix it with chocolate pudding. Ask the doctor what signs of allergy the child might have with a particular antibiotic- I think upset stomach, rash, hives are some possible signs of an allergic reaction or sensitivity. Praise the child when they take a little bit. Give the child a cup of milk or water to wash down the antibiotic after they swallow it to reduce the after taste. The oral syringe works to give it a little at a time in the side of the mouth so you don’t shoot it straight down their throat. If all else fails, call the doctor, nurse practitioner or pediatric nurse for advice.
July 7, 2012 at 4:25 am
My son was just like that and was 4 I took him to Texas children’s and let him see the patients there and we sat down and had the talk of “if you don’t take the medicine you are going to be here and have to have IVs in your arms and be here to get medicine and get better”. He now takes the medicine because he doesn’t want to be in the hospital. There is still that sad upset look and awful face and it takes us 20 minutes to get 2 teaspoons of meds in but it is done with out a fight and without him throwing it all back up on me.
July 12, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Oh my goodness…its not just me then…I am struggling at the moment giving antibiotics to my 4yr old daughter who has to be the most stubborn little person in the world…thing is I don’t want to work her up and get her upset as she has already got a high temperature and infection in the throat…so won’t even drink very much because it hurts and she won’t have anything cold.I.e ice-cream/lolly…. Really have run out of ideas…so..I thought what I might try is putting a bit of flavouring in the medicine or a bit of sweetnes take a bit of the edge off…I will let you know how its goes**
October 9, 2012 at 4:33 pm
i am a 10 year old girl almost 11. i have serious issues with medicine, i gag at liquid and tablets just won’t go down my throat, i think i have a problem. i have swollen lymph glands in my groin so i need to take antibiotics to get better, but i am seriously struggling, can someone please help me. my next dose is any time now, i am almost in tears writning this
October 9, 2012 at 5:11 pm
its me again, i have just solved my tablet problems. my dad understood my issues so he crushed my antibiotics and mixed it in with lots and lots of nutella and put it on toast and u literally cant taste anymore medicine. when i took it i was asking for more, but obviously i couldnt have it.
it is unhealthy put it really really works.
crush tablets, mix it in with lots and lots of nutella, add it on toast.
i hope i have helped all of u mothers out there with issues
October 23, 2015 at 7:17 am
My 4 year old son would not take his Tylenol to reduce the fever he had. Usually he is good about it but not this time. Thanks for the idea about crushing it and hiding it in his food cause I just tried that in some peanut butter and made his sandwich the way he likes it and he is eating it up. Can’t tell at all. So sneaky. My daughter (5) is so good at taking her Advil chewables and her antibiotics (banana flavoured liquid) but we do have some tricks for her I thought I would share. She likes to drink water before and then let me squirt the medicine into her mouth while she still has some water in her mouth. She swallows it all and then has another sip of water. Other times, she wants to eat a few bites of a banana and then have the banana medicine and then water after. Sometimes another few bites of banana. One time she tried it with banana in her mouth at the same time but she decided that was not a very good attempt. One time she also tried it with a bite of a plain old fashioned donut then the medicine then the water then a bite of the donut again. I have no clue what we will do for my 4 year old son with antibiotics as he has the strep throat now like my daughter does too and he will need to get them tomorrow. To comment for another person on here about getting sick after being on antibiotics,,, it’s important to try to get probiotics into them after the dose is done of antibiotics to build up their good bacteria in their gut. It helps them to not get sick right afterwards with something else. I also try to get vitamin d into them as that’s a big key to their health. Of course it’s not a for sure thing, with school and outings there will always be something out there they will get but those things help. Hope these ideas might help someone else out there!
October 23, 2015 at 2:01 pm
Thank you for sharing you helpful hints! (just have to say this, always consult a doc before giving supplements) From: Moody Mommy To: moodymommy@sbcglobal.net Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 2:17 AM Subject: [Moody Mommy] Comment: “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” #yiv5129175873 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv5129175873 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv5129175873 a.yiv5129175873primaryactionlink:link, #yiv5129175873 a.yiv5129175873primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv5129175873 a.yiv5129175873primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv5129175873 a.yiv5129175873primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv5129175873 WordPress.com | | |
October 29, 2012 at 8:00 am
Hello to all the mothers, I am relieved to hear I am not the only one with this problem. My daughter is 6 yrs old and she hates taking medicine especially cough medicine. Every time I give her medicine it never fails she always throws it right back up. She tells me Id rather stay sick then take any kind of medicine. I dont know what to do anymore Ive tried all the suggestions that everyone has posted about, from holding her down, shots (even worse she goes nuts just hearing the word shots), to mixing it with something.Please help someone… anyone.
