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Tips to get a 4 yo to swallow pills?


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The dose of Augmentin that Dr. B put my son on doesn't come in a liquid suspension...so we have pills. The pharmacist said we can cut them in half...but they're still pretty huge.

 

He typically chews his melatonin, which tastes bad, but he gets to drip soda with it (he can't have soda any other time) so that works.

 

We tried to get him to swallow it in two last night - no dice. He did chew both halves though and get them down. This morning, he gagged and threw up while chewing the second half.

 

any suggestions??? Has anyone used that "pill glide" stuff? Does it actually work?

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pillglide is helpful.

my 12yo cannot swallow the.augmentin either, so she is on liquid 7.5ml of the suspension. it comes pretty close doseage wise&wehave seen a difference with it. maybe dr b wil consider giving a close enough script to the pills. it would be better than not taking it at all!

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ds4 now ds5 needs armor for thyroid. each pill is about the size of a poppy seed. he will not swallow. he needs to take 2.

i crush the pills between 2 spoons. then add just enough chocolate syrup and make paste out of it. it sticks to the spoon nicely and is proud he can take it himself.

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My kids learned to swallow pills by practicing on tic tacs. If they swallowed one, they got to eat a second one. If they had to spit it out, it wasn't the OMG moment that I got if they spit out a precious abx.

 

My kids also find it easier to put a sip of water in their mouths FIRST, then slide the pill into the awaiting "pool" of water, then swallow the whole thing. If they try to take pills the way most adults do - pill first, then water - they gag on the sensation and/or taste of a pill sitting dry in their mouths.

 

As a last resort, when we were faced with a regurgitated pill, we'd take the mush and bury it inside the creme filling of an oreo. It tasted bad (especially bactrim) but the kids were able to get it down.

 

On the augmentin, just a note to keep in mind - if you're on the XR version, cutting the pill breaks the time release aspect.

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We're not on the XR, I checked that with the pharmacist too - to make sure.

 

He's excited to try, and didn't have trouble chewing it last night, but I think this morning he held it in his mouth to long - making him gag.

 

We made a bid deal about how his "new" doctor thinks he's such a big boy that he can take grown up medicine like mommy and daddy - and that has gotten him excited to keep trying - even after this morning's mishap...

 

Thanks for the suggestions - I may have to try the chocolate syrup trick tonight...sounds like something he'd be up for!

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If you go the tic-tac trial route, then you can try moving up to larger candies. I taught my son when he was 5 to swallow pills by using m&ms.

We're not on the XR, I checked that with the pharmacist too - to make sure.

 

He's excited to try, and didn't have trouble chewing it last night, but I think this morning he held it in his mouth to long - making him gag.

 

We made a bid deal about how his "new" doctor thinks he's such a big boy that he can take grown up medicine like mommy and daddy - and that has gotten him excited to keep trying - even after this morning's mishap...

 

Thanks for the suggestions - I may have to try the chocolate syrup trick tonight...sounds like something he'd be up for!

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I crush the augmentin (not XR) in a pill crusher (get at pharmacy) and give mixed in with choc pudding, he does fine with this even though he's a sensory, picky eater. According to Dr K the liquid version is not quite as potent, that's why I went the crushed pill route. At the same time we are practicing swallowing mini M & Ms, he can swallow tiny pills so we'll just keep practicing!

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I taught my DD to swallow pills when she was 4 by having her put the pill on her tongue in the back of her mouth, drink water, and then I would say "LOOK UP AT THE SKY". The pill went down easily and because she did it once she knew she could do it again. There was also a strong desire to not have all her capsules (including omega 3 and CLO) put into her daily juice!

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The chocolate syrup trick worked like a charm!!! We cut it in half to do it in 2 tries (just in case it was a failire we wouldnt lose a whole dose!) It worked so well he was impatient for us to crush the second half!! Thanks!!!

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The chocolate syrup trick worked like a charm!!! We cut it in half to do it in 2 tries (just in case it was a failire we wouldnt lose a whole dose!) It worked so well he was impatient for us to crush the second half!! Thanks!!!

 

I'm glad. If you can get a cap from a hershey's syrup bottle(maybe buy it or if a neighbor uses it), it puts out exactly one drop at a time. so based on how much meds, you can make it like spackle and they are not getting too much syrup but still sweet. for ds5 it's so little meds, that one drop is enough for his thyroid med. Santa Cruz makes an organic chocolate syrup and the hershey cap fits on it. They also make a yummy mint choc. syrup too!

 

When your ds is ready, i started ds9 swallowing the pearl probiotics. They are small too and at least it's something you want to get in them. DS12 started with big pills when he was 5...he is such an old man already..poor guy.

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We didn't even have to mix it up - we just put the syrup on the spoon and the crushed pill on top and he didn't want to wait for us to even mix it! did it fine again this morning too!!

 

We're going to start working with him on some of the tips to get him to swallow pills - but in the meantime, this is working!

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