Tween W Sore Throat. Cant Swallow Pills

Please don't crush any pill or open a capsule unless the pharmacist says it's safe! Some meds are time-release pills and will deliver too high a dose too fast if crushed. Tell the pharmacist you need a liquid version of this med. I have great difficulty with pills and my pharmacist has no issues giving me liquid forms of meds like antibiotics.

Is this med a prescription like an antibiotic or an over the counter med like Advil? It's fine to give a tween or even an adult kids' liquid OTC Motrin or Advil etc.; ask a pharmacist how much of the kids' OTC version to use.

While it will be good to help her learn to swallow pills eventually, I would not push her to keep trying now, while her throat is sore. Let her use a liquid version.

Has she had a strep test? If not, please get her one today. Strep is around all year now.

You can def give her an appropriate amount of liquid meds... it's just gonna be a larger dose, call your pharmacist or check the bottle. And please check with a medical professional before just assuming you can crush up a pill - very unsafe to crush certain meds. In the future, it's prob time to work with your child on swallowing pills - barring some medical condition, she oughta be able to at this age.

We had the same problem for my oldest when they were younger. It takes some time to adjust to being able to swallow. If her throat hurts, it can make it harder. I would definitely talk to the pharmacist about a liquid med. My son had to take antibiotics and these things are huge. The pharmacist did ask if he has any difficulty swallowing a pill as they could ask the doc for authority for liquid. But the dose would be larger. As already mentioned, do NOT crush the pill unless the pharmacist says it is okay. Also some pills should not be put in some foods.

Just got this advice from my pediatrician a few weeks ago: Start with tic tacs. Make your way up to mini M&Ms and then regular M&Ms.

When I had issues swallowing pills - my mom crushed them up.

I have given my tweens and teens children's liquid medicine when we have run out.

A pharmacist could guide you - they get questions like this all the time.

Added: good advice from others on checking to see if you can crush pills - I've never had to with my kids, so that hand't occurred to me.

Talk to the pharmacist. SOME PILLS CAN'T BE CRUSHED OR BROKEN IN PIECES.

You shouldn't do anything to the pill without speaking to the professional first. I was going to break up a pill one time and take it in pudding. The pharmacist told me no then showed me where to look up the side effects of that.

Some pills are layered, where the med dissolves and then something else happens, and then something else. Breaking that pill open causes the meds to all go in your system at one time.

Ask the pharmacist if the med comes in liquid form. I use a lot of liquid meds.

As an adult I had a lot of problems swallowing pills, was slowly getting progressively worse, and affected me for a long time. I eventually had it checked out and was told that my throat was abnormally small, and this was due to acid reflux. I didn't feel like I had acid reflux though. Anyway, the gastroenterologist dilated my throat with a balloon and it has resulted in a big improvement for me. May be something to look into, to see if she has same issue.

call the pharmacist. some pills can be ground up some cannot. the pharmacist can also assist with finding a med that she can get sown without issues so talk to them. if they prove to be unhelpful then talk to the dr about other options.

Crush it up and put it in the applesauce.

have her gargle warm salt water to sooth her throat and then try the pill.

Can she swallow a tictac?
If she can do that, then she can swallow a pill.

Call pharmacist and ask for options if you don't want to smash it in food.

There are liquid meds for all ages/weights. Call the pharmacist.

But I agree with Reality Chick that you can smash it and mix in in applesauce, or pudding, or yogurt, or anything else she's able to swallow. If it's a capsule, see if you can separate the 2 sides and dump out the contents into something liquid-y. If you can't get the 2 halves apart, take a razor blade and slice off one end of the capsule and pour the meds out the end. Just be sure that she eats all of the food and that no medicine is left in the bowl. If it were my kid, I'd do it in 2-3 bites and make her lick the spoon to get every last bit.

If she stills says she can't get it down, then it's either psychological fear or she's in a lot worse trouble than the doctor knows. Be sure she's not just pushing back and giving you a hard time.

All of this is presuming that you check the advisability of mashing the pill with either the doctor or the pharmacist. Some meds can't be divided that way, so verify it first.

Crush it up and mix it with icecream, that should soothe her throat.

Try having her eat a couple of small crackers (broken up Ritz crackers, for example), or a potato chip, or some other food that would sound appealing to her (a grape? a piece of chocolate?).

Then, before she swallows the cracker or other food, place the pill in her cheek. Have her take a drink of whatever liquid sounds good to her, and swallow both the food and the pill.

Often, the tongue can be really sensitive to gagging, but putting a pill in your cheek seems to work a little better.