October 29, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Dear Nicole. My heart goes out to you. When I first wrote this post, my daughter was only 5 and extremely stubborn. I am happy to report that although she is still quite stubborn, at age 10 she will take any kind of foul tasting medicine she has to (though she refuses to learn how to swallow pills which would, indeed, make all our lives easier). Please read through this entire thread and you will find lots of helpful hints and tips from parents who were kind enough to write them. Good luck and an I hope your daughter feels better soon!
November 16, 2012 at 8:26 pm
If the medication is sweet flavored measure it out and put it in an attractive small colorful container and tell her it’s yummy feel better candy let her see you sample it and say mmm that’s so good and she she take if its nasty tell she has to pinch her nose when she drinks it because its magic then give her a surgar free sucker this is what I do with my 4 year autistic son he used to get so worked up he’d have seizures now he takes his meds like a dream
Goodluck
November 29, 2012 at 6:08 am
Dear Raven, thank you for taking the time to contribute to this thread. However, I feel compelled to warn you that, though I am not an expert on this, many experts do warn against confusing candy for medicine and vice versa. Such a thing can backfire, resulting in a child confusing medicine for candy and resulting in an overdose. As “yucky” as the thought of medicine can be to a child, keeping the notion that medicine is indeed yucky and should only be taken when needed is a good safety filter for kids to have in the back of their minds. If you google kids mistaking medicine for candy (or similar such searches), you will find many articles detailing tragic results. Here is just one article on the subject: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111017092033.htm I’m glad that you posted so that I could bring this problem up with other parents struggling to give their child medicine. Take care!
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December 2, 2012 at 10:09 pm
I’m not sure if anyone has suggested this, as i’ve only read about 3/4 of the posts. I am exactly like all the other parents here struggling to get their child to take meds. What’ve I’ve learned is that my son, who’s 4, loves peanut butter. I crush the amoxicilian tablets into a powder and sprinkle on a peanut butter sandwich, extra peanut butter of coarse. And today, I mixed a liquid of azythromiacin into peanut butter and plastered it on bread. It worked!!!! Praise the Lord! 2nd half of sandwich we had to pretend he was a puppy and I hand fed him, but hey, who am i to judge and refuse a puppy to eat. Just wanting to throw it out to those of you as deperate as I am.
December 4, 2012 at 12:49 am
Great idea. Only downside to doing this is what if your child gets full before finishing. Then you won’t know how much of a dose s/he received. Stay well!
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December 4, 2012 at 6:17 pm
That is true. Guess I’m lucky that my guy loves peanut butter and I know to only feed him this when he’s not eaten anything for awhile. Plus pretending he’s some sort of animal always helps. Goofy kid! 😀 Love finding this site as it was such a relief to see others right there with me! Blessings!
April 4, 2013 at 4:25 am
Has anyone tried calling a compounding pharmacy? We have one here that will make different meds into gummy bears, lollipops, and even topical cream/gels. Natural Med apothecary is the name of the one near our home and they are very helpful and empathetic to problems like this…….
April 4, 2013 at 7:09 pm
Tiffany! What great ideas! I have no idea whether a compounding pharmacy is around here but a lollipop sounds great to me! Thank you!
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April 10, 2013 at 4:13 am
There were many who incurred the wrath of the household, and the jumping on my bed in the area on Halloween.
As they arrived at the ten worst economic disasters in the journey to Nirvana,
also shows the pathway to attainment of these powers.
Like someone was there with you watching your every mood.
May 15, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Hi I have a two year old with an ear infection and they gave me biaxcin for it mixed in mint flavor he will not take it spits it everywhere and has been up all night, when he did finally wake up he just keep crying saying ouch my ear but I can not get him to take the nasty tasting stuff does anyone have any suggestions?
May 16, 2013 at 12:15 am
my 6 yr old has to take bactrim for 2 weeks, it has a grape flavor and she took the first 2 doses okay but wouldn’t finish the third one. So I mixed it with half a cup of chocolate milk and she drank it all. For the chocolate milk I just used regular milk, chocolate syrup and sugar. For her next dose I’m planning on using more chocolate and more sugar and I think she’ll be able to drink it faster. Hope this helps 🙂
May 16, 2013 at 1:27 pm
Thank you Marie! I hope your little one is better soon!
