How to stop toddler spitting out antibiotics - help!

[acb2013]

Can anyone suggest a way to get my 2.5yr old to take revolting-tasting antibiotic medicine solution? It's getting spat out instantly with much screaming. It's too strong tasting to hide in milk or juice or yoghurt. She's been given it as antibiotic cream didn't work. Thanks!

[Mrs TP]

Not fool proof and not one of Gina Ford or anyone else's tips but tell her she will have to go and stay in hospital (add to that, i.e. without mummy or daddy - you know your child and what you can say) if she doesn't take it. Also buy her a huge bag of her favourite sweets and let her hold one in her hand to shove in her mouth as soon as she has taken a spoonful.

Good luck, it is hell!

[Indiana]

We had a disgusting tasting one which he just wouldbt take - the doctor then prescribed a different brand which tasted fine! Maybe go back

[Gooders79]

Which one is it? We have success with some and moot so much with others. If you are desperate we adopt a horrible restraint and then often something nice straight after to help soften the ordeal. Good luck it's awful

[acb2013]

Thanks for all the ideas, it's obviously not just us then! I will have to work through various tactics. Will def try seeing if the doctor can offer a less vile tasting one, I can completely see why my daughter is gagging on it & spitting it out. Gooders79 it's Flucloxacillin. The pharmacist mixed it up into a bright pink solution that I guess is supposed to make it more enticing (as it looks like Calpol which my daughter will happily take) but the colour doesn't disguise the nasty penicillin taste.

[mimosa]

It is awful. After trying methods like the above we then offered the syringe (forget the spoon) for her to take it 'voluntarily', after feeding it to her dolls. Knowing the alternatives, she would sometimes take the chance to be in control. For a course of treatment that might require three or four doses daily over several days, this didn't work each time (there's no panacea, if you pardon the pun). We once visited every pharmacy in Camberwell looking for alternative flavours to no avail (I mean, aniseed flavour for kids, really?).

[oimissus]

I'm afraid we went for the child's-head-clamped-between-my-knees approach and squirted it in with a syringe (though I had to buy a syringe as the one that came with the medicine was very stiff). It was repellent stuff, bright yellow and banana-flavoured (yeuch!) but as she was ill enough to be prescribed them, then she has to take them, end of. But I'm quite mean about things like that!

[Fuschia]

You might be able to get a higher strength, which would reduce the size of each dose (2.5ml rather than 5ml)

I think having a sweet or some milkshake ready to gulp after can help

Also try giving a dose while in the bath

Giving one late at night (trickle it into her cheek)

[miss]

Your other option is to go back to dr or pharmacist and request a suppository instead. I know we're all a bit squeamish about them but my good German friend thinks we're all mad for wrestling oral meds into our children if suppositories are available...

[acb2013]

Thanks everyone. Have found this morning that a giant chocolate button followed by 2.5ml medicine directed inside her mouth towards the cheek, followed by another, then repeat has worked (so far), phew! Means my daughter will be consuming vast amounts of chocolate during the next week but at least she's taking the antibiotics.

[edanna]

Often the GP won't know anything about the flavour of different brands but there does seem to be a big variation. With trimethoprim we had the most disgusting aniseed flavoured syrup that it was impossible to disguise. I got a new prescription and then did a tour of the pharmacies finding out the different options. Pinewood is flavour free for trimethoprim and much more palatable - I'm not sure about other types of antibiotics but the experience taught me to ask the question rather than accepting whatever I was given. It's great that you have found a solution but I hope this is helpful for future reference.

[acb2013]

Thanks edanna. Yes very helpful to know for future reference.