My kid refuses to take medicine: Advice?

I’m just a mom seeking some advice. I have a son soon to be two in April and i have a problem with giving him his medicines when he has a fever or a temperature and he refuses to take his antibiotics or any other medicine he will spit it out and ive tried giving him with a syringe as well and he eventually brings it all up.

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Put it in ice cream :grin:

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Trick him with a Juice Box

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Mix it with chocolate sauce. Or they have options at pharmacies to flavor medication. Let him choose the flavor.

Try it in food or a drink or as for a pill version

Mix it in applesauce make him think he getting a treat​:rofl::woman_facepalming:

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When my son was that little, I ask if they could give him a shot of antibiotics. It wasn’t worth the fight and him still not getting the antibiotics he needed. Tylenol has children’s suppositories for fever.

Suppositories work as far as fevers, antibiotics I usually put it in milk half hour before I have to give it to my son, so that the flavoring absorbs into the milk

ALL of that does Nothing to mask the taste & provide proof that it’s probably not him bringing it back up hun that’s his body telling you to try something else

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Let him do it himself! And have his favorite cup and choice of his favorite drink to wash it down

When my daughter refused to take her meds I took her back to the doc… she was rather sick and needed the antibiotic… well he fast solved that by injection… I tell you any meds I gave her after that she took. .

Maybe hed take a pill my son did. I just handed it to him and told him to swallow it. Make sure they are all necessary too. A lot if times kids dont need tylenol let the fever do its thing. Give him probiotics a few times a week and jo antibiotics unless absolutely nec.

Try strawberry ice cream!!! Stir it until it becomes a “soft serve” then add the antibiotic!! Never fails for us!!

My daughter was the same way. We finally figured out for her if we offered her one of her favorite treats after the medicine, she would keep it down. Whipped cream was the winner. She takes medicine, takes a sip of water, and then whipped cream!

My daughter was like that and i never figured it out. If i found a way to make her swallow it she puked it up. What helped was when she started taking tablets and didnt taste it. It was the taste she didnt like and why she wouldnt take meds

I bought my daughter a sippy cup with the water and glitter and little floaties in the walls. I’d crush her medicine and put it in juice, stir it in the cup and let her have a snack. She’d mindlessly watch TV sipping the juice and eating a snack. Usually gummies cause it sticks to the teeth and they taste it instead of a spiked juice LOL (i only did it with chewables when she was sick. I can’t say for other medicines but if it’s similar it can’t hurt to try)

Tell him the medicine will turn him into a superhero, it worked for my son

For fever, peppermint oil on his toes and on his back right now his spine. Don’t know how it works, but it does.

If it’s all meds then maybe his body is saying nope not for me

I used to mash it between spoons and put it in applesauce or pudding.

I mix it with Sprite. As long as he drinks the Sprite, the doctor said it wasn’t an issue.

Call around and see if you have a compounding pharmacy nearby. They can flavor them yummy. But if still no, the doctor will need to be called.

Hide it in his food and bribe him

A Compound pharmacy can mix in almost any flavor into a liquid medication. They can do it for pets also, with a separate list of flavors. Also ask your pediatrician for an extra amount to help with what he spits out. Out of two or three tries? Enough should get in. That or ask for a suppository. It isn’t fun but they can work. I have a terrible gag reflex. I threw up many liquid medications, even when I wasn’t trying to get rid of them.

My mother used to crush up and aspirin in strawberry jam it always worked

I know certain meds would upset my sons stomach and the minute he’d take it, he’d throw it up. He never had issue taking it but tylenol would make him puke. Id consult your baby’s doctor. Also for ones that young i use a syringe and place it on the side of his cheek far enough that it’ll force him to swallow it in small amounts…but not too far so he doesnt gag

I had this problem. Used a syringe and popped it between his cheek and teeth. I’d put it as far back as I could get it without hurting him before I pushed the plunger. No option but to swallow then. Not nice but it beats taking them into hospital because you cant get the fever down.

Mix it in with chocolate milk chocolate is a naturally over powering flavor. We had to do this with mine until the day she figured out she could just take a pill and not Taste anything the first pill we gave her went down super easy and she was like screw that liquid crap ever since

She started swallowing the chewable tabs at like 3 years old

Flavored coffee creamer. Works like a champ. Especially for super nasty ones like clindamycin or tamiflu. About 4tbsp

In jello but honestly you can hold his mouth closed and blow up his nose quickly. He causes a swallow reaction. My daughter refused and spit out liquid meds and I got tired of the fight. Put the syringe toward the back the throat, closed her mouth, and blew into her nose quickly. She swallowed. Once she realized it was actually not that bad haven’t had a problem since.