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October 16, 2013 at 2:57 am
my 2 year old gives me a hard time swallowing zantac syrup and gags on it everytime i wanna give it to him .it is very minty and bitter.my friend told me about this product …Flavor+ medicine flavoring drops for baby.i found it on ebay and amazon.i tried the grape flavor and my baby stop gagging and is taking his medicine finally without too much hussle.it made my life so much less stressful!
October 16, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Thank you for that information. I’m sure it will help someone. :-)
February 2, 2014 at 12:33 pm
I too have been struggling with both my very stubborn 4 yr old and 7 yr old. Both were diagnosed with strep throat. The liquid amoxicillin didnt work. Not a thing could ever mask the taste! i used to mix it with soda and apple juice but it was so stressful trying to get my one daughter to even let the straw touch her lip and when she did, she’d gag and it would take hours.! . Plus to top it off I’m almost thinking she was having nightmares from it bc she was crying about in her sleep!!!-..so My husband and I resorted to chewable pills. After experiment after experiment, I finally came up with something that worked , chocolate covered pretzels with crushed pills and colorful sprinkles!!! Worked like magic! I even let them make some so they thought they were making their own. I think the pretzel masked the medicine taste alot. I didnt want to give those to them 2x a day enough to make them sick of it so I would also put it in strawberry smoothies and that worked like a charm as well… I also went as far a making chocolate covered pills. Although, that didnt work all the time bc some would get stuck in their teeth and they’d taste the pill… My kitchen smelled like a science lab from all the crushed pills that I was gagging myself!! I was at the end of my ropes and I was not keen on pinning them down squirting it at the back of their mouth bc they’d just spit it out or throw it back up… I hope this helps… It’s such a struggle and I hate it when people just say you need to make them do it! So easier said than done… Good luck everyone!!!
February 21, 2014 at 5:07 pm
Thank you for posting. I’m in the midst of struggling with my son. He threw up first batch ;( already
February 21, 2014 at 5:04 pm
I’ve tried chocolate pudding which works with less potent antibiotics but not the zpacks. I’ve tried pretty much everything except smoothies. I wonder if the med is diluted too much it won’t work? If this works ill pass it on. My son loves the children’s ” gone bananas” drink at Jamba Juice. It has apples strawberries and bananas. He doesn’t really like bananas but can’t Taste them he said. I ask them to put a cup if ice in it and I call it a smoothie slushy and he loves it.
February 22, 2014 at 5:09 pm
and here I thought we were the only parents struggling with a child who won’t take meds!! I’m so glad to see we are not alone. I have a 3 year old daughter and it is an absolute nightmare to get meds into her! we do the holding down and syringe thing. she is a fighter so it’s holding the legs, arms, head and
everything else!! I find some of the advice on here quite useful. I wish I could mix it with pudding or yoghurt but she is also an extremely fussy eater so getting her to eat anything mushy is wishful thinking! I have tried mixing it in her porridge but she always tastes the meds and then refuses to eat it. even if I can’t taste it! some doctors can be really unhelpful. I told one about the problem we have with giving the meds and she prescribed me 4 different syrups. very helpful!! thanks doc! I find that my daughter struggles to spit out the me ds that a re thick so that sometimes helps. and i didn’t know that you can get the antibiotics as a shot. will definitely check it out. The bottom line is that it is really traumatic for me, my husband and my daughter giving the meds and afterwards I
feel like the worst person. even if i explain to her that it will make her feel better she looks at me as if I betrayed her. I hoped that it will get better as she gets older but seeing people on here struggling with their 5 and 6 year olds I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. well, good luck to everyone, we sure need it! I’m hoping that our children will one day see the benefits of takind the meds:-)
February 23, 2014 at 8:59 pm
Snookie, so sorry you are going through this. There is a light at the end of the tunnel as of right now my children are finally old enough to understand that they do not have a choice when they need medicine, even if it tastes disgusting. Both are old enough to learn to swallow pills but stubbornly refuse to learn so they have to tough it out with yucky medicine. I hope yoaur little one gets well soon.
