In Need of Suggestions Here

J

joneshockey

Guest
Hello Everyone!

I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas on how to get my 6 month old to take her medicine... For some reason this one is mint flavor & she absolutely HATES it! I have tried the following:

mixing it into her formula
mixing it in with her cereal
mixing it into her baby food
blowing in her face immediately following dispensing to try to get her to swallow before she is able to spit it out
plugging her nose
tipping her head waaay back
gently squeezing her cheeks so she can't spit it out

HELP!!! I am in major need of ideas here --- it is extremely important that she takes all of this medicine so that she can get rid of her Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) infection.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Actually the blowing in her face and plugging her nose are the two biggies for her age group.

You could attempt to put it into applesauce or a teeny bit of ice cream......a trick for older ones.

Mint is a rather strong flavor to try to cover up. Most pharmacies will now let you chose the flavoring they add to the medications, so you can chose one the infant/child is more likely to take. If you just can't get her to swallow it, and trust me it's not just our lil Emily cuz infants are good at this, then a call to the urologist is in order. Talk to his Nurse practitioner or nurse, if she doesn't have any fresh ideas ask for a new script you can chose another flavor for because it's not going to do her any good if she won't swallow it.

I'm really surprised they gave her a mint flavor, the very young often don't care for mint because it is so strong.

Hugs
 

DS3

New Member
We use to give our son his bottle, then little by little take the syringe and stick it into the corner of his mouth and just put a little in at a time. Takes a little bit of patience, but it worked.

We also use to take the syringe and measure the medications, then fill the rest of it up with juice and mix it. That worked for a little bit until he figured it out. (We're not talking droppers, but the actual syringes with this, and we would get the larger ones for this method.)

Those are my ideas for now. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
The problem is she isnt wanting to eat either --- I think it is becuase I have tried mixing it with everything she is allowed to have, so now she is refusing EVERYTHING. The mint flavor is what the medicine comes with... it wasnt added or anything soooo I have NO IDEA where to head from here. She isnt allowed to have juice or anything to help disguise it :( Do you think I should call the urologist today on a Sunday or wait until Monday? I have been trying this since Friday with no success!
 

DS3

New Member
Why can't you mix it? Watered down juice should be fine. I know the experts tell you to wait until such and such an age, but we never followed that. And it's not like its any different then giving her medications and then a bottle. They both are watered down in my opinion either way.

I did a quick search and here are some suggestions that popped up (don't know if any of it will help, but I'll post it):

when you open his mouth, place the syringe between his gums and the inside of his jaw. Hold his little cheeks as if you are puckering his lips, insert the syringe along the side of his gums and cheeks squirting where the lymph nodes are. That way it goes down without him tasting it and it dosen't make him gag.

Can you refridgerate it? He might like it better if it is cold. (This was true for my son).

Try mixing it with something like a little bit of yogurt, ice cream, or whip cream. Anything he really likes and can have.

Try mixing it with Cranberry juice (even though it is an acquired taste and is sour). You can also try the cranberry grape, cranberry apple, etc. These are sweeter versions that can help. Cranberry juice has been shown to help Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)'s and it may help with getting her to take it.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Without her antibiotic that infection is only going to get worse. If it were me, I'd call him at home if I had to. (trust me, I have many a time) If you just can't get her to take it there may be an alternative antibiotic with a better flavor they can try. Otherwise, with not getting her medications and refusing to eat, she'll be re-admitted to keep her hydrated and to get that medication into her even if it has to be via IV.

And DS3 is right, the syringes work better than droppers (I hate droppers).
 

DS3

New Member
Without her antibiotic that infection is only going to get worse. If it were me, I'd call him at home if I had to. (trust me, I have many a time) If you just can't get her to take it there may be an alternative antibiotic with a better flavor they can try. Otherwise, with not getting her medications and refusing to eat, she'll be re-admitted to keep her hydrated and to get that medication into her even if it has to be via IV.

And DS3 is right, the syringes work better than droppers (I hate droppers).

To add to that, if you can't get a hold of the doctor, take her into the ER. Hound Dog is right. She needs her medications. If you can't get her to take them, perhaps they can give her something else. Then I would take her into her regular doctor tomorrow and let them know of the change and the problem that you are having.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I do have her urologist cell phone number - I know that he is out of town @ a conference this weekend, but I have texted him the past when she has been in the hospital and he has always gotten right back with me... maybe I will give him a quick text to see what he thinks. I am doubtful that he even knows that she is sick again since the last time he was out of town they didnt consult him. I dont know maybe I should just call the on-call dr. and see what they say, however her regular dr. knows her best --- what do you all think?

