I'm having huge problems getting my boy to take his medication. He has to have one capsule everyday that's all but he won't swallow it. They are only small capsules. I tried putting it in a spoon of yoghurt but he just spat it out. I tried splitting the capsule and mixing the contents with a sponfull of jam but he still spat it out. He just has the mind set that he doesn't want it/ isn't going to take it so almost makes himself sick then spits it out.

Any tips as he really really needs to take the stuff.

Thanks!

Oh dear. All the techniques I know for persuading dogs to take medication would probably result in a visit from social services if applied to children :(

(Throwing food for them to catch in their mouths - before anybody asks ;) )

I found a nice bit of bribery went down well.
But if your child is has Asperges Syndrome I know of nothing that will budge them.


hazel

I've found that forcing it down them puts them off medication for life and that being nicey-nicey about it sometimes works but can take a while to convince them to swallow it....Sometimes there is a liquid alternative to whatever medication it is you are giving them...I've always found that this is more easily taken using a plastic syringe...

ask your pharmacy if it comes in liquid form if not ask if the capsule can be opened and sprinkled on food etc ( some can and some cannot)

the drug may be optainable in efferescent form or tablet form that can be crushed.

occassionally we have children as patients at work and those are the tricks we have.

also act as a role model an let them see you take a tablet
dont get too stresssed either. ( eazily done eh?)

Originally posted by FetishFairy
I'm having huge problems getting my boy to take his medication. He has to have one capsule everyday that's all but he won't swallow it. They are only small capsules. I tried putting it in a spoon of yoghurt but he just spat it out. I tried splitting the capsule and mixing the contents with a sponfull of jam but he still spat it out. He just has the mind set that he doesn't want it/ isn't going to take it so almost makes himself sick then spits it out.

Any tips as he really really needs to take the stuff.

Thanks! My parents have tried for 24 years, still haven't succeeded... If the tablet tastes wrank, it won't be swalloed.

Either grind it and mix with water, or get fizzy tablets ... And mix it with water.

Alternatively; don't by tablets, but powder ... Guess what, mix it with water.

I get aspirin in powder and instead of staring at a tablet for 30 minutes, I just use a shot glass, and fill it up, a good downing and it's gone.

I would really urge you to consult the pharmacy. As stated by Crowefan, some capsules shouldn't be opened as they are coated specially to ensure they dissolve in the correct part of the digestive tract, and if only the powder is used it may cause more side effects or not work at all.

If the pharmacist says it is fine to put the powder into food, maybe stir it into the top of a pot of yoghurt or other food he would normally eat so he doesn't know he's taking it? As you said he's convinced he doesn't want it so even if he successfully takes it, if he knows about it he will probably be sick (a psychological thing, he probably thinks it will make him sick).

Thanks everyone.

He's ADHD and ASD + Tourettes and the med is for the ADHD part. I asked the pharmacist in Boots today and he says the capsules are ok to be split but to be careful as they powder can cause mouth/throat irritation. I did mix it with jam and spread it on his toast. He ate it but complained about the taste and soon worked out what it was.

*Sighs*

I tried bribing him with money to get hm to take it but still he spits it out and retches until he is almost sick.

Back to the drawing board I guess

PS (edit) It doesn't come in liquid form.

Could you try dissolving it in a glass of fairly strong squash, not sure how strong the medicine tastes but it may dilute it and make it less obvious? (clutching at straws here!)

My doctor told me once (when I had big problems with swallowing tablets) that they do every kind of medication in liquid form. I think they're just more unusual. When you go to get your medication say that you need it in liquid or soluble form and don't take no for an answer!

When kids get set on not doing something because they have to, it's very difficult. Could you buy yourself some pills e.g vitamin pills in capsule form that look similar and make a game of taking the 'magic pills' with him? Make sure he knows that not all pills are magic though! Show him the 'magic pills' you are both taking make special things happen. Put a small gift under his pillow while he's asleep, get a kids video and tell him the magic pill made it appear etc, etc.

Do the pills upset his stomach or make him feel odd in anyway?

Originally posted by noseyrosie
My doctor told me once (when I had big problems with swallowing tablets) that they do every kind of medication in liquid form. I think they're just more unusual. When you go to get your medication say that you need it in liquid or soluble form and don't take no for an answer!

Wow the doctor must have been a bit confused!

Many medications in tablet form come with different coatings/different capsule material to ensure they are released at the correct rate and in the right part of the digestive system, and if they were in liquid form they would be absorbed fairly quickly from the stomach (which would either cause side effects/or prevent the medicine from working in the correct way). However a lot do have a liquid form as its understandable that some people have problems swallowing tablets (especially children and the elderly), but sometimes it is unavoidable.

If this thread is in regard to the same medication mentioned in an earlier thread FF, the pharmaceutical information indicates it comes only in capsule form. From the sounds of it he may not accept it in liquid form anyway as its the medication itself he seems to be avoiding, not swallowing the capsule. But I'm running out of ideas!

We've been going through this for the last few weeks with some very bitter anti-malarials.
Like you say, yogurt, jam and other stuff like nutella were just not strong enough to mask the bitterness.

We have now achieved success with fresh orange juice alternated with Calpol.
We crush the dose of tablet and then mix it in with a small amount of orange juice after a period of activity to ensure a thirst exists.
If the dose is to much to be masked in one small drink, then be patient and divide the dosing into two or more drinks or mixing the second half into a teaspoon of Calpol.

We learnt by experience that a large drink is not always going to get swallowed in its entirety and then you have a problem of trying to guess how much of a dose has been consumed. So as mentioned above smaller goes are better.

It is also critical to avoid it being a "medicine" session. Get them thirsty and they will chug it down almost as a reward!

I mixed it with a small amount of blackcurrant squahs thismorning and he still tasted it.

Grrrr!!!

Interesting page here:

http://premium.netdoktor.com/uk/adhd/treatment/medication/article.jsp?articleIdent=uk.adhd.treatment.medicat ion.uk_adhd_xmlarticle_004711

It does contradict some advice (including mine) and I suppose I can agree with what they say. But I guess we consider slightly different things and are not sure whether different age groups require different approaches.

Please accept our best wishes for success with this difficult problem.