Mix it in juice :wink: anyway they’ll take it that is the way you give it. I’ve even put my daughters dose in a small glass of ginger ale

Dilute it in he’s drink or food that way he won’t taste it

20 years of peds nursing has taught me… All of these are great ideas but not very effective. Kids somehow ALWAYS know there is medicine in the pudding or whatever.
The only effective way I can ever get a kid to take the medication is this.
Get an oral syringe, squeeze the child’s cheeks, put the syringe in the side of the cheek as far back as you can get it into the mouth and administer the Med in slow doses Keep the cheeks squeezed until the child has no choice but to swallow.
I know some people will criticize but it’s better than an admission to the hospital with the possibility of lots of needle pokes. GOOD LUCK

Mask the taste or use a small reward if he takes it. whether he refuses to take it, you’re in charge and the doctor can file a complaint against you for medical neglect with Children’s Services. As he gets older (until 18) you are in charge to make sure he takes his medicines prescribed.

Get pills. Crush it and put it in pudding or applesauce or something similar. It worked for all 5 of my kids

Mix it in his drink or food

Have you tried mixing it with yogurt or apple sauce?

Put it in his mouth and cover his mouth and nose so he can’t breath until he swallows it.

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My brother was like this as a child! My mom would mix the medicine with grape juice because grape juice has a powerful taste.

And have him drink a 1/2 glass.

I used to put the syringe on the sides of his cheeks,close to the back of the gums,and little by little squeeze it in. I’d also let him have a juice on hand,so after every squeeze of medicine,take a sip of juice. To this day my son still hates taking medicine but he will take it if he needs,he just needs his juice on the side.

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Smash it and put it in ice cream. I am a med aide and that’s how we do it at work with the residents. Jelly or pudding work to. Just a spoon full

nothing worked for us. both my kids would taste it in food and drink juice to slow

Put it in the syringe an place it in the side of his cheek where it will run straight back in his throat an he has to swallow it or either put it in his mouth then blow in it real quick which he will have to swallow

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Some compound chemists can turn children’s medication into lollies and lolly pops, might be worth looking into

An ER nurse said they make suppository tylenol for kids who wont take liquid, ask the pharmacist anywhere…

My son is like this. I can’t get him to take anything other then a certain antibiotic that tastes like bananas. He constantly has tonsillitis (see the specialist at the end of the month yay) but this last time he was so sick with flu b and bronchitis at the same time I literally couldn’t get any thing into him for fevers. I tricked him once by putting it in his juice but that was it. Once he got his banana meds tho he was a champ. He literally wouldn’t eat or drink and was facing having to be hospitalized for dehydration and stuff. Scary stuff.

The pink antibiotics with pink kids fruity yogurt. Tylenol can be put in a small amount of juice. Apple masks the taste pretty well. Just don’t let him see u do it

I put my 18 month olds in her milk. She never notices.

Put it in applesauce or yogert .

If nothing else helps ask his pediatrician For Suppositorys. My daughter is about to be 7 months and I’ve tried a lot of this which all went to her just gagging until she throws up.

Try coffee creamer! The antibiotics and steroids are the worst. If you have to, use smaller doses throughout the day that add up to the total dose. I eventually had to use coke/soda. It’s not something my son gets all the time, so when he gets it, he drinks it up FAST! I put just a little in a regular plastic cup, add the medicine, and help
him drink it with a straw. This has worked for months! Before, he would start gagging before I could even get the syringe close to his mouth and vomit if I did happen to get it in his mouth. Don’t let him see you add the medicine either. They’re smart and figure this out. Lol I hope this helps! I know the struggle all too well!

Also, just a side note. It’s not recommended to give medicine for low grade fever. If it’s low grade, it means the body is doing what it’s designed to do and fight an illness. :relaxed:

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I feel like your diluting it mixing it with food or liquids. I had to lay my son down and have my legs keep his arms from moving. I didn’t have my body weight on him but my legs were basically holding him from escaping. It was tough but He refused to take medicine when his fever was dangerous. We ended up going to the emergency room and they just give him Motrin tiny drops at a time. Now he takes no problem. He still uses a syringe and we go 1,2,3 and do tiny drops but he gets it all in and doesn’t choke and it’s not forced anymore. Best of luck.

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Do you breastfeed? After o give my son his medicine I offer the boobie that way he calm down.

I wish he was a little older. I put in the syringe and let her take it herself. I set it by her and tell her when she’s ready and before i get the chance to walk away it’s gone.

Mix the medicine with Hawaiian punch

juice box or capri sun trick

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My mom used to mix it with a tablespoon of applesauce.

I was this way as a kid. Any kind of cherry/grape/bubblegum flavored medicine was so so hard for me. Amoxicillin was fine. But I would literally have to take it over the toilet because I would almost always vomit. Soda masks the taste but obviously soda isn’t the best choice for kiddos. Chocolate milk or Sunny D always worked well for me too.

Suppository while he’s sleeping

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I mix it with a tad of chocolate syrup, that you put on ice cream. The dr told me to do that and it works.

My daughter was the same way. The pharmacist told me to mix coffee creamer with it and she took it! I put it in one of those mini medicine bottles (look like a baby bottle but super tiny) and she sucks it down with no problem. I use the French vanilla creamer.

I have to add my kids medicines to whatever they are drinking and make sure they drink it all right quick.

