any tips for giving medsI would say Please Or offer an Incentive - like if you eat this - you can watch this show Difently get them to add FLavinex at the pharmacy ( i think it s called Flavinex but I could be worng) - a 2 buvk flavoring you can add to the antibiotic ) Rociphen is the injectable one - not sure if its penicillin or not Adam was like this and unfortunately, the only thing we could do for a long time was have my hubby and myself do it. One held him down and the other used a medicine syringe. Make fish lips with his mouth, plug his nose and squirt, sometimes he would spit it out, but if you can get it way in the back it will go down. I cried everytime we had to do that, but we didn't know what else to do. I truly feel your pain. The good thing is now that he is 12 he takes three different meds in pill form everyday without a fuss. Hi again,Those are great ideas, but unfortunately, wouldn't work on Matthew. He is minimally verbal, and receptive language is about a year and a half, so even though he understands some things well enough, when anxiety plays into the mix, he won't hear a thing. I've tried letting him hold the medicine cup himself, but he just pours it out. I guess he hates the taste. I made an appointment, so hopefully the doc can give him a med that isn't in the penicillin family by injection. My older kids used to LOVE taking the bubble gum medicine  nakama Some meds can get a flavor added to them. My jonathan hates meds. I asked the pharmacy at rite aid and she showed me a book of all the flavors that can be added. It cost about 2.00 a bottle. It was well worth it. He loved the bubble gum flavor. My 5.5 son will not take ANY medication. He was sick 2 weeks ago with a sinus infection. The doc prescribed omnicef (once a day) antibiotic. I was lucky to get one drop of the daily teaspoon required into his mouth. He resists, spits it out, fights us. If I put it in his drink and try to disguise it, he either won't drink it, or won't finish the drink. He also "plays" with his drinks all the time by spitting the liquid back in the cup 20 times. Anyway, now he is sick again.  . He can't tell me what's wrong, but I can tell his throat hurts because of the face he makes whenever he swallows. He is also starting to cough and feels a little warm.I'll be taking him to the doc again today. Any ideas of antibiotics that can be given via injection (he's allergic to penicillin)? I thank you in advance for any ideas nakama I don't know about injections, but one thing I always did that worked at this stage was to mix the medicine with a chocolate pudding cup, he has to eat it all but this was never a problem with my son. Do you measure out the medicine and let him administer it to himself or do you give it to him? Once my son was about 6, I would measure it out into the little cup and let him hold it and drink it. It made him feel like a big kid. The only antibiotic that I know of that is given by injection in Dr. offices is in the penicillin group. My son will take amoxil with out a fight but that is the only one. Of course that is in the penicillin group. When he was on omnicef I would wait until he was asleep and put it in a dropper and lift his head and put the dropper to his lips and he would suck it down half asleep. It works as long as he is on a once a day antibiotic. Have you explained that it will make his throat stop hurting? Sometimes reason will work on my little guy - sometimes. Call your dr maybe they know of an injectable that would be able to be used w/o allergic reaction.As you wait for the replies to tick in, you might want to check the tips given recently when someone else asked a similar question. The topic name was "medicine/sick" dated March 12th. Here's a link to it: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13789&am p;KW=popsicle Good luck with everything. My son is sick right now too. He will take the medicine but I use a syringe and just give a tiny bit at a time. He seems to take it that way. I have tried to squirt a larger amount in his mouth but he spits it out. We tried putting it in his favorite yogurt and now he will no longer eat that flavor of yogurt. (They are smart about these things) Good luck, Laurie Hi,We went through the same thing...when our boy was about your son's age we tried to do a social story about getting sick, and how medicine helps (with pictures) and then we told him that he needed to take his medicine to feel better. We did not sneak up on him, but we did tell him about 30 seconds before that mom and dad were going to give him his medicine and we'd be done really fast. We had towels, etc., for the spitting out, and we did our best. We did have to do some team holding. He will now do it and he fights