Tips For Giving A Toddler Medicine
Do you find it challenging to give medication to your toddler? If so, you aren't alone. In fact, challenging may even be putting it too simply. It's common for toddlers to throw crying and/or screaming fits, spit the medicine out completely, or press their lips together so tightly that you can't even get the medicine in their mouth. You need a simple way to give your sick child the medicine he or she needs. So, how do you keep your child from refusing medicine completely? Check out these tips to learn how you can get your child to take medicine without a massive tantrum or argument.
Tricking Your Toddler's Taste Buds
You might be surprised to discover how simple it is to mask the taste of your toddler's medicine.
Try adding your toddler's medicine to a favorite food or drink. Keep in mind, you can't just mix any type of medication into your toddler's food or drink. For your child to get all of the benefits the medication provides, you have to make sure he or she has swallowed the entire dose. So, instead of filling your toddler's favorite sippy cup with milk and adding the medicine to the cup, mix the medication with only a few gulps of milk. Alternatively, you could mix the medicine with a few bites of applesauce.
Let your child eat a popsicle before giving him or her the medication. The cold, tasty treat will numb the taste buds a bit and coat the tongue with syrup that will mask the taste of the medicine.
Dip the tip of your toddler's medicine spoon in chocolate before giving it to him or her. The chocolate will reach the tongue first, coating it so your toddler won't get the full taste of the medicine.
Improve the Flavor
Ask your doctor if it's possible to write the prescription in a flavor that your child likes so that you can take it to a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies are pharmacies that mix their own medications, following a doctor's prescription. The medication they mix is often customized to fit the patient's needs. Most compounding pharmacies have a variety of flavors that they can add to medication to help mask the bitter taste many kids hate.
While getting a toddler to take the medicine he or she needs can be overwhelming, you shouldn't let the situation get the best of you. Try your best to mask the taste of the medicine, and if it doesn't work, take the prescription to a compounding pharmacy near you. Click here for more information.
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