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April 17, 2014 at 12:46 pm
This has been a fascinating thread. We have a 6 year old previously jumped up and down with delight when she had to have antibiotics. Last time unfortunately they prescribed an extremely foul tasting medicine, and after two failed attempts we went back to the doctor to get the nice tasting one. Well this time she refused to take even the nice tasting one, saying it was “disgusting”. We mixed it with icecream once, but the second time that didn’t work. Tried bribes of all sorts, explained the consequences of not taking medicine – nothing at all worked. I tricked her into opening her mouth for me so I could squirt it in with a syringe, and maybe half got in, the rest all over her. Her ears then got worse and was prescribed ear drops as well. And she hated them as well!
But, we have found a way. Dad told her that if she didn’t take her medicine he would have to hold her and force her to take it – which we had decided we would have to do, although very unwillingly. Then he sat down and explained the consequences of not taking the medicine (deafness, hospitalisation etc), and that he was not going to let that happen to her. Finally after 3 or 4 days of resistance, she chose the way that we were going to give her the medicine – using the syringe to shoot it to the back of her mouth. So, two doses successfully taken today. Fingers crossed it continues for the rest of the course.
April 28, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Thank you for commenting. I hope your daughter is doing better!
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September 1, 2014 at 11:27 am
Hi All, I have a 10 yr old who hates medication. My husband and I have had to pin him down in the past. He started antibiotics today. It took me an hour to get them into him tonight. He even vomited (water only) at the first attempt of me getting them into him which I knew was psychological because he has not eaten all day. However we found something that worked. DISTRACTION. He started watching some TV and then took it in spoonful’s of ice-cream and sips of water in between. It’s worth a try folks……xox
September 2, 2014 at 1:51 pm
Thank you for sharing and I’m so glad that you found a solution. The only danger with that that I know of (there may be others b/c I’m not a doctor) is that if he does not finish the ice cream then you have no idea how much medicine he has had. Also, I highly encourage you to teach him to swallow pills. While he is sick is NOT the time to do this. When he is well, try tic tacs or mini m&ms which are more available now because of Halloween coming up. I have heard some parents have success teaching with apple sauce. Good luck and I hope your guy feels better soon!
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September 3, 2014 at 3:06 am
Thanks for your feedback. True re the icecream and that’s why I insisted that he have the whole lot. There was not a lot there in the first place so that one was covered.
I have found something even better that works. I dissolve some honey and sugar in a small amount of boiling water, add some apple juice and then the liquid medication. So he has a spoonful of that, a sip of water and then a bit of some toast, mouthful of medication, sip of water, mouthful of toast all whilst watching TV. One hour on the first nigh has been cut down to 7 mins and he even wants to make a game of it to see if tonight he can take only 5 mins.
He’s doing well. My other son is on antibiotics at the moment as well 😦 but he’s a breeze when it comes to meds:).
Take Care,
Cathy
November 9, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Hi just reading these posts hav given me some ideas thanks guys , also wanted to share my tip with u we hav terrible trouble given antibiotics to our 4 year old autistic son but hav a tab in a cream egg seems to be the way forward we just ram it in whole I’m afraid , and as it’s so so sweet and fondenty he so pleased to hav one he obviously doesn’t detect it at all x
November 26, 2014 at 10:15 am
Hello, I know this thread is quite old, but just in case anyone with the same problem views in the future, this is is the magical ingredient that masks the vile taste enough for yor child to take their medicine…
Icing sugar!!!
My son who is 2 has an ear infection and a chest infection, I could not believe how horrible the anti biotics tasted. After routing through the kitchen cupboards (mixing with yoghurt, juice, milk and honey had failed) I spotted the icing sugar, syringe the 5ml from the bottle, squeeze it onto a table spoon, and bit by bit, slowly sprinkle and mix the icing sugar in with the medicine. You need Quite a bit.. Although it’s clearly not healthy, i would rather my child get better, personally! It helps if you get a cup of milk and after they’ve had a bit, quickly give them a sip, so that before the taste starts to hit the taste buds (the icing masks it but not completely) it is washed away.
December 31, 2014 at 9:37 pm
I’m at wits end Iv tried everything for my 3 year old to take her Tamiflu nothing works tried the chocolate syrup trick even tasted the medicine myself even bribery does not work and if she gets the medicine down her she throws it up because she pitches a huge fit for hours it takes Me 3 hrs just to get her to take it and the tamiflu never stays down!
December 31, 2014 at 9:39 pm
If even mixed it with mango juice she told me it taste like medicine is in it.
