Hi all,
My daughter is 10.5 months old and has an ear infection and sinusitis for which she was prescribed augmentin. She has had an impossible time in the past with antibiotics (gagging and throwing up) so I’m trying to think of a way to administer it to her. I have heard of yogurt and I know it’s ok for babies at this age because the enzymes are easier to digest than milk. We have breyer’s lactose-free ice cream in the fridge right now..would it be ok to try to mix some of that with it, do you think?
I hate to see my baby sick but I don’t want to make her feel bad and throw up the antibiotics :(
Can't you just call the doctor's 24 hour nurse line and ask?
I'd talk to your pharmacist about this.
I would not mix it with ice cream.
I'd stay away from dairy (or dairy substitutes) for awhile - it can make some kids produce more mucus than usual when they are sick.
Maybe putting it into some apple juice will help but then you have to make sure she drinks all of it to get a full dose.
When our son had pneumonia at 14 months I had to give him several medications and use a nebulizer on him too.
The best method for us was I had him pinned on the floor (on a towel) and I'd squirt the medication into his cheek slowly (while keeping his mouth pried open) so he's have to swallow it bit by bit as he put up a fight.
I had to perfect a hold for this.
Basically his head was between my thighs, my bent legs were holding his arms/legs so he couldn't kick me, I had the medicine syringe loaded and ready to go, so I had one hand to work that while the other kept his mouth open (finger between his back gums where there were no teeth yet).
Afterward I had apple juice (or pedialyte) in a bottle on hand so he had a chaser to get the taste out of his mouth and to have something in his stomach besides just the medication - cause it will upset their stomach - barf happens - the towel helps - especially if he manages to spit it out and I had to start all over again.
There'd be snuggling afterward - but every time I had to get meds into him it was a major effort - and it was multiple times per day.
The doctor said that my diligence in keeping up with the meds is what kept him from landing in the hospital.
I had the one that would fight me. He would spit it out or clamp his lips closed when he saw the medicine syringe. I learned to have my husband hold him tilted back. I would gently pinch his nose closed to make him open his mouth then slowly squirt it into his the back of his cheek so it was too far back to spit out. Pinch, squirt, swallow. Repeat until the dose was down. It wasn’t pretty but it worked.
I vote no to the ice cream.
Augmentin is the nastiest, most foul tasting antibiotic ever.
You just have to hold them down and get it in them. Dribble a little bit at a time into her mouth, back by her back gum/cheek area. I used a syringe to get it back that far. Then it's harder to spit out.
We did what B did. We held the baby/toddler down and used to use one of those syringe type injectors, and squirt it just so - so that they had to swallow it. The pharmacist can tell you how to position your child. Once you get it, you're a pro. It's not hard and it doesn't upset the child. You just have to make sure you do it slowly enough as B says so they don't end up spitting it out - it has to be slow enough they swallow it. But pinned down is kind of a good way to put it. It's a two person job.
If she threw up (like actually vomited) then try another type of antibiotics than the type that made her be sick. If it was just gagging and spit up - that's not vomit. That's typical if you didn't shoot it down her throat enough or in side of mouth (whichever works). We had different tactics for different kids. Just experiment and see what works.
It's one of those things - mamma has to persevere and be strong - they won't like it, but you have to get the meds in. It's not so bad. They can flavor the drugs too sometimes. We had one they liked. Talk to the pharmacist.
I definitely would not put it in ice-cream for a baby. That's just me though.
I would call the pharmacist and ask. They will have the tricks for you. I have a friend who is a pharmacist and they take calls like this al the time.
So sorry your baby is sick! I agree with other posters. It’s recommended that you stay away from dairy (even yogurt or lactose-free items) because they can upset the digestive system when taking antibiotics. I always used the syringe to give my kids their medication when they were babies and, like others here, had to sometimes hold them to make sure they would swallow the medication. Augmentin is one of the most common antibiotics for this, but we’ve also had Omnicef and Amoxil. My pediatricians have always recommended taking probiotics with antibiotics to restore the intestinal flora. You can add it to applesauce. Of course, you’d need to ask your doctor if probiotics are right for your 10 month old. Hope she feels better soon :-)
