Quick question
How do you teach an eight-year-old child how to swallow a non-chewable pill?
We've tried copious amounts of water, peanut butter, maple syrup, and still he can't get the pill down. We've tried tiny, tiny pills and larger ones. His allergies get pretty bad this time of year, and the liquids really don't do the job.
And this morning turned from "just fine" to "disaster with tears" because of this.
Any advice is welcome. I was thinking we'd try tic-tacs, since it would be difficult to overdose on them, and they don't taste horrible if they dissolve in his mouth.
4 comments:
You might make a game of it. Here's how I take a difficult pill.
Place it as far back on my tongue as I can without choking.
Take a sip of water.
Nod forward and swallow at the same time.
Nodding forward -- not back -- opens up the throat more or so I'm told.
Works for me. Of course, I'm nearly three decades the lad's elder, but it might work.
I learned by putting the water in my mouth first, then slipping the pill in and swallowing.
However, that tactic did not work with My Kid who is nearly 14 and still can't swallow pills.
It's quite agravating, since I've seen him wolf down food, and I'm sure he's swallowed whole chunks of hamburger much, MUCH larger than that tiny pill.
I heard the hospital has little pill cups - with a lip where you place the pill, and when you sip from the cup, the pill goes right down - that they use to teach the kids to swallow pills. HAve you asked around over there?
I really should ask that question to a nurse. They're not exactly in short supply here. We're friends with a family at the hospital....I should probably ask the mom what they do. I'm sure her son has perfected the art of pill-swallowing.
I always had great luck with my non-swallowers with applesauce. Nice big bowl of non-chunky applesauce, and pop the pill in some big spoonful or other. You don't chew applesauce, and it's not a drink that shouldn't have lumps, so it just seemed to work. Good slippery stuff, applesauce.
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