Tips for giving antibiotics to a 4 yr old?

[HIU8]

We are at our wits end with DS. He is impossible. He absolutely will not take the antibiotic he is currently on (nor the motrin to help with his fever that he has had since Sunday). DS has this way he tries to negotiate his way out of taking the meds-he is 4, I expect this. I would offer him mnm's or something, but he doesn't like candy. The only thing that works is giving him a small reward (as in small toy) each day (and that is after DS has a hissy fit, screams for an hour and becomes a total monster when he sees the medicine bottle). Please tell me he will grow out of this and not expect a reward for taking medicine for years to come......giving him his meds has become the most draining part of my day for the past 3 days (and we have 10 days of meds 2x a day). To think I was afraid that DS would be the type of person who would readily take whatever he was given (whether good or bad) b/c he took prevacid for 9 months as a baby and until age 2 used to beg us to take infant tylenol (we ended up putting an empty infant tylenol container in the dishwasher and then letting him carry it around like a lovey for about a year).

It got so bad tonight DS had to be given his meds via syringe (haven't done that since he was 2).

[Tondi G]

I used to tell my boys if they didn't take the medicine they wouldn't get better. If they fought me I would pick up the phone and tell them "ok I guess I will just call the doctor and we can go in and get a shot of medicine everyday till you are done then". The slightest suggestion of needing to get a shot made them come around real quick. If that didn't work then I manhandled my kids on their back...used my legs to hold their arms down and slowly administered the meds with a syringe. It sucked but it often only lasted a few days and then they realized it could be the easy way or hard way but they would take it ... eventually they gave in and willingly took the meds. It's a pain in the rear isn't it! Good Luck

[ohiomom1121]

You could be describing my daughter-she was the same way. From the time she was a newborn and we tried giving her Tylenol for shots she'd projectile spit it out at us. As she got older it just got worse (to the point we were pinning her down and forcing it with the syringe-completely horrible). What FINALLY worked was giving her sugar cubes. Sounds crazy, but she LOVES them. She will drink her medicine with no complaints to get them. She will however refuse cherry flavored anything, but it's pretty easy to avoid. Good luck!

[alien_host]

We had to do 10 days 2x per day and a second med for 5 days (concurrently) this winter and it was horrid. What I found was:

- I put the meds in a small cup (dixie sized) with a 3 inch straw (cut one) and she would alternate sips of meds/water from another cup and that helped.

- I also would say calmly, "if you don't take the medicine you won't get better and we will have to go back and see the doctor". She did understand this and hates the doctor's office so she would comply.

- We'd also threaten to use the syringe and force it on her if she didn't sip it from the cup herself. This also worked.

I tried to make it "fun", let her pick the color of the straw/cup. Made it somewhat more in her control. I did offer candy afterwards a few times (one Swedish fish) towards the end to get her to take it.

When she started feeling better, I would remind her that if she didn't take it she could get worse and have to go to the doctor again.

It's so hard, good luck.

[julevizamom]

Have you tried mixing the meds with chocolate syrup? When my son was that age, he was on this awful steroid for his asthma that would make him gag every time he had to take it. The only thing that worked -- and the dr. actually recommended -- was mixing it with chocolate syrup first. I guess it covered up the bad taste enough for him to get it down.

The other thing you could do is offer him a bigger reward at the end of the 10days, instead of something small every day. Maybe like a trip to a restaurant or ice cream place he likes (or a park or Chuck E. Cheese or something) or some toy or game he wants. That way, he's got bigger incentive to take the meds, and it also gives him a little lesson in delayed gratification.

Good luck!

[cono0507]

Walgreen's will flavor them for $2.99. They have a huge list of flavors. You could make a big deal about him picking one of the many flavors and that could work? http://www.walgreens.com/pharmacy/flavorx/default.jsp?cf=ln

[lizajane]

when mine wouldn't take medicine because they were just too out of sorts, i would put it in a sippy cup with the smallest amount of juice i could use to still make it into juice consistancy and then i would just let them drink it as a drink. but i didn't TELL them the meds were in the cup.

[HIU8]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We did the CVS flavoring. DS picked it out. The first time he tasted it he almost puked. Now, I have to hold his nose and he will drink the meds with a sip of milk in between AND a prize at the end of each dose of medicine (nice message I'm sending isn't it.....). DS hates chocolate and we tried to put the meds in some milk or juice. Neither worked. DS had a major meltdown. For now, the nose holding and very very small something at the end of the dose works. We go back to the ped today if his throat doesn't feel any better (fever finally broke after 4 days).

[Piglet]

My 4 year old is very stubborn with medicine, but loves juice boxes. I took the syringe of medicine and squirted into the hole on the jkuice box and he polished it off no problem. I didn't make any mention of the fact that there was medicine in it. For future reference, there are meds that taste awful and others that taste great. I had an awful one for DD and asked the doctor to give us a differnt one that tasted better. He agreed no problem. The other option is asking the pharmacist to do a double concentration. That same yucky med for DD was supposed to be 1 tsp and it was awful. I got the pharm to give me a double strength bottle and it was much easier to wrangle 1/2 a tsp into her. I still ask the ped if the medicine is gross before taking the rx though and I do my best to get them to give us something better.

[bnme]

I have this problem with my younger DS. It is finally somewhat better at age 5. I do have to bribe a bit and convince a lot (you'll feel better if you take it, etc).

I know my dr has offered an antibiotic shot in this past if I couldn't get him to take it but it never came to that . He also will not take it if mixed in something and can always tell.

[newmomto1]

My DD will NOT take any liquid meds!
So far the antibiotics she has had to be on (which are few) were available in a chewable tablet.
She sis great with that.
Maybe you can ask if that's available??

[Indianamom2]

Boy, I could have written your post!

I have a 4.75 year old who, after a particularly horrid round of amoxicillin this winter, will not take antibiotics in liquid form. We had the 2x a day, for 10 pink amoxicillin flavored twice, we tried letting her drink it out of a small cup, used the syringe, eventually had to pin her down (DH and I), then when she started spitting it back out of us, finally called the pedi. and begged them (me almost in tears) for some other option. We had tried reasoning with her, telling her she would have to go back to the doctors, even telling her that she would have to get a shot...and her response was, tearfully, "Well, I guess I'll just have to get a shot then."

And she did. The pedi offered a shot of Recephin, which is reportedly fairly painful. But it couldn't have been any worse than the above scenerio.

A couple weeks ago, she got another bad ear infection and was prescribed Amox. again. Before we left the pedi., I made sure we had something other than liquid to try. She prescribed it in chewable pill form. I was expecting something small like chewable tylenol, but she had to take these large vitamin-sized pills, three at a time, twice a day for ten days.

She actually asked for her medicine. I think she liked feeling grown-up and we made a HUGE deal out of how proud we were of her for taking her meds without fussing.

So, I greatly sympathize with you and maybe ask the Pedi if there are alternative forms of the med. It's worth being persistent.

Christina

[alien_host]

I totally forgot about the chewables, since the last round, her dose was not prescribed as a chewable, major bummer. I would definitely ask if a chewable is available.

We also use the chewable motrin/tylenol with good success.

[DrSally]

Someone suggested putting the antibiotic into a little icecream.

[fauve01]

Someone suggested putting the antibiotic into a little icecream.

:yeahthat: it might have been me who suggested it, because there is one antibiotic that was so yucky, mixing it with ice cream was the only thing that worked. I figured a tablespoon twice a day wouldn't kill DD, and she was begging me all day for her medicine. lol

good luck.
Anne + DD 10-03