Getting Baby to Take Oral Medicine??

Hi B.- here are a few tricks.

Try letting him wear sunglasses. This works for my son. Even if he takes them off, he still plays with them long enough to get the medicine down. Save the sunglasses just for medicine time.

My daughter hates cherry flavor, and that's usually the flavor for Benadryl. I let her suck on an ice cube (or popcicle) for a minute before giving the medicine. She's 4, and most kids love cold things. She tells me that she can't even taste the cherry much at all.

My daughter hated taking her nose spray for allergies, but when I started giving her a princess vitamin right after, she started taking it willingly, even reminding me that she needed to take her medicine. Maybe just one M&M would be enough of a motivator to get you over this hump.

If you use a syringe, be sure not to squirt it in the middle of their tongue. That burst of liquid causes the gagging reflex, and they can't help but spit it out. Instead, aim for the corner of the mouth, in between the cheek and teeth is ideal.

Finally, try to relax and not make it a battle. Easier said than done, I know. But when your little boy realizes that he can push mommy's buttons by not taking the medicine, your battle really begins.

Did your doctor keep him on the Amoxicillin and tell you to keep giving him Benadryl???? Why not change antibiotics? I'm not doctor, but Benadryl can be sedating in some kids.

Warning- Amoxil is VERY well known to cause diarreah. My son reacts so badly that his skin on his bottom breaks down and gets bloody. After 2 times of this, we no longer give him Amoxil. There ARE other choices of antibiotics out there. Be sure to give your little one yogurt so that he will get the good bacteria back into his GI track. If he can't have yogurt, please send me a private message and we'll talk about what my son takes. He can't have milk protein, so yogurt was out for him.

I know this is lengthy, but I wanted to try to help.

1 mom found this helpful

A nurse at the hospital told me to hold my son in my arms (like how you would rock him to sleep), use a syringe and squirt the medicine into the side of his mouth, then immediately blow into his face. Something about having a big rush of air hitting your face is supposed to make you swallow. I know it sounds weird, but it works!

i know this sounds mean but hold his nose and he will have to open his mouth to breath. sometimes it's the only way.

Try putting the dropper in between him cheek and teeth, and putting it far enough back in his mouth where it will go over the gums where his back teeth would be. That makes it to where the medicine doesn't even go over his tounge at all. That worked for my son. I also like the idea of giving him ice or a popcicle before. If his mouth is cold and numb, he won't be able to taste anything. Hope this helps!

i had to use a syrenge at first and sit in the floor and hold my son as if he was taking a bottle and squirt the meds in his mouth near the back of the cheek and he would fight for just a little while but now as soon as he sees it he leans his head back and drinks it out of a med spoon ar cup try sitting down and holding him and talking to him while you do this

I have a daughter who is almost 19 months and have the same problem with her. It seems the only way we've been able to give it to her is with me or my boyfriend holding her arms and head, and the other giving her the medicine. she doesnt like it much but is the only we can give it to her. Good luck!

They have a medicine dispenser at Wal-Mart that is shaped kind of like a pacifier. I would try that. It would be just like he was taking a bottle or pacifier and he probably wouldn't even know he was getting medicine.

I have found that 1 yr olds will take meds better if offered as a "treat" or in a different mode. My kids loved taking meds from a syringe. It was just different and they thought it was fun. Another option is to get another brand of Benadryl. The pharmacy issued form is usually generic and does not taste good. The drugstore forms have better flavor and may get it in a chewable or film form that the child will take to. Look for the active ingredient of DIPHENHYDRAMINE or equivalent.

I have to do it this way- ds struggles so much.

Sit on floor with legs out. Place child on floor in front of you facing away getting each arm under each one of your perspective thighs, his or her head will end up on the floor wedged in between. If needed - and you are really coordinated, you can use your ankles to go over his legs and still hold down his arms and keep his head in place. I usually just use the free hand that is not holding the toothbrush or syringe. Also try and distract with light tickling... ymmv.
Use a syringe and place your forefinger between the end of the syringe where your thumb goes and the end of the numbered part... if you squirt too much in at once they are likely to push all of it out and it will go all over but where it is supposed to. Having a finger there in the middle helps keep too much from being squirted at once.
I try and keep it quick... fast and done is better to me than a long drawn out proceedure.

I have also put medicine in a small amount of juice with added sugar- I just have to know he is thirsty and offer nothing else.

The dye free meds are awesome.

try mashing it up real small and dissolving in a little bit of juice or in a small piece of food to feed to him.