Son having trouble swallowing Pills. Please help me?

Question

Doctor has prescribed Son,tablets for an infection.

He can't / hates swallowing them. ( Doctor did prescrbe medicine but it tasted horrid - so my son wouldn't take it ).

Any tips on helping him to swallow them ?. Tried putting it in a spoonful of Honey or Jam. Still couldn't swallow it.

Answer 1

Most pills warn against crushing them plus that just spreads the taste. You never threaten a child with I'll get the police; you'll have to go to the hospital. etc. that is a start for messing them up! There are two schools of thought one reason with them selling them on the idea of maturity and taking their medicine. You can use their favorite candy (use a like size) getting them to swallow the candy; then when they see there is no taste they should be able to take the real pills. They could always take the pill with its candy cousin. The other is a pill glass, it is a double lipped glass you put the pill there on the lip fill the glass with bourbon (just kidding) juice or coke and when he goes to down a swallow the pill goes with the drink, no taste or problem. I gave one to my 43 year sister and it works great. Best of luck, tell your son I said hi and behave. God Bless You Both along with our Southern People.

Answer 2

The very best thing that you can do here is to talk with your pharmacist and ask for suggestions.

Some meds must be taken whole, while others can be split and still others can be crushed. But which meds are which is something that most parents can't reasonably be expected to know and something that most doctors don't know either. That's because pharmacists are the health care workers who specialize in meds. Asking your doctor could be very much akin to asking your ophthalmologist about a GI problem - it's just not their specialty.

However, if your doctor prescribed something in liquid form, then no matter how horrid your child finds the taste to be, you can hide the taste by numbing the taste buds. That's simple to do. Have your child hold an ice cube or ice chips in their mouth for a few seconds before administering the medicine and then again immediately after administering the medicine. It works far better than the Mary Poppins musical solution - "A Spoonful of Sugar".

If your doctor didn't prescribe a med in liquid form, ask your pharmacist if that med is available as a liquid. If so, your pharmacist can contact your doctor's office and request approval for that change.

I learned all of this from my father, who was a pharmacist.

Answer 3

Try cutting the pill in half with a pill cutter. Try hiding it in food such as apple sauce. Also he may want to go back to the liquid form if he cant swallow it. here is another idea i got off the web: Get a couple of packages of those MINI m & m's. They are slightly bigger than his medicine and tastier...Try a little background with him first (you know your child)... point out how much more successful he feels on the med and that you are proud of him, etc... that you want to help him TEACH HIMSELF to swallow his meds. Show him the m & m's give him a glass of milk/water, whatever he picks, and a couple of m & m's. Here's the bargain: If he can swallow an m & m whole, he gets the rest of the package. Let him try, I wouldn't give him more than 3 chances at the most - you might risk re-inforcing the failures. If he sincerely tries and ALMOST succeeds, then give him a portion of the treat and maybe try again the next day (or later on).Have him put the pill on his tongue. Then using a straw, suck down three big gulps of water (or whatever). With a straw there is no pill floating around in your mouth like there is if you just try to swallow a pill with a big mouthful of water. What about yummy red slurp right down your throat Jello! and if you don't wanna make Jello all the time, you can buy those little Jello snack boxes and use those.

Answer 4

Actually my boyfriend has the same problem. Try cutting the pill in half with a pill cutter. Try hiding it in food such as apple sauce. Also he may want to go back to the liquid form if he cant swallow it. here is another idea i got off the web: Get a couple of packages of those MINI m & m's. They are slightly bigger than his medicine and tastier...Try a little background with him first (you know your child)... point out how much more successful he feels on the med and that you are proud of him, etc... that you want to help him TEACH HIMSELF to swallow his meds. Show him the m & m's give him a glass of milk/water, whatever he picks, and a couple of m & m's. Here's the bargain: If he can swallow an m & m whole, he gets the rest of the package. Let him try, I wouldn't give him more than 3 chances at the most - you might risk re-inforcing the failures. If he sincerely tries and ALMOST succeeds, then give him a portion of the treat and maybe try again the next day (or later on).Have him put the pill on his tongue. Then using a straw, suck down three big gulps of water (or whatever). With a straw there is no pill floating around in your mouth like there is if you just try to swallow a pill with a big mouthful of water. What about yummy red slurp right down your throat Jello! and if you don't wanna make Jello all the time, you can buy those little Jello snack boxes and use those.