January 26, 2015 at 3:05 am
I mixed baby Tylenol in some strawberry jam I warmed ever so slightly in the microwave. I put the “strawberry sauce” over a little ice cream and hand fed it to my 4 yr-old to make sure she got every drop. Worked like a charm!
February 17, 2015 at 11:35 pm
My 5 yr old needed to take a capsule that he just couldn’t figure out how to swallow. I tried opening it into 100 things. No go.
So okay, let’s figure out how to swallow it – We tried M&M training, we tried it all. I ran out of things to make.
Guess what worked!! Kraft Mac n Cheese. Think about it.. WHO really CHEWs that anyway? You can swallow it without even thinking. So after all this other training to swallow.. we decided to take a handful of nerds and practice hiding it in the Mac N Cheese and just swallowing it. He thought it was fun!
I left the pill he needed on the top of the pill bottle (it has one of those cup like tops) and told him when he was ready, to tuck it in the spoon and down it would go.
2 more attempts at the nerds.. while he was working himself up and boom! In He tucked the pill.. down the mac n cheese went. He hooped and hollared and high 5^ed and was so proud how easy it was. Then asked me to save some of his Mac n cheese for tomorrow when he had to take it again. I’ll make Mac n cheese every day for a week if it’s that easy for him!
Give it a try :). It was awesome! This trick you might even be able to try with any age that is logical enough to just swallow without the chewing.
Good luck!!
February 18, 2015 at 12:12 am
I love the idea of mac n cheese! Thank you for sharing. Would you believe my “stubborn” daughter is now 12? This thread has been going for a long time. Oh, and she still refuses to swallow pills. ugh! From: Moody Mommy To: moodymommy@sbcglobal.net Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2015 5:35 PM Subject: [Moody Mommy] Comment: “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” #yiv0804826107 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv0804826107 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv0804826107 a.yiv0804826107primaryactionlink:link, #yiv0804826107 a.yiv0804826107primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv0804826107 a.yiv0804826107primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv0804826107 a.yiv0804826107primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv0804826107 WordPress.com | | |
December 11, 2015 at 3:32 am
Hello, I am happy I found this, my daughter was very stressful when it came to medicine, even though it’s just multivitamin and it tasted good. The fact that it has to go through her mouth and it comes from a bottle in the fridge makes it worse. I found this bear toy product that helps kids during medicine time, It can be washed in the dishwasher and reuse every time and now she is going to be asking when it’s medicine time. I ordered it for her and told her it’s her new toy and buddy and if she needs help her buddy can help her. You can find the product here: bit.ly/bearplustoy
July 21, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Hi, i have the same problem, my daughter doesn’t want or like taking her meds at all. It all started when she was teething, even today I still have to pin her to the ground and force feed her it’s be cruel to be kind and hope to god the meds will finish soon. They will have tantrums but they will get over it sooner than you think. I tried to explain it will make you better she understands that but taking it is another kettle of fish. I couldn’t put her meds in her drinks as she only drinks water so that was out of the question I found a syringe is the best methods at the moment. I told her doctor and he said persever with her and it doesn’t help one eye Otta.
November 6, 2015 at 5:49 pm
My 5 year old daughter refused to take her antibiotic for strep throat. I tried everything. And failed. My husband came up with a brilliant idea! Put a small amount (about an inch) of juice in a sealed cup or water bottle that you can shake. Add the medicine & a few ice cubes. Also add just a splash of water. Shake vigorously to make it foamy & well blended. Remove ice cubes. Pour into a small cup and add a straw. Grab a small flash light. Tell child you want to look at her throat. Exclaim that it is very red & the bumps are quite big. Let her look too. Tell her to take a sip of juice & use the flashlight to look again. Tell her it looks a little better! The juice must be helping. It works!! She’s on her 4th day of antibiotics.
December 11, 2015 at 3:28 am
Hello, I am happy I found this, my daughter was very stressful when it came to medicine, even though it’s just multivitamin and it tasted good. The fact that it has to go through her mouth and it comes from a bottle in the fridge makes it worse. I found this bear toy product that helps kids during medicine time, It can be washed in the dishwasher and reuse every time and now she is going to be asking when it’s medicine time. I ordered it for her and told her it’s her new toy and buddy and if she needs help her buddy can help her. You can find the product here: bit.ly/bearplustoy
December 12, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Thank you! All ideas are helpful! From: Moody Mommy To: moodymommy@sbcglobal.net Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 9:28 PM Subject: [Moody Mommy] Comment: “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” #yiv0452284183 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv0452284183 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv0452284183 a.yiv0452284183primaryactionlink:link, #yiv0452284183 a.yiv0452284183primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv0452284183 a.yiv0452284183primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv0452284183 a.yiv0452284183primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv0452284183 WordPress.com | | |
March 18, 2016 at 9:58 pm
I have an 5 year old utistic child that refuses to take medicine. If you force anything down him he will vomit. I need help. He has an ear infection and needs medicine. Thank you!