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I had the same problem with my kids and a friend recommended chewable tablets they also have them for colds and they work great!

Hershey’s chocolate syrup

I have stuck into my daughters milk or juice in a sippy and just shook it up really well. :woman_shrugging: gotta do what you gotta do.

My 2 year old prefers drinking it straight from the bottle

I mix my daughter’s antibiotics with applesauce. The pharmacist told me not to mix antibiotics with anything dairy based.

I mix it with diluted juice - more medicine then juice though!

I will have my four year old eat a popsicle before taking her meds. The cold numbs your tongue so you don’t taste the medicine as much.

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Vitamins go in my daughters daily smoothie, medicines go straight into her mouth whether she likes it or not:) squirt it into the inside of cheek during bath and they’ll be over it in seconds👌like ripping off a bandaid

I dont know if he uses a pacifier but they have a paci dose on Amazon for cheap that allows you to dose the medicine through the pacifier

We use favorite stuffed animals as buddies to take the medication first and praise the animals and repeat with our child. Not saying it will work with every child, but it works for one of ours. She didn’t particularly like antibiotics but that’s because she needed a probiotic to take in addition. Once she had that, taking her antibiotics for her ear infection(s) got easier.
Good luck! :+1: There’s some wonderful suggestions here!!

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Mix with pixie stick powder

It’s awful hun we had to have a lolly pop in one hand and pin him down it’s awful but the only way to help is having something nice for him to taste after and do it in tiny bits x

Try squirting it into the side of his cheek then blowing in his face to make him swallow

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I used to have to hold my kids head back a little and do it little by little and it HAD to be cherry flavor for her. Now shes gotten used to it and we can do it in one fast lil swig

Try putting it in a small cup of juice or in applesauce

My daughter was the same. I used to have someone help me then while Im giving medicine my mom would clap hands and sing. When I was alone I would sing and do funny things and be loud. I probably looked crazy but hey, it worked. And if you get the medicine with a syringe in his mouth then blow on his mouth and nose then he will swallow.

I hide meds in juice or milk or favored milk. Just taste it because if it is bitter that doesn’t work either. You also get suppositories for some things like pain and flu. If he is very sick he won’t even notice you slipping it in. The best is to tell a Dr or pharmacist that your child doesn’t take meds. It’s hard. How often we have gotten advice to use nasal spray on our daughter and that’s like telling someone to bathe a cat :see_no_evil:.
Over time we have found versions of meds that hide well in juice/milk.

My 2 yr old gets daily gummy vitamins so when he needs meds I give it to him first in exchange for the gummies

We had a phase like this where he wouldn’t take even the flavored meds no matter what “tricks” we tried and it unfortunately got to a point where after multiple ER visits where nurses had to hold him down and force medicine into his mouth I had to learn to just do it at home. One thing that helped was changing the medicine from the syringe to the dissolvable tablets because they look and taste like candy he was more likely to at least try it. The nurses told me even if he spits it out he’s getting some medicine and to keep at it but try to gage how much he was spitting out for dosage purposes. He eventually got past it but it was a good 8-9 months of him refusing any kind of meds and he ended up with the flu during that time in the ER on IV.

Dose he like applesauce or pudding that help some times .put it in some thing he likes that will just slide down

I hide it in my kids drinks

Syringe in the mouth then blow in the face

I use a syringe and give my two year a little squirt of medicine and a little drink and repeat that until all of the medicine in the syringe is gone. Usually 2-3 times.

I use to just put it in my kiddos sippy cup of milk … it was enough to mask any taste

A spoon gul of sugar really foes help the medicine go down. Worked for all 3 of my kids.

There is no trick. Hold him down, squirt it into his cheeks with a syringe. Blow in his face and make him swallow it.

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Warm cocoa in their sippy cup. Only fill 1/2 way to make sure they get all the medicine.

My kid hates the taste of medicine, even if its flavored. So I let her take a sip of water right after taking it to wash it down.

Tilt head back. Give little by little. Blow in their face.

Mio drink mix is a great cover up since it’s super concentrated and very sweet. Give it like you would give them a juice cup, just with very little in it.

Mix it with Fromage frais kids yogurt or natural yogurt with blended fruit to make sweeter.
They won’t taste it then, I know. Lot of people mix it into drinks but it’s too sloppy and you need to make sure they take it all and if you taste it you can tell in drinks. You can’t tell when you mix it in yogurt and it’s much easier to spoon feed and not lose any that way you know they have taken the while dose.

My son was very bad about that too. I would fill his cup up less than halfway with juice and put the medicine in the juice and he got it that way when sick.

We would bribe my 2 year old with going outside. She loves that so she only got to go after she took it.

Put it into a little bit of juice, water, milk, or applesauce.

Applesauce or chocolate syrup did wonders for me. Don’t tell him there is medicine in it either

Mixed it with juice for my kids.

I read once to mix it with Hershey’s coffee creamer. Tastes good and overpowers medicine taste.