Help Giving Antibiotic/five Year Old Getting Molars!

L.
We had a similar problem with my daughter when she was around this age. She would fight and refuse oral medication of any kind but was good at getting ear infections and strep thoat. I would take her to the Dr. and the min we mentioned medicine she would flip out like she was getting a needle the size of a baseball bat even for tylenol. It was so bad the Dr. decided to stop thinking about oral meds and went straight to a dose of antibiotic via the needle. It was brutal I will admit but when the mdication is needed and the child refuses what are you gonna do. we tried everything else. After a few shots she was told either take the medicine or the needle it was her choice and at 4 and 5 yrs old they understand talk it over with the dr

Hello L., I too have had problems giving my 2 year old niece antibiotics, BUT what I did is had the doctor change the prescription to Amoxcillian. This one test so so much better and kids like it. Also I always used a syringe and I applauded her each time, and also give her a treat after she has taken it. So she looks forward to the treat but also feels she is doing something great because I applaud her. Hope this helps. C.

Good Day L.,

If I'm not mistaken when my older kids had ear infections and where put on Augmentin they also had Augmentin in chewable form. That always worked out perfectly for me. I would ask the pharmacist what antibiotics come in chewable form and then give the list to your Dr. to prescribe a chewable.

I hope this helps?

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L.,
I assume he needs to finish the Augmentin for his ear infection? The following info is from the Mayo Clinic website:
"Some children have trouble swallowing tablets or capsules or dislike the taste of the medicine. You may be able to crush the medicine and mix it with soft food, such as applesauce. Or you can mix liquid medicine with yogurt or pudding. Make sure, however, that your child consumes all the food so that he or she receives the full dose of medicine. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to make sure that mixing the medicine with food or liquid won't lessen the effectiveness of the antibiotic. Some pharmacies offer flavors that can be mixed with the antibiotic to improve the taste."
I would try the applesauce. Do you have a compounding pharmacy near you? They may be able to blend a flavor with the medicine. If it's OK to mix with dairy (ask pharmacist/ped/nurse) maybe try a milkshake--that might feel good on his throat too! Hope he feels better--fast!

My 4 year old weighs 30 pounds and they were able to give her chewable augmentin which went soooo much better. She just chewed it up like her vitamins and flouride pills. So, there should be a dosing level available for your son. It was 2 chewables a day, very easy. Call your pediatrician.

What flavor did you pick? We usually do strawberry flavor and my son now LOVES to take it. Really, I don't know why the peds or pharamists recommend it all the time with Augmentin - that stuff is so nasty. It stinks to have to fight them and force down nasty meds when they feel yucky already. I'm all for the flavors if it makes that an easier process. I did wonder how well it worked before trying it, but it doesn't have even a little bit of that nasty orange scent when I've had it flavored. It's still pretty chalky, but it goes down better. I always ask the pharmacist or peds about how a new medicine tastes before filling the script and I don't take chances with yucky meds anymore.

As for the yogurt... In general you have to be careful mixing meds with foods as you have to make sure they eat all of it to be sure they got the full dose. In terms of yogurt and antibiotics - they are great together. yogurt helps prevent yeast infections that the antibiotics can lead to. It helps reintroduce good bacterias to the intestines which helps digestion and minimizes diarreah as well.

Good luck and hope your little guy is feeling better soon!

Augmentin is available in chewable tablets. Ask your ped for those!

the worte we ever had to do was give whooping cough mediation -- not because our children had it, but because they were exposed to it at daycare. It was AWFUL. thankfully it was close to Easter and we had candy around -- and our kids were younger than 5 ! My husband and I would sit on the kitchenfloor, each with a child on our laps, and actually FORCE the medication into them it was SO awful. It was followed my yummy easter candy, and they were young enough that candy was a super treat. The younger of the two got wise quickly, took the medication, and then gobbled her treat. The older one (thankfully my husband's child to hold) wasn't so good, but we had to do it. And yes, it was harder on us than on them, I am sure.

