Calling Pancake and Munchkin

[mayerling]

Hi ladies,

I need your help again. N will NOT take medicine orally. We've tried syringes, spoons, mixing it in liquids, mixing it in food. Nothing works. He's got the flu now, and the doctor prescribed zithromax. He will not take it. The only medication he will take is antipyretics which come in the form of suppositories. Is there any other medication that he could take as a suppository? Anything for a cough? Or is our only option to wait it out?

 

[JGator]

Mayerling, my sister's son has been given antibiotics as a shot/injection.

 

[dani13]

Mayerling, I know this sounds horrible, but our son is difficult to give meds to as well. We basically have to hold him down to give it to him. My husband hold his arms, & I use a syringe to just inject it towards the side and back of his mouth. It's hard, but it needs to be done.
good luck!

 

[mayerling]

Mayerling, I know this sounds horrible, but our son is difficult to give meds to as well. We basically have to hold him down to give it to him. My husband hold his arms, & I use a syringe to just inject it towards the side and back of his mouth. It's hard, but it needs to be done.
good luck!

We've done this. Leads to vomit every single time.

 

[mayerling]

Mayerling, my sister's son has been given antibiotics as a shot/injection.

That requires multiple injections, though, and our pedi refuses to do that. Maybe we need another pedi.

 

[dani13]

Mayerling, I know this sounds horrible, but our son is difficult to give meds to as well. We basically have to hold him down to give it to him. My husband hold his arms, & I use a syringe to just inject it towards the side and back of his mouth. It's hard, but it needs to be done.
good luck!

We've done this. Leads to vomit every single time.

maybe you are triggering his gag reflex? Take the syringe and inject it towards the side / back of his throat. That shouldn't bother as much and hopefully will not lead to vomiting.

 

[JGator]

Mayer, yes, another pedi. I know my sister takes him in more than once - not sure if it's daily. My nephew has Down syndrome and doesn't cooperate for medicine.

 

[mayerling]

Mayer, yes, another pedi. I know my sister takes him in more than once - not sure if it's daily. My nephew has Down syndrome and doesn't cooperate for medicine.

Will try this.

 

[amc80]

B just had the flu and was on Tamiflu, aka the worst tasting stuff ever. It was a capsule and we were told to break it open and mix it with food. We tried everything. The only thing that sort of worked was giving him a piece of chocolate to hold, and letting him eat it as soon as the medicine was in his mouth. Bribery is always worth a try.

 

[mayerling]

Also, I realise antibiotics can be injected, but what about antitussives/decongestants/antihistamines/etc?

 

[mayerling]

B just had the flu and was on Tamiflu, aka the worst tasting stuff ever. It was a capsule and we were told to break it open and mix it with food. We tried everything. The only thing that sort of worked was giving him a piece of chocolate to hold, and letting him eat it as soon as the medicine was in his mouth. Bribery is always worth a try.

Unfortunately, he doesn't understand the concept of bribery yet.

 

[mayerling]

Mayerling, I know this sounds horrible, but our son is difficult to give meds to as well. We basically have to hold him down to give it to him. My husband hold his arms, & I use a syringe to just inject it towards the side and back of his mouth. It's hard, but it needs to be done.
good luck!

We've done this. Leads to vomit every single time.

maybe you are triggering his gag reflex? Take the syringe and inject it towards the side / back of his throat. That shouldn't bother as much and hopefully will not lead to vomiting.

No, he just gets so worked up each time that he starts coughing and eventually vomits.

 

[JGator]

Mayer, I'm surprised on the bribery. K actually naps with the promise of M&Ms!

 

[mayerling]

JGator, somebody else with a younger child than N was also surprised that N doesn't get bribery. Maybe it's that we haven't really used it so he hasn't caught onto it yet.

 

[msop04]

B just had the flu and was on Tamiflu, aka the worst tasting stuff ever. It was a capsule and we were told to break it open and mix it with food. We tried everything. The only thing that sort of worked was giving him a piece of chocolate to hold, and letting him eat it as soon as the medicine was in his mouth. Bribery is always worth a try.

amc, I always recommend that parents mix the Tamiflu in a tablespoonful of Hershey's syrup... kids love it! Also, you can sprinkle it in a bowl of ice cream, but you just have to make sure the child eats every bite (most of them are happy to do so )...

Hope this helps!