sometimes, but with each year (he is now 8) he has fought it less. He knows that it is something he needs to do and when he starts feeling better we try to make him understand that the medicine is what is helping. I hope this helps. Daniel's momThank you for so many replies everyone!! I actually came from the doc today, and he has strep throat. He's been running temps for 2 days, and I had to give him the tylenol suppository for that. She prescribed zithromax, once a day, and tried to help me with some ideas. She couldn't believe how difficult it was to look in his mouth . At least it gave her an idea of what I'm talking about.I guess I'll give one try of putting one dose in a spoon of trix yogurt, and if it doesn't work, I'll get the gangs in to pin him down. Wish me luck!!! nakama My husband travels for work alot and I am often left alone to give medicine to my two toddlers. My pediatrician, herself a mother of toddlers, taught me how to give medicine when you are all alone. I hope i can describe it. Essentially you lay your kiddo down on their back and you straddle their hips, not putting your weight on the child. Your body blocks their legs and from kickiing you. Then you tuck their arms between your thighs and their body and secure them. This doesn't hurt the child at all, it is just a way for one person to control 4 limbs and still have use of their own hands. PRACTICE THIS MOVE WHILE PLAYING, WHEN MEDICINE ISN'T A FACTOR. My kids think it is funny when Mommy "sits on them". Now, if all the other tricks won't work, one thing i did when I was desperate for my son to take horrific medicine (because I can't hide it in food or drink, he is way to sensitive and detects it instantly). I took some sugar (YES, sugar!) in a tiny cup and poured a little in his mouth...I let it melt, let him taste how it got sweet. I poured in a little more and he loved feeling it disolve and then I said "ok, time for yukky medicine" and I squirted it in the pocket of his cheek and the quickly said "more sugar?" and poured a little more in. The sugar helped the taste and distracted from the medicine. Next night I was totally honest and said "Time for sugar and yukky medicine" and he was cool with it. Mind you I was desperate and nothing else would work. Good luck!
We used the syringe,Held him tight, You can put the syringe in the pocket of there cheak if they clench there teeth,you need to get the med in far enough so they cant spit it out. Good luck,God bless,Linda I must admit that I too have done the force-it-down-with-a-syringe approach. No one likes to got his route, but when you have no other option, we all do what we have to do. Now at age 6 he will drink from a medicine cup but until last year we were forcing it. Here are a few things I've learned along the way... Avoid squirting the medicine directly down the throat as this can trigger a gag reflex and cause the child to vomit. Squirt the medicine into the cheek instead. After squirting the medicine into the cheek, cover the childs mouth and blow on the childs nose. Blowing on the nose triggers the swallowing reflex. (I learned this trick watching a friend get her dog to swallow pills.)
Hi, I had the same problem and none of those techniques worked since the minute I'd force it in, she would vomit. We finally resorted to suppositories. There are two compounding pharmacies in our area, and both make suppositories from most antibiotics. Not the most enjoyable experience for either me or my daughter, especially as she got older - but really the only thing that I could do. One of the pharmacies also made meds into lollipops but we never tried those. Now that she's eleven, it is much easier. Another possibility - my friend's daughter has epilepsy as well as dev. delays. She was taught at a very young age how to swallow pills. My daughter (at 11) still can't, but yours might find pills easier. Good luck. Ooooh, sorry about this rough patch. Been there. We use a medicine syringe (not the dropper) and a small bowl of gummy bears. We give our son 2 fists of bears, and tell him "you might not like this medicine, but if you swallow it FAST, FAST, FAST and eat a gummy bear, it'll be okay" If you've not used the syringe before, you two ought to do a demo for your son so he's not flipped out. Like, dad lies down on floor, mom straddles him (don't get all steamy, you readers A tip on the syringe: we only give a few CCs at a time - he's less likely to spit. A teaspoon is 10 cc, so we'd do 3ccs and say" eat a gummy bear, FAST, FAST, FAST!", then 3 more cc with a bear chaser, etc. Also, if he spits a mouthful out, you know exactly how much he's lost. If you have to, hold his nose shut until he HAS to swallow/breathe. That's pretty evil to do, but it has to