Answer 5

Try hiding it in food such as apple sauce. Also he may want to go back to the liquid form if he cant swallow it. here is another idea i got off the web: Get a couple of packages of those MINI m & m's. They are slightly bigger than his medicine and tastier...Try a little background with him first (you know your child)... point out how much more successful he feels on the med and that you are proud of him, etc... that you want to help him TEACH HIMSELF to swallow his meds. Show him the m & m's give him a glass of milk/water, whatever he picks, and a couple of m & m's. Here's the bargain: If he can swallow an m & m whole, he gets the rest of the package. Let him try, I wouldn't give him more than 3 chances at the most - you might risk re-inforcing the failures. If he sincerely tries and ALMOST succeeds, then give him a portion of the treat and maybe try again the next day (or later on).Have him put the pill on his tongue. Then using a straw, suck down three big gulps of water (or whatever). With a straw there is no pill floating around in your mouth like there is if you just try to swallow a pill with a big mouthful of water. What about yummy red slurp right down your throat Jello! and if you don't wanna make Jello all the time, you can buy those little Jello snack boxes and use those.

Answer 6

Do NOT grind up the pills or chop them or whatever unless you've gotten clearance to do so from the doctor and/or pharmacist - some meds are meant to be taken whole.

Inquire as to whether there is a chewable version of the medicine. If not, you're gonna have to practice swallowing.

My daughter had to take pills at about age six. They weren't huge, but they were to HER because it was a new experience. I did a couple of things.
One, I told her that we didn't really have a choice, that the medicine was to make her feel better and it was the "doctor's orders".
Two, I bought a couple of boxes of TicTacs in some fruity flavor (orange, if I recall), and had her "practice" swallowing.
Three, I made sure she took the medicine with water (juices and milk, etc. can make things "stick" in the mouth a little), but that I had a favorite drink and/or treat she could use to "chase" the medicine.
Four, and this was the hardest, I tried to be as patient as possible while being firm in the stance that she HAD to take the medicine.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I had a hard time taking pills until I was a teenager. The thing I learned that finally helped me was to learn to not tilt my head back when I swallow. When you tilt your head back, it opens the airway and constricts the throat where the pill is trying to go down. Instead of tilting the head back, encourage your son to face forward while he drinks to wash the pill down. It's so much easier to swallow that way because the throat is more open.

The doctor also told me that I could try drinking with a bottle -- like the kind of bottle that soda pop comes in. Sometimes when you are drinking liquid, say if you're really thirsty, you just tilt the bottle back and let the liquid pour down. This is actually the opposite of the advice I gave above, but it could help if the above advice doesn't.

Also, you can ask the pharmacist if it's okay to crush the pill and put it into a food that your son likes, such as applesauce or yogurt. Some pills should not be crushed, so make sure you ask.

I hope your son feels better soon!

Answer 8

Hard Time Swallowing Pills

Answer 9

Don't crush it under any circumstances. There's a coating on most pills that is imperative, because without it the medicine goes through the body's system too quickly and a dangerous addiction can develop (even if the pill doesn't seem like too much harm).

Have your son put a little bit of water in his mouth, then pop the pill in, then wash it down with more water or vitamin water. Or, if that doesn't work, put the pill between the teeth and start to swallow water, releasing the pill as the water goes past.

Answer 10

I can't swallow pills either. The best thing that I can say to do is cut the pills to a small size that he should be comfortable enough taking with something to drink. I would not always reccommend crushing the pills because having done this many times a lot of medicine tastes TERRIBLE! and won't even be managable to take if crushed up. Another option is when I had to take medicine that I couldn't crush, I would chew some food and when i was about to swallow I would put the pill in my mouth and swallow it with solid foods. It seems easier that way than with applesauce because I don't feel me having to swallow it liek you can when you are trying to swallow it with a liquid.

Answer 11

well the first thing to find out here is if the pill can be crushed.
not all pills are to be crushed you really must phone the pharmacy, and ask if crushing that tablet is alright.
next lots of good idea's here, your idea of the honey was classic, and its too bad it didn't work.
the only thing that i can think of, that has not been suggested is to have him suck on some ice for a few minutes sort of numb his taste and mouth .
then right away see if he can swallow a part of the tablet.
even if you cant crush them you can split them into very small pieces. that might work.
splitting the tab up could also help with the mix of honey apple sauce and some of the others.
also when it comes to ice cream as a trick just be sure milk is OK with it .
the pharmacy may cut the tablets for you as well .
or you can buy a pill splitter or just use a knife.
if the child can manage to swallow even tiny bits of the pill one at a time and he hates the taste thats ok just have something he likes availbile the second he gets it down pop whatever.
good luck