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When it’s time to give a dose of medication, remember these tips to make the experience easier and less stressful for you and your child especially if he/she spits it out.

Avoid Choking. Forcing a struggling child to take any medicine can lead to vomiting or choking.

Be mindful of how much your child can swallow at once to avoid choking. Sometimes, a dose should be divided into smaller parts.

Use a medicine dropper and aim it toward the back of your child’s cheek. By aiming the medication toward the cheek, as close to his/her throat as possible, he/she is less likely to spit it out. If you worry that he/she will still spit it out, gently hold his/her cheeks together once the medication is in his/her mouth. He/she will have no choice but to swallow it, even if he/she is upset because of medication. ¹

Explain Why Medicine Helps. If your child is old enough to understand, explain why he or she needs to take the medication. It’s important that your child realizes that taking medication is not a punishment. Never threaten to give children a “shot” if they don’t take their medication. ²

School-aged children can be motivated by incentives. You can also make a “treasure chest” with fun little toys and stickers so they can pick one thing after taking their medication each day. ²

Add Flavoring. Camouflage your child’s medication. For example, if your child is prone to spitting out medicine because he/she hates the taste, it’s helpful to disguise the medication’s taste by mixing it with chocolate syrup, pancake syrup, pudding, applesauce or yogurt.  ¹

Some medications cannot be given during meals or with particular foods, so it’s important to ask your child’s doctor or pharmacist if there are any restrictions with particular medications. ²

Never call medicine candy to try to get your child to take it. This can backfire, and a child could accidentally overdose by taking dangerous medicine thinking it's a tasty treat.  ³

If your child spits out or vomits medicine, don't give another dose — call your doctor for instructions. However, if he/she vomits immediately after taking the medication and you can see it in her vomit; you may give her another dose. ³

Dr Bassam Ghanem

Pediatrician

^References

^{1www.livestrong.com; Tiffany Raiford; March 14, 2013.}

^{2Nine Stress-Free Tips for Giving Your Child Medicine}

^{3https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/medication-safety.html}