How to get 13 month old to take medication?

[Anonymous]

My daughter has an ear infection & just thoroughly spat out her medicine, screaming and flailing madly all the while. Part of the problem seems to be the little spoon the pharmacy gave me, which puts the medicine at the front of her mouth where it's easy to spit out. I'm going to try a dropper tomorrow. Any other tips on how to get her to take it, apart from holding her down & dribbling it into her mouth while she screams wildly? (I also already tried pretending to taste it myself, to no avail.)

[Anonymous]

What about mixing it in something she enjoys drinking?

[Anonymous]

I let my child hold the dropper himself, putting my hand around his and then I squeeze the plunger. Definitely squirting it in there with a dropper is easier than a spoon!

[Anonymous]

The syringe style thingys work the best. Give her water or milk with it first to make it fun.

And it sucks, but sometimes you just have to suffer through them fighting you every time.

[Anonymous]

I would use a dropper, and squeeze it into the side of the cheek, then blow in the baby's face.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Thanks all! I'll give these a try.

[Anonymous]

We had the unfortunate luck to get some first-hand tips from the experts on this when our daughter was in the hospital - twice!

The nurses had a tricks that seemed to work - one was to take the syringe and when the child's mouth is open, squirt part of the medicine into their cheek. If you squirt straight into the back of their mouth, they will feel like they are choking.

Some medicinces can be very bitter. You may want to ask your pharmacist. Sometimes they can flavor the medicines. We had one that apparently tastes awful (why in the world the doctor prescribed it instead of something else!), but the pharmacist looked it up in a special book and was able to flavor it with grape.

[Anonymous]

Try CVS for this bottle type syringe - invented by a mom. There is a syringe for the medicine incorporated into a bottle. If your medicine can be mixed with other liquids, you can fill the bottle section with her formula/breastmilk.juice and fill the syringe with the medicine. You probably need to hold her while you administer the med and she can suck on the bottle to get the formula/juice. My 4 month old drank her meds with ease using this. Sorry, I don't remember the brand name, but it is the only kind on the market - available at CVS. Also, coliccalm.com offers a pacifier that administers liquid meds if she still uses pacifiers. Both are inexpensive.

[Anonymous]

We have an ear infection too = my pharm uses orange flavor with the amox. antibiotic = daughter loves it - we use pharm provided syringe and admin in side of cheek

[Anonymous]

I have one that is a horriable medicine taker. Nothing worked we tried the cheek thing, the blowing, letting him do it himself, the paci(after his had been taken away). Slipping it into food didn't work -- nothing. Finally we had to just get rough. I will sit on the floor with his head between my thighs and put his arms under my legs and squirt it into the back of his throat, he hates it but its the only way to get it down him, afterward we cuddle and have a treat. He will be three at the end of this month.

[Anonymous]

I am a pediatric nurse and we have a method to give oral solution medication that usually works well. Hold the baby in your arms with the baby's head is up. Place the syringe of medicine toward the inside and rear of one cheek and slowly push the plunger. Immediatly put the plunger down, and with the baby's head just slightly back, start massaging just under the lower jaw (where the jawbone joint is), on the sides. You can do this with one hand. The baby's instinct will be to swallow and usually this is the least traumatic way to get the medicine actually down. I have found that the more gentle the approach, the less problem later with getting the little one to go along with taking their meds. Be careful about flavored medicines as some are purported to be delicious but if you ever tasted the medicine, you'd not be able to tolerate some of the flavors. Some pharmacies do a great job of mixing the flavors, so it really can be a good solution. Unless it is a cardiac medication, you can stick a little on your finger and try out the taste. One last thing, some acids(citrus and others) in juices can deactivate the medication or increase it's potency. You can Google the medicine to see if this would be the case if you intend to mix the med with juices or foods. Hope this helps. Susan

[Anonymous]

sticking a dropper into the corner of DS's mouth usually works for us. if we can't get the medicine all in with one squeeze, I'll let him play for a few minutes and try again.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

lay the child on the changing table, and then do the dropper in the mouth. It's pretty hard for them to fight gravity this way, and you can do it quickly.

[Anonymous]

Syringe without the needle. A pharmacy will give you a few, usually for free. Squirt in their cheek...