How can I make my son swallow a pill?

Question

My son was just prescribed mediaction that he will be taking long term. It is a small pill (half the size of a tic-tac, same shape). He is 9 years old and has only taken liquid meds. I am not sure if he truly can't swallow it or doesn't want to. This morning I spent nearly an hour trying to get him to swallow it. He drank hal abottle of water and an entire bottle of chocolate millk and he somehow still had the pill in his mout. Then we tried Jello. No dice!
Has anyone had this problem. He needs this medicine and is not vocally opposed to it but something is making him keep it in his mouth.
Any tips, ideas. What worked with your kid? By the way I can not crush the pill. It is a time released formula and crushing it destroys that property.
Thanks

I didn't try applesauce but Jello Didn't work. Thaks for the idea of practicing with Mini M&Ms that sounds good. I am going to try that for sure. Then once he gets the swallowing part down it should be fine!

Hmm. concocting my own nasty liquid medicine sounds devious but fun!!!

FYI- I am not trying to trick him into taking it, I just want to make it easier for him to swallow pills. He tried but he just had so much trouble getting it to work.

there is no liquid as it is a long acing, time-released med.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will try the M&M's to teach him that he's not going to choke and it's not going to gett stuck and then he will be able to handle the pill.

Answer 1

You probably tried this, but this is what worked with my son. I had him take a mouthful of water then put the pill in and swallow the pill when he swallowed the water. That way he never even feels the pill in his mouth. It worked for him. I'm 39 and I still take pills that way.

Answer 2

My 10 year-old only recently started taking small pills. She was afraid she would choke. Honestly, what prompted her to take them was a horrible tasting liquid medicine as an alternative. That made her interested in taking the pill instead but there were still lingering fears.

We told her that the pill didn't taste and she couldn't choke but she was still worried. We also told her to put the pill on the very back of her tongue and swallow a lot of water, that she wouldn't notice the pill going down but that wasn't enough. When we told her that the food she chews can go down her throat in bigger pieces than the pill without her choking, that helped. My husband took one of his medications--a huge horse pill looking thing--in front of her and she was convinced that her tiny pills wouldn't cause her to choke.

It may be a white lie but you could concoct a really horrible smelling and tasting liquid "medicine" and use it to sway his interest to the pills. In the end, it's a harmless thing to do and he'll be so happy that he doesn't have to take liquids ever again (for the most part).

Answer 3

Yeah, it's just a hang-up. Lots of people have them about pills, even adults. Most kids don't mind swallowing gum (which I can't even do), but pills bother them! lol Have you thought about letting him stick it in gum and swallow it? My son started Concerta years ago, and had a hard time getting used to it because it couldn't be crushed either. I think he did better with cokes than anything else (b/c they were a treat). Try to get him in a different mindframe....like pretend it's a tic-tac or piece of candy. It's just the idea thats bugging him so bad. Good luck. It will get easier in time, once he learns a way to get this done!

Answer 4

Well before reading the last bit of your question I was going to say crush it up in something but I guess you can't. Funny if he is 9 then trying to fool him isn't really going to work either.

This might sound like a kooky idea but when I had to give my cat a pill everyday for his heart murmur I just opened his mouth and stuck the pill as far back in his mouth as I could so he couldn't spit it out.

If your son knows the pill is going to come everyday in the beginning it may be a tough sell but maybe you could get a sterile depository type dispenser (like the ones that come in the yeast infection kits). You may just have to put the pill on the end of the dispenser have him open his mouth and just shoot it in. Eventually he'll have to get use to it and might even take the pill on his own in a month or so.

Answer 5

I actually just taught my daughter to do this with M&M's. You could start with the mini then move up to the larger...my daughter wasn't scared to try these since they didn't leave an after taste..but I still taught her to take a drink at the same time like she would with a pill and she has taken off and is doing great with this...also they say tic tacs work just as well as m&m's Good Luck!

Answer 6

We had really good luck with our son if we first had him take a drink to eliminate any possibility his mouth and throat were dry. He will then "throw" the pill into his mouth, getting it as far back in his throat as possible, and follow that with a good, long drink of water or milk. He also used to get the pill stuck in his mouth, but now can often swallow his meds without water. Best of luck!

Answer 7

I have a girlfriend who is about to turn 30 and she still has problems swallowing pills. Have your son put it on the very back of his tongue and then drink a liquid or swallow with applesauce. Your son may just simply have a phobia of chocking, hopefully he gets over it one day.

Answer 8

Did you try putting it in a spoon of apple sauce? When I was young I had the same problem and had to take allergy meds. I had to open my mouth up wide and my Mom would put the pill way back in my throat, then put a spoon of apple sauce in after and I'd swallow. It got better after awhile.

Answer 9

I would put the pill on a spoon full of applesauce, and have him swallow it.

Practice with mini M&M's

Answer 10

You didnt say if you asked your doctor or pharmacist if there is a liquid or another medication that comes in liquid. try that. if not I always use the applesauce with crushed, which you cant do, so best bet is to call the doctor and ask his advice.