how to get infant to take cough medication when my child will not keep it down?

Question

My son is a little past 2 years old and he refuses to take any kind of medication. I have tried to put the medicine in juice, tea, and other drinks, but I have no luck. He will just make himself throw up and I am concerned that he is tearing up his esophagus in the process

Answer 1

Infants shouldnt take cold medication unless its perscribed. Try tylenol and saline nasal spray instead.

If hes not keeping anything down because he's vomiting, then you should see a doctor anyway.

If he just spits it back out, get an infant medicine dropper, and fill it with the whole dose. Put the dropper very far back and to one side of his tongue and completely expell it all. That far back he'll have to swallow and not spit. Some will come back out, but most will make it in.

Answer 2

If it's that much of a battle just let him cough. Most pediatricians don't recommend cough syrup at all anymore. Or try triaminic- the taste is much better. When we needed my daughter to take a medication when she was 2 we literally held her down and forced her (after nothing else worked) and eventually she realized it was better to drink it than not to. But I don't know that I would do that for cough syrup. Also she didn't make her self throw up. If I had a kid that did that I would really just not worry about it. Or ask the doctor for something injectable- they have injectables for almost everything.

Answer 3

You might try triamedic "strips". You just put the correct dosage on the tongue it dissolves quickly and theres not really alot to swallow. My kids love them and you can buy them almost any store (located by the childrens Tylenol). Also with my boys i had to make medicine time "fun", and i used the "spoon" style alternative to the dropper, that i got from our pharmacist. Instead of forcing it down them, I let them hold it and do it themselves. It took a few times but soon enough my son had no problem taking his medicine himself, he felt like a "big boy".

Answer 4

Lay him on his back have someone hold his arms above his head, put the medicine (liquid) in the syringe gently squeeze his cheeks but a little firm, when it gets in his mouth, blow in his face so he can't spit it out. Blowing in his face will make him automatically swallow.

Answer 5

My daughter wouldn't take liquid medications of ANY kind when she was small. We had to take her to the ER once to have THEM try to administer Dimetap but she wound up spewing it all over the place. Finally one peditrician prescribed the pills and it worked! Ask your doctor if he/she can give you pills rather than liquids it worked for us.

Answer 6

Try taking the syringe and putting it in the back cheek of your child. They cant spit it out. The only reaction they have is to swallow it.

Answer 7

If this is "infant" you need to call your Pediatrician. If you don't have one, call the local ER and a nurse there will tell you what to do.

Answer 8

I wouldn't tell him it's in there. I also wouldn't put up with that behavior.