So frustrated!!

[lliella]

ARRRRGGGHHH!!

I just spent the last 30 mins trying to give my 2-yr old son his medicine! He just absolutely won't take them! I have 3 adult people holding him down and me giving the meds, his nose is also pinched but he's an expert with coughing it back out! i'm so frustrated and so heartbroken to see him so exhausted fighting us off
He has fever on and off for a few days so I took him to the doctor. Turns out he has inflamed tonsil, with coughs and colds. His doctor gave him antibiotics to take 2x a day for 7 days, as well as meds for his cough. The bottle of antibiotics that was supposed to last 7 days is almost empty at only 2-1/2 days. Most of it went to waste
He's also like this with his vitamins so its not like he's just sick. I have already tried adding meds to his milk, but he can taste it so he won't drink it at all I also tried bribing him with new toys (that was a laugh). UGH.

Ok, vent over.

[Leila]

Allie, I'm so sorry he's giving you so much trouble!

Devin used to be just like that, then we figured out the one thing that wokred for him. We had to squirt the medicine as far back as possible and then blow in his face. I know, it sounds odd, but it catches them by surprise and makes them swallow.

Good luck with getting the meds into him! I hope he's feeling better very soon!! {{{HUGS}}}

[lisabranka]

oh you just described what it was like to give my youngest dd her meds. She would make herself throw up after taking it A few tricks that we found worked for her, was to one ask for the pharmacy to add flavor if at all possible to the medicine to make it taste better. though honestly there are some meds that just taste really bad.

Another thing we did was to mix it with the liquid chocolate (the stuff you add to milk to make chocolate milk and then add that to just a little bit milk.. like one or two swallows.

ask first though to see if it's okay to mix

It is so hard to see them sick and then have them fight the very thing that will help them get better.

[Kat Stokes]

Allie, maybe your doctor can give him a shot of antibiotics? I had a chronic sinus infection from about age 17 until I was about 20. They finally gave me a shot of penicillin and it killed my sinus infection and I've only had once since... about a year ago.

[jannylynn]

You could see if they can give him the chewable pills instead and he may prefer those to the liquid. We had to do that with one of my kids and he thought it was special candy. He was about 2 also.

[Susan Bartolini]

Oh Allie, I totally know where you are coming from. My son is the king of vomitting back up his medicine. What worked for me was taking a syringe and squirting little amounts into his mouth. Whenever he fights me, I say ok....let's go to the hospital to get a shot. And he is so horrified by shots that he somehow manages to gag it down.

Susan

[jessica31876]

does your pharmacy offer flavoring additives? Ive heard they help. I used to have that problem with my kids. Id offer them a drink after giving them just a little medicine at a time to wash it all down with. So Id give him the medicine then a drink then a little more medicine then another drink til the meds were all gone. Also might help to give him the medicine while he is still a little groggy from sleeping.

[lovely1m]

Ugh, my son does this with just tylenol. Its horribly. He pushes it all back out with his tongue. He used to take it just fine, now its a battle.

[crystalbella77]

oh sweetie! That's sooo hard! I have had a few moments like that with my boys. I generally buy a few flavors if it's just over the counter and give them a choice when they need it. For the little ones I squirt in as far back as possible and just pray he swallows!

I really hope you can find something to help! It's no fun having sick little ones especially when they won't take the medicine.

[lauren grier]

when ce was lil he had to take meds for his severe reflux issues.. his pedi always use to tell me to squirt it into the back of the cheek- not just as far back as possible- cause that will prolly cause them to want to hack it out more. when it was in the cheek there was more opportunity for them to actually get it down without having a fit. I think the more you hold him down (the pinching of the nose and lots of peeps) the more "upset" and "fighty" he'll get.. but I soooooo sympathsize.. cause meds are evil with kids. Our insurance didn't cover the flavours back then so I had no choice but to squirt this nasty stuff at him every day. :[

[crystalbella77]

YES! I should have said that! We always squirt it into the back of the cheek. It really does help....

[Tracie Stroud]

We have this battle with Noah too. He is the king of gagging it all back up. Ugh. What has finally worked for us is to mix it with chocolate milk, and I mean reeeallly chocolate milk. lol. If I put a lot of chocolate in it, he can't taste the medicine. I hope you find something that works!

[Paula]

This sounds mean, but it works! After you put it in his mouth, blow in his face. The natural reflex is to swallow. It worked every time with my kids.

[lliella]

thanks for the tips! i will have to try blowing his face and mixing it in chocolate milk. i never gave him choco milk before so he might become suspicious.

things i tried and didn't work:
adding orange-flavored paracetamol to orange juice
adding meds to his bowl of oatmeal
giving him chewables
trying to dilute the chewables in his water or milk
puting the meds on the back of his cheeks

when he sees the bottle of meds, dropper or dosage cup, he goes wild. he just doesn't care what the meds tastes like. i tried tasting some of the meds and it is just sweet with no bitter taste. and the meds all have flavors, strawberry, orange, melon and even vanilla caramel (which is the worst).
i might also try to mix it into his soup (he likes soup)

[dabittymama]

Blowing in the face really works, I do it with my kids all the time and in the ER if kids won't take meds. As much as I don't like to threaten with needles (because I am the one that has to use them...) with some kids it really works. There is the chance though that it backfires if you threaten with a shot and remind them how much it hurts when they do have to get one it can be more tramatic.

I also use jellybeans with my kids at home to get them to take meds. They both LOVE jellybeans and if they take the meds without a fight they get two. Gotta love bribery . I hope your little guy feels better soon.

[Lizzy257]

Wow, he really knows all the tricks! I hope some of the tips here help, it's awful seeing them sick