Augmentin ? If you can get small pills, you can "practice" taking pills with M&M's. After practicing and you and he know he can swallow them, then try the pill. Follow up with something yummy. :-) And keep the yummy stuff reserved for the reward so it stays exciting.

having said this, you might also want to check with a pharmacist. I ASSUMED the M&M would melt before the child suffocate if it got stuck, but I really don't know that for sure. i don't want to give you advice that could backfire horribly. The minis would be smaller, but you want something about the size of the pill because you want your son to KNOW he can get the pill down.

I don't envy you this. I remember going thru it every night and it was hell. you can talk yourself blue and it probably won't make any difference, because he still isn't going to WANT to take it. Sometimes you just have to force the issue. And if you actually have to force the medication down, I recommend getting Dad to help. He'll be strong enough to control the situation. You can stand by with the yummy reward.

(I always wanted to take our kids to the vet to get the meds down. If they can get them into animals, and get them swallowed, it seemed like a Vet would have been very good at getting the stuff down my children's throats !! LOL)

Good luck ! (Oh, and while I don't condone antibiotics forever, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the doctor about a "preventive dose" of something good -- one of our children had ear infections all winter, and after 3 or 4, the doctor put her on antibiotics for the rest of the season. The doctor wasn't into pushing drugs, either, but she didn't want the ear infections to cause deafness. It might be good to do something for a month until summer is hear and the chance of infection goes down. Our only long term drawbck? At 12, she had a strep throat and she became allergic to penicillin. Kind of funny, cuz she took the "yummy pink stuff" for practically a whole year at 2 years old, burt her dad is also allergic to penicillin, so it might not have anything to do with the early medication.)

barb

If they have the Augmentin in a chewable form that is flavored, he might take that for you. They seem to make more medications for children in a chewable form because children are more apt to take them.

The only advise I can give you is to use the "shooter" method. Get one of the medicine dropers (or siringe type) and just put it as far into his mouth as possible and shoot it down, and blow gentely in his face (blowing in the face makes them swallow) at the same time. I used to do this with my girls either with them in their highchair or laying on the changing table when they were babies, as they got older I would stand them in a corner and stand in front of them. I would also have crackers and some water ready to give them right away. The crackers really seem to help cut the taste quickly. I don't believe in mixing meds with anything, they are not supposed to taste good...so that kids don't think that it's candy. I know you'll both make it through all this, it's tough, but the two of you are tougher!! Hang in there it will be a lot better as soon as those teeth break through! Good luck and best wishes.

My son takes medications on a regular basis. Two of them he really dislikes. One is a liquid and one is a pill (we crush it). We were told to try mixing them with Kool-aid or snow cone syrup to mask the flavor. So I mix up really strong lemonade and use an oral syringe to dispense it. I would ask the pharmacist before actually doing this, but it may give you another option.

Hi L.
I have to agree with your little guy...Augmentin is disgusting and you are right, it is exactly like white paint! My daughter, when she was little, also refused to take it. She also had really bad asthma when she was very young, and around age 5/kindergarten she had to try to take pills (for her asthma meds). Believe it or not, while I was explaining "how" to swallow the pill with the water? she had already done it on her own....so she was able to take the Augmentin in pill form....even though she was so little, she'd rather swallow the pill then swallow that nasty white paint! I have a hard time swallowing pills, and just assumed that she would also...since she was only 5, but that wasn't the case. Good luck! If I were you, I'd try the pills just to see if he can do it?

My son doesn't take medicine well, either. I mix his medicine with applesauce. That's the only way he will take it. (Coincidentally, he won't eat applesauce anymore at dinner time. He associates it with medicine taking.) Best of luck to you.

L.
My daughter has had 6 ear infections and always given Augmentin for them. I feel like I am a pro at this! The pharmacy should give you a syringe and it should be a teaspoon
or 1/2 teaspoon depending on how old your little one is.But I do a sneak attack. Whenever she is laying on the bed and ready for juice or milk bottle I give it to her before and I hide it behind my back and then POP it in and then give her juice to wash it down.Yes this medication should be refrigerated and given for 10 days straight,you cant miss a dose.Good Luck!