March 19, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Dear Terrie, Please read all you can from the thread above. Over many years, there have been some great suggestions. I hope one of them works for you!
From: Moody Mommy To: moodymommy@sbcglobal.net Sent: Friday, March 18, 2016 4:58 PM Subject: [Moody Mommy] Comment: “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” #yiv1596073935 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv1596073935 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv1596073935 a.yiv1596073935primaryactionlink:link, #yiv1596073935 a.yiv1596073935primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv1596073935 a.yiv1596073935primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv1596073935 a.yiv1596073935primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv1596073935 WordPress.com | | |
April 12, 2016 at 12:25 pm
I play a “drinking” game with my 5 year old. She also refuses to take meds. I get two cups and put sprite in them. (she gets her meds in hers also). With a deck of cards, we guess the color of the card. If she loses, she drinks, If I lose, I drink. The first person to drink their soda wins! It’s a win – win for everyone!
May 16, 2016 at 12:34 am
My 6 year old son, since birth it seems, had always fought tooth and nail against taking any kind of medicine. We tried every trick in the book and researched tips that may work to no avail. He recently got over a serious kidney infection and had to stay a few days in the hospital to receive antibiotics interveiniously. Much to my delight AND horror, they told us he can go home with oral antibiotics, to be taken 2x a day for 10 days. Wonderful! Reluctantly, i picked up the antibiotic from the pharmacy and took it home. Needless to say, the next few nights were a nightmare, especially for my husband. Since I’m pregnant, I’m not able to hold him down so he had to do all the hard work. Every morning and night was welcomed with dread. Tonight, however, we had a breakthrough. Through desperation i decided to let him choose how he would take it. He decided chocolate milk, so what i did was put in more chocolate syrup than milk them the meds. Let’s just say it was a sigh of relief when it disappeared. Try this, but if all else fails, try to see if there an injectable substitute. Best of luck.
May 16, 2016 at 3:46 pm
Thank you so much for your tip on chocolate milk. I am so sorry your child has a kidney infection and I hope he gets better soon!
From: Moody Mommy To: moodymommy@sbcglobal.net Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2016 7:34 PM Subject: [Moody Mommy] Comment: “My Child Won’t Take Medicine” #yiv0097052868 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv0097052868 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv0097052868 a.yiv0097052868primaryactionlink:link, #yiv0097052868 a.yiv0097052868primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv0097052868 a.yiv0097052868primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv0097052868 a.yiv0097052868primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv0097052868 WordPress.com | | |
June 4, 2016 at 12:42 am
Money works!
June 10, 2016 at 5:08 pm
my 2 year old had a bad injury on her tongue and we had to go for a plastic surgery. post surgery she is supposed to take antibiotics and pain killer syrups but she is very stubborn and just does not take it, we cannot force as we have to be carefuk of the stiches on her tongue, we tried the honey approach, it did not work, went for homeopathic medicine but that was not effective enough and she complained about pain, finally we are trying the ice cream approach by mixing syrup in ice cream.
May 10, 2017 at 2:13 am
Hi moody mommy,
Your post came up as the first hit when I did a google search. My 3 year old is exactly like your then 5 year old. I’m at my wits end. Your child is a teenager now so was hoping to hear from you- when do they sort this out?
My daughter is so stubborn I’m scared she will always have trouble with doctors & taking medicines. Hoping for some reassuring words.
– exhausted mommy
May 13, 2017 at 4:13 pm
I feel you! My daughter cries as if we were beating her with just the mention of medicine. The only way I’ve managed is mixing it with juice. But just make sure to give her a small amount enough for her to finish or else she won’t have the dosage needed. I tried with antibiotics and it worked. Good luck!
August 7, 2017 at 1:52 pm
Won’t take medicine.. panadol chewable great… clarTine chewable great.. with antibiotics… if solid ok. Try crush in small slurpee! Go seven eleven .. do the trick! All good mummy. From mummy same problem… 😉 all best..