Giving meds and keeping it down???

maryka wrote:

Ok, my way of giving meds is not nearly as nice as all you ladies. SORRY !! My little one REFUSES to take anything that even remotely looks like medicine. What I do is I take a syringe fill it with meds (what ever she is suppose to have) be very fast, make her mouth like a fish’s mouth squirt the medicine in the back of her mouth next to the gums and then close her nose. 1 2 3 and she swallows it and it’s over. I know – sounds so evil but it really works. Another thing is that you also have to practice this cause at first I didn’t get it and then she will spit everything out and cry and then I end up crying as well cause it's is (for me) traumatic giving medicine and LO cries and cries. Feels like abuse. But now it works and LO doesn’t even cry anymore – even opened her mouth two night ago. GOOD LUCK !!!

Done it that way too often enough. If you blow on their faces it forces them to swallow as well. That's why when a child cries so hard he holds his breath it's also a good way of getting him to breath again.

Medicine dummy is brilliant and I used to ask for suppositores if they were available.

Dylan is great now. He cries for more.

Ok, my way of giving meds is not nearly as nice as all you ladies. SORRY !! My little one REFUSES to take anything that even remotely looks like medicine. What I do is I take a syringe fill it with meds (what ever she is suppose to have) be very fast, make her mouth like a fish’s mouth squirt the medicine in the back of her mouth next to the gums and then close her nose. 1 2 3 and she swallows it and it’s over. I know – sounds so evil but it really works. Another thing is that you also have to practice this cause at first I didn’t get it and then she will spit everything out and cry and then I end up crying as well cause it's is (for me) traumatic giving medicine and LO cries and cries. Feels like abuse. But now it works and LO doesn’t even cry anymore – even opened her mouth two night ago. GOOD LUCK !!!

We also give meds at bathtime. I also always make sure I give the nice tasting meds first so that i know my kids wont reject them, then i give them the worst one last that way they usually arn't prepared for it's administration adn drink it quite easily thinking it tastes as good as the others. Is your LO coughing alot when he goes to sleep? Sometimes coughing up phlegm (TMI i know) will casue the gagging and vomiting. If you have managed to settle him then perhaps let him sleep on a slightly raised surface (You can buy special wedges that raise the top of the mattres or you could use pillows underneath. This might help to keep it all down longer.

Thanks for the advice - I don't think the dummy will work, he doesn't just not suck a dummy. He acctually get extremly angry at me for even trying to give him one.

I bath my children early, around 4 in winter. Try to avoid those cold winter nights and warm bodies getting out - so maybe that is a good idea. give the meds before bathtime! I really hope it works!

He hates going to sleep at night and will fight it as much as his little tired body will allow. I think the stress of going to bed is the acctual cause of the gagging - so that might just work - thanks a load. i will let you know how it went tonight.

WISH ME LUCK!!

I also have a gagger / projectile vomitter and I agree with RM, if you do not fight LO when giving the meds, it is better. I found that if I tried to force meds into Liam he would scream and shout and produce copious amounts of snot, which in turn worked it's way down to his throat leading to projectile vomitting.

So I tried giving it to him on a normal teaspoon and that did the trick, he is so happy to be able to put his own meds in his own mouth that we have o copious amounts of snot.

The other thing I have found is that if I give him milk while he is sick, then everything comes up again, so now if there is the slightest sign of snot, his bedtime bottle is watered down.

I spoke to the doc about giving him more and he said no, as the tissue in the mouth often absorbs some of the meds, plus if it has been in his body for a while there is no way of telling if what is coming out is the actual meds, or all the other stuff they add to make it taste better and preserve it. And you do not want to give him an overdose.

I struggle with this as well as I have a baby that gags at everything and then moves to projectile vomitting (see previous posts regarding the fact that she is still not on anything by smooth food at 1).

My latest trick is to use one of those "medicine" dummies. You fill the base with medicine, baby sucks dummy and you slowly push the plunger in so that medicine goes in while baby is sucking.

My baby does not suck a dummy, so it is challenging, but I do it while she gums it.

I give medicine in the bath and then we have a bath and she plays. She then dresses and by then a good 30 - 45 minutes have passed. I then give her a bottle and shuttle her to bed.

I find it seems to keep the medicine in, maybe it is the timing and that it is not stressful on her getting it in.