be done. We've been done that route, but we talk him through it & use the FAST chant. Good luck, and I will sleep 2 hours tonight in your names! Well...You have to get the med in if it's needed, and you don't want to drag out the process, and sometimes there is no other way... You need two or three people. With two, have Dad (or the stronger person) hold the child (pin them, prevent kicking, hitting, etc.) and Mom or 2nd person use a syringe or a med cup. I would only hold the nose if absolutely necessary. Don't do it all in one shot so as not to have choking or spitting. Put your emotions aside, and get it done...Then you can cry when your child isn't looking. As a family doc, my in the office method is with 3 people for a shot, throat culture, etc. The child is on their back. Arms over head -- one person holds arms, one person lays over legs and lower body, third person, usually the doc, gets culture, gives shot, etc. We go very quickly then put the child in Mom's arms and disappear from the room...A few moments later, the child gets stickers or some other treat. I don't mean to sound harsh...It took me years to be able to get this done quickly and efficiently. When I had my own child at age 39, I decided not to be any different. Yes, it upsets me, but I'm the "get it over with type"... An alternative may be to have a pharmacist who specializes in compounding flavor the medicine for you...they can be REALLY GOOD :) ! I do the syringe, and honestly I pretty much gag them with it and run it down the back of their throat, a little at a time. They can't spit it out that way. I do that with my NT one too. reasoning does not work, neither does bribing. I have tried both. I have also tried hurry take a drink but they're too busy yelling at me. And they have to take it. So, that's what I do. Not pretty and yep evil, but it works. I always have juice ready and then they yell at me and drink their juice. Andrew doesn't fight anymore cause he knows he's going to take it one way or another. He takes it very nicely, yells at me after, and then drinks his juice. I get told off every time. LOL! For cold medicine I try to get the strips that disolve on the tongue. I put it on a bite of apple sauce and they never know they just took medicine. Zicam is suppose to have a tasteless one, I want to get that and put it in their juice. I am a mean ol nurse and have a "get er done" style with the syringe plunger ...I come up from behind her while she is absorbed in something and give it or she will instantly meltdown and run away. I have tried coaxing and letting her do it...never worked. As a geriatric nurse we gave meds crushed/mixed with ice cream/jelly/pudding/flavored ice..ect....I have mixed liquids for Sarah with syrup and gave it to her in syringe~the sweetness stops her gag reflex. I am like Andrew's mom..nothings worse than a slow and methodical process while given meds or shots...just do it and get it over with..she hates me and calls me mean mama but I always tell her I love on her and want her well..not sick...so it is ok if she's mad~I thinks it's yucky too:P I used the "force it down with a syringe" method, but my son was a gagger, even of foods he LOVED, so much of the time more of the meds came out of his mouth than went down. We used suppositories for very high fevers, but that happened only a couple of times. His camp nurse finally taught him to swallow pills using chocolate pudding, but he was a teenager by then. We also asked the ped, when he was little, to give us Zithromax rx's when possible since it requires MANY FEWER doses. The truth is, most kids will not die from illness. Meds make the situation easier on them, but oftentimes just suffering for a couple of days does the trick, too. I made SURE my son drank as much as I could get him to drink so he didn't get dehydrated. I let him sleep all he wanted. Otherwise, I let nature take its course. He's the healthiest kid around now.Just reviving this old topic because I read a tip today: "Dr. Evelyn Reis, from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, recommends trying to mask the bitter flavor as best you can. First, she said, ask your pharmacist if there's anything they can do to make the medicine more palatable. Of course, Reis added, you don't want to make the medicine taste too good. "I would caution those who make medicines not to make them so palatable that kids think they're candy," she said." The article also mentioned that some kids are extra sensitive to bitter tastes because they have a certain gene from both mom and dad. This is actually a protective mechanism, because most toxic substances are bitter. Anyhow, be patient with kids who can't stand the taste of medicine -- they really are born that way.
