AskDoctorKT

• 

Parenting is a whole lot of hard work. When some children fall sick, administering their oral medications can become a hassle. This may be because the medicine itself has an unpleasant taste or because children generally become more irritable and uncooperative when they’re ill.

Here is an hack I have personally used for my three children when they’re sick and all efforts to make them drink their medicines fail…

You will need:

– Sterilised syringes (without needles)

– Any drink he likes (120 – 200ml depending on the quantity of drug you’re adding)

– Loads of patience!

Procedure:

• Hide in the kitchen

• Withdraw the prescribed amount of syrup/suspension into the syringe

• Shake well

• Insert straw

• Transfer it into the drink through the straw hole

• Offer your toddler to drink while you distract him with a toy, nursery rhymes or a funny face

• Cheer him on until he finishes everything (Pro tip: make sure he is actually hungry before you give him the drink, so that he can finish it immediately)

• Praise him

• To avoid feeling the after-taste of the drug, offer something sweet like orange, apple, or date syrup

• Congratulations! You can now breathe until it’s time for the next dose, lol.

PS: Don’t let him get comfortable with sweet drinks. This hack is just for a few days, until you complete the dose of the medication.
Alternatively, you can use fresh fruit juice in a cup, but you may need to add a little bit of sweetener (like date syrup) to mask the taste of the drug.

PSS: Always confirm if it’s OK to take your medications before, after or with foods and drinks, especially dairy products.

Some foods interfere with the absorption of some drugs, which can either reduce the efficacy or lead to toxicity.

Your doctor or pharmacist is always happy to help.

Doctor KT

2021