 

[msop04]

Mayerling, I know this sounds horrible, but our son is difficult to give meds to as well. We basically have to hold him down to give it to him. My husband hold his arms, & I use a syringe to just inject it towards the side and back of his mouth. It's hard, but it needs to be done.
good luck!

We've done this. Leads to vomit every single time.

maybe you are triggering his gag reflex? Take the syringe and inject it towards the side / back of his throat. That shouldn't bother as much and hopefully will not lead to vomiting.

No, he just gets so worked up each time that he starts coughing and eventually vomits.

A lot of our parents (at the pharmacy) have had success using a dosing syringe and literally aiming for the very back of the throat -- in increments of 5ml or less at a time. The child never tastes it, and since it's a very small amount of liquid, it shouldn't elicit a gag reflex.

Good luck to you.

 

[amc80]

amc, I always recommend that parents mix the Tamiflu in a tablespoonful of Hershey's syrup... kids love it! Also, you can sprinkle it in a bowl of ice cream, but you just have to make sure the child eats every bite (most of them are happy to do so )... Hope this helps!

We tried ice cream but not Hershey's. I will have to remember that!

 

[mayerling]

I think my problem stems from the fact that I don't really give N sweets. He has a biscuit or two every day, maybe pancakes on some mornings, but he's never had chocolate/ice-cream/etc. And now that he's 2.5, he's learned not to be enticed by those things so it's hard to bribe him with them.

 

[zoebartlett]

Maybe try mixing the medicine into applesauce?

 

[baby monster]

You don't have to bribe with food. DS can be bribed with toys and activities. At 2.5 we also didn't give him many sweets but he would go for a promise of a new toy.

Are you open to natural remedies? Will your child take honey based medicine? Another forum member recommended Chestal and it actually works very well for cough. I found it at my local drugstore but amazon sells it too.
http://www.amazon.com/Boiron-Childrens-Chestal-Cough-Syrup/dp/B00016QTQM/ref=sr_1_31?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1423365740&sr=1-31

 

[Munchkin]

I'm so sorry that I JUST saw this!

I know it's too late to help now, but here is some advice anyway.

1. Don't bother with cough meds, antitussives, decongestants et al. They aren't considered safe in children, nor will they actually make N better any faster. Multiple studies have shown that cough syrups are no more effective than a spoonful of honey. Antihistamines have little to no effect on viral or bacterial congestion. The fight isn't worth having.

How great are Fever all suppositories!? When you have a kid that is a rotten med taker, they are a lifesaver. I always found they kicked in faster than oral fever meds, too.

I can't tell you how many times I wished antibiotics came in supp form!

2. Avoid the injectible antibiotic when possible. Yes, it works, but it is akin to using a cannon to kill an ant. Full disclosure, my old practice used to give that med and a child died from a rare side effect called Hemolytic Anemia. Therefore, the practice owners stopped offering it long before I started there.

MANY infections that kids are treated for (ear infections, pneumonia, etc) are actually viral. We only know for sure if we culture infected fluid like mucous or ear effusion. That is neither practical not indicated on a routine basis. Therefore, if we see a sick kiddo with fever and nasty ears or junky lungs, we put them on an antibiotic. If it is bacterial, the med takes care of it. If it's viral, time does. All the more reason to limit antibiotics to a narrow spectrum aimed at treating what bacteria is most likely, and with the fewest side effects.

Now, in a kid with Down's, it makes more sense. Those children are notorious for having chronic ear infections with resistent bacteria. Effective treatment is also super important to reduce further hearing/speech implications. Rocephin makes more sense there.

3. I had the best luck getting Augmentin (nasty tasting) antibiotic into B by putting it in one ounce of a vanilla flavored shake held in a cup with a straw. The trick is to do this from the first dose, though. If a little one gets the full taste effect, they are WAY more likely to refuse future doses you attempt to disguise. They will be on high alert.

So, if your child is a rotten med taker, like mine, try the one ounce of a flavored shake in a cup with a lid and a straw from the first dose. Limiting it to one ounce assures you that the child got the whole dose. The lid blocks the med smell, which can turn a kid off instantly. The straw helps bypass some tasebuds.

The best approach for oral steroids is pouring it into a spoonful of Hershey's chocolate syrup followed by a chocolate milk chaser.

Hopefully you won't need this advice in the future!