Practice taking meds by getting mini-m&m's and putting them on the back of his tongue to swallow. OR put the "pill" in some chocolate pudding he will swallow. Don't hide the fact that the "pill" is there. The slippery pudding will help it go down and you can heavily praise the fact that he "took his meds." Success breeds success. I used to use liquid meds when my son was little and I cleaned up plenty of throwp-up doing it. WIshed I'd gotten him into swallowing pills long before his teen years. A WONDERFUL nurse at camp finally got him swallowing without throwing up. She also had to FIRMLY tell him "no coughing, no choking." PS, when he was little and he NEEDED a fever reducer, we HAD to use suppositories. But he was SO sick by then he didn't care. going through this right now myself.I also have a just get it done approach. I actually prefer pills because I've found it works better for us. What I do is put him on his back and have somebody hold his hands. He knows something is coming that he won't like and opens his mouth to scream at me. I stick the pill way back in his cheek by his back teeth which makes it harder for him to scream at me. He immediately swallows so he can continue his yelling. I offer a drink. I used to do the syringe down the throat thing but he was really good at spitting much of it back out and then I was always left playing the "how much of it did he get?" guessing game. At least if the pill comes back out, I can re-insert. Reviving this topic again because I found a new link: http://www.theasthmamom.com/2008/10/09/when-kids-fight-meds/ With all the talk of swine flu, I thought it might be a good idea to bump this topic by adding another link: You might also want to check out this topic, which has social stories about visiting the doctor and information about autism for health personnel: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23226&am p;PN=1&TPN=1 Another special cup for pill-swallowing (link originally posted by BonBon)http://www.oralflo.com/ I just thought I'd mention that my youngest son had strep recently. It was late, we were on vacation, and the pharmacy we visited to fill the prescription didn't have tablets in the proper dosage. So we had to get liquid. We chose raspberry flavoring out of a whole list of options. Amoxicillin doesn't taste "good" no matter what, but he got used to it and tolerated it, especially since he was old enough to understand it was important. We used a syringe to squirt it, and chanted "bugs out bugs out bugs out" while squirting, then swallow, drink of water, pause, repeat (we did it in two squirts). You could chant 1...2...3... while you squirt, the point being to give a sense of how long it's going to last. I read a long time ago on these boards about a special cup that you can purchase that hides the pill....does anyone know what I'm talking about??? This was something that might be promising. Does anyone have a link??? Here's a pill taker's cup, but it doesn't hide the pill, just makes it easier to swallow.http://www.strangenewproducts.com/2006/03/pill-takers-cup.ht ml Tips from the Lovaas Institute (specializing in ABA and autism) http://www.lovaas.com/meetingpoint-2010-11-article-01.php This sounds goofy, but it worked for us years ago: Jello shots! Works for liquid meds anyway. Just make little jello shots with the little medicine measuring cups and put one dose of the med in. Enikkibaby, I don't think it sounds goofy. It sounds smart. I imagine you could also use single-serving jello using a medisine cup as a "cookie cutter." That way you could always have it on hand for when the child needs medicine for a sudden fever, etc.Do you just use the jello shots for tablets/capsules? Or for liquid meds? This is the best article I've seen yet: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/childhoodmedications/a/swallo wing-pills.htm I'm not sure if I've posted these before, but they showed up in the babycenter newsletter this week. What to do if your child throws up right after a dose: http://www.babycenter.com/404_what-should-i-do-if-my-child-t hrows-up-right-after-i-give-he_70915.bc?scid=preschooler_200 91215:4&pe=378TEZ More medicine tips: http://www.babycenter.com/0_test-your-health-iq-whats-the-be st-way-to-make-the-medicine_66513.bc?scid=preschooler_200912 15:4&pe=378TEZ Parent-tested tips: http://www.babycenter.com/0_parents-say-making-the-medicine- go-down_66509.bc?scid=preschooler_20091215:4&pe=378TEZ I was told about a training technique described in this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767907981/ref=pd_sxp _elt_l1/102-1976627-8364925 1. Choose a small candy that the child likes, preferably something hard so he can't chew it up before you get a chance to have a chance to work on swallowing. 2. Get the child to open his mouth and put the candy as far back on his tongue as possible. 3. Give the child something he likes to drink, with a straw. 4. When the child sucks with the straw, it works like a vacuum and the candy "pill" goes effortlessly down his throat. Some kids might get the hang of it right away, while others might need more practice, but it worked for the person who tipped me about the technique. |
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out there), squirt some juice, milk, (something with color that your son can see) into his mouth, and then dad eats his two handfuls of gummy bears. You could even have your son give one of ya'll "medicine" and make him say, "FAST, FAST, FAST, Daddy". I let my son clip my fingernails (kind of) before we do his.