I only use syringes with her medications because they are soo much easier to control the amount she is getting at a time (this helps limit the amount that leaks out)

DS3... unfortunately, Emily is on a restricted diet due to her renal function issues :( There are only certian baby foods & formula that she can have - Boy, she makes my life interesting & stressful at times!
 

DS3

New Member
DS3... unfortunately, Emily is on a restricted diet due to her renal function issues :( There are only certian baby foods & formula that she can have - Boy, she makes my life interesting & stressful at times!

I remembered having to go through that with my youngest. Makes it rough at times. Sorry!
 

Andy

Active Member
Who prescribed the medication since your regular doctor may not know she is sick again?

If you are not sure which doctor to contact, contact your pharmacist who would know the best route. Your pharmacist may know of alternate medications to suggest to whichever doctor needds to re-prescribe. S/he can give you options that they know of. Another prescribtion should not be a problem.

If the pharmacist does not know which doctor to start with, I would make a call to the on-call doctor to explain the situation and ask for a new prescription. If you are not comfortable with the on-call doctor or if s/he suggests you wait for your regular doctor, then go ahead and call or text him.

Are you using a syringe? I like DS3's suggestion of a little squirt at a time.

It may be a good idea to verify the dosage with doctor's office or pharmacist. When Diva was a baby, I had to get an antibiotic for her. Being a new timer at giving babies medications, I struggled and finally called a nurse to ask,"How am I to get 1 Tablespoon of medications into this kid?" "1 Tablespoon? It should be 1 Teaspoon!" Somewhere along the line, the pharmacist had miss labled the medication bottle. I am glad I called - it seemed too much to me but that is what the lable said - doctors and their poor handwriting (though now much is done by computers so that helps eliminate such errors) or pharmacys and their not double checking (though pharmacists are usually super careful about things like this) - no idea where the mistake came from - I just hoped each area checked their process to idenitify and make note to tighten the procedure.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I'd contact the doctor that knows her best, that is always the wisest move. You can fill him in on what the other doctor did in his absence and he can contact the on call doctor a verify. No problem. And if he does contact on call doctor......he can fill that guy in on her history ect for you too which would make his treating her even better while her main doctor is out of town.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
Well, I just texted her urologist and I heard back from him... he thinks that the antibiotic is making her stomach upset, so he wants me to discontinue it until we get the results from her urine culture. He didnt seem all that concerned since she isnt running a fever --- he said he would give me a call once he was back in town if the culture results were back otherwise to call the office in the morning.
 

buddy

New Member
whew, relief. I know the horror of trying everything. Now a days, my difficult child takes a handful of pills with no water, that is a power battle I wont get into...at least he just takes them with no refusal. Docs all know and are not concerned, so....

She sounds very smart, and now she is on to you....smile! hope she eats non-medicine tasting food soon for you. she may have a mini case of ptsd for a while - NO not the medicine taste again!!! aaahhhhhh...(kidding)... I hope they can find a better tasting medication next time. Or something that doesn't upset her tummy so much if that is true. Poor kiddo.
 

keista

New Member
Glad you heard form the urologist.

I find it odd that a medicine for babies "naturally came in mint flavor. That would NOT fly in my house even with my older kids. Especially for DD2 who is a bit medicinally phobic, I taste it right there in the pharmacy. Remember to do that on the next one and good luck!
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Next time have the doctor Rx a drug UNflavored, it might mean a different medication but I've have more success with totally unflavored stuff when she was little than flavored stuff.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
Unfortunately, the kind of bacteria that grows in these cultures is resistant to most antibiotics --- there are only 2 that work for it and one of them is the preventative that she was on, which now no longer works & the mint one, which obviously is upsetting her stomach... the urologist did mention that the other option is IV antibiotics which would require a hospital stay :( PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that this doesnt happen! Just the thought of a hospital stay with a active 6 month old makes me cringe!
 

Steely

Active Member
I wonder - can they give or do they make antibiotics as a suppository?
If not, I wonder if your dr could xr a pill that could be crushed and mixed in cereal? (I am not a Dr obviously so I have no idea if that is feasible - just throwing ideas out there. Hugs.)
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I will ask the urologist about that when I talk to him tomorrow - thanks for the suggestion... it is worth asking about!
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Ask the pharmacist, too. Likely they'll know even more about delivery systems available.
 
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