Hi L.,

My son has had his fair share of Augmentin. He has always taken his medicine well. But I will suggest possibly mixing the medicine with applesauce. I know the consistency of the medicine is a little thick however there are so many colors of applesauce these days...it'll just look like a flavored applesauce. Hope this helps. Take care and God Bless!!!

~T.~

I can relate to this very well. The Augmentin is the only thing that works for my son. i would put it into a baby little cup that you get with the medicines (the measuring cups).
Put the medicine in there...mix a little soda(his favorite kind). Put a straw in it. Right after he is done....have a piece of his favorite gum or candy waiting to put right into his mouth. i "egg" my son on as if it was a fear factor game.
At times, I have even had to seperate it into two smaller cups and he would do it little by little as he played.
I also would bring home a little bag of toys from the dollar store. So that everytime he took it, he would get something. It was well worth it to get that down him. Good Luck. :), L. S.

We had a similar situation with my son, he was 6. Believe it or not, we got him to take a pll. You may have to give it a few tries, and cut it in half if it's big. But it worked. He never did like to take the liquid, and now takes a pill like a champ. He's 9 now. Also, if you choose to crush and put it in a drink, don't put it in his favorite. We tried that and now my son doesn't like anything that had the cherry flavor. Which he used to love. Good luck

Being that he is five years old, I would sit him down and talk to him. Tell him the pain won't go away without the medicine. Then tell him that you might be able to get it in a tablet/capsul form but that he would need to put it in his mouth and swallow it with water. But that if he swallows it right away, he won't have to taste it.

I didn't think that my (now 8 year old) would be able to swallow pills 2 1/2 years ago but when she needed to, she was able to without a problem. I don't know if your son will be able to without a problem but it is worth trying if it makes it a less traumatic experience for him.

If he can't swallow the pills, you won't be worse off than you are now. If you've explained to him what the medicine does, he might be more receptive all around.

You might also want to ask your doctor if there is another medication that he can prescribe for your son. Explain what is going on. Don't forget to tell him that you are having a hard time getting the medicine into him at all. Antibiotics need to be given consistently to get rid of the infection. If he knows you aren't able to get your son to take it consistently, he might agree to try a different antibiotic. I have to agree with your son on the taste of Augmentin. It has been the only one I've had trouble getting my son to take. My daughter hated it too. I don't know of anything that can mask the flavor.

One last thought to get him to take his medicine... Get some of your son's favorite candy. Give him a piece as a reward for taking the medicine. It will serve two purposes. A reward for doing something he doesn't want to. Also, it will help to get rid of the horrible taste in his mouth from the medicine.

Good luck with your little guy.

I am not sure if your child still takes a bottle but if he does I have a bottle that has a medicine syringe in the middle that you slowly push to release the medicine while they are drinking. It is called ReliaDose. I found mine at Rite Aid but I am sure you can find it at other pharmacys. It works well and it really cuts down on the frustration of giving medicine-- my 2 younger children were on Augmentin several times-- I know how hard it is to get them to take it, IT'S DISGUSTING! Good Luck, C.

I sure would like to know the answer to this too. My 4 year old has no problem with Motrin but she gets frequent tonsil infections and she absolutely goes ballistic when I try to get her to take Augmentin. I tried every food imaginable and she can always taste it and refuses to eat it. I also tried forcing it down her throat with a dropper and feel horrible after because she gets so violent it really bothers me to have to pin her down like that. No amount of verbal reasoning or bribing works either. About the only thing I can finally resort to without physical force is to put it in a sippy cup with a couple of ounces of apple juice and over the course of about 3 hours get her to take it one tiny sip at a time. At that point I'm not even sure if the medicine is still active.

put it in a squirtie, ask the pharmacist for one, measure the amt and squirt it in and hold his mouth shut. Tell them also the worse it tastes the better it is. 1 or 2 times they will get the idea. Don't make compromises or bribes, has to get done period.

n."

get a needleless syenge put the meds in and place the meds to the side of the mouth slowly. then allow to drink anything the child wants.

I have 3 kids that have not had to take a lot of meds. I am greatful for this. However, Ask for the medication in chewable form. They are usually cherry flavored. It has worked for all three of mine. (the youngest will be 5 next month, she has been taking chewables since she was 2). I hope this helps.