Need advice on helping a child swallow a pill.

[disykat]

My oldest had lots of trouble. We tried everything and he still really struggled.

My youngest didn't. For some reason, we were in a really big hurry and I decided to give him a sudafed - they are quite small and easy to swallow. I said "here, put this in your mouth and drink this glass of water - it's time to go!" He did it and then looked at me like "what the heck did I just swallow?" Because the first pill he took went right down he never really had the fear my oldest did.

 

[Hannathy]

For my DD I used to put the pill in a bit of ice cream on a spoon and then she would swallow it whole. being cold it slid right down- have to use just enough ice cream to cover the pill- stick it right in. This worked starting when she was 2 1/2 hated the liquids. then she would eat a few more bites to make sure it was down.

 

[Puffy2]

We have had this problem - kid really tried and would drink so much water or juice that it made them sick trying to get it down.

Put the pill in yogurt or pudding and I bet anything they will swallow it.

 

[cruisnfamily]

We tried every method metioned here and none of them worked on DS(7 at the time) except .........using a straw.

Seriously, just put the pill in your mouth and drink water through a straw, down it goes, boom, no problem! We did this for a few weeks and after that DS was a pro and can now swallow pills of any size without the straw(he does still need a drink though)

So, try mini m&m's with a glass of water and a straw, I bet it will work.

Let us know!

 

[tiggerlover]

We have tried it all with DS 10 and he can't (I think it is more that he won't) swallow a pill. They say he will outgrow it, but I have my doubts. The only way he will take medicine is if it is chewable, liquid or in capsules.....and with the capsules I dump the medicine in applesauce so he can eat it. Very frustrating to say the least. Good luck, hopefully some of the suggestions here will be helpful to you.

 

[vetrik]

I'm almost 26, and I've always had trouble taking pills. Fortunately, I'm very rarely sick, and I can count the time I've swallowed pills on 2 hands. When I was young, my parents tried every trick here - applesauce, ice cream, milk, drinking with a straw, practicing with Tic Tacs, etc. I have a huge mental block to taking pills, mixed with a strong gag reflex.

Recently, I read one trick that has made a huge difference. I was even able to take Advil for soreness after being in a car accident a couple months ago. You take a drink to wet the throat, and then take a huge gulp of water, but hold it in your mouth and don't swallow yet. Then you pop the pill in and swallow it all down. The pill floats in the water that's already in your mouth so it's the easiest way I've found. I still need a huge cup of water and still do it over a sink, but I'm able to almost always successfully get the pill down.

I sympathize with people who had trouble with pills - it can be very hard to get past. I look at my DH who can take multiple pills at a time and swallow them dry, and it blows me away. I can't even imagine being able to do that.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

We have tried it all with DS 10 and he can't (I think it is more that he won't) swallow a pill. They say he will outgrow it, but I have my doubts.

He might not. I have a 40 year old SIL that still WON'T swallow pills. Has been a problem. If she needs Motrin she gets like a gallon of the children's liquid. It's really pathetic, IMO. I'm like, you can eat a piece of steak, why can't you swallow a pill!

So, what I always do for myself is put some water in my mouth, pop the pill in, and then guzzle some more water. That way you don't even feel the pill in your mouth. And maybe remind him that he eats pieces of food that are much bigger...might help with the mind over matter thing!

My DH can take any pill dry. No drink. I don't know how he is related to my SIL!!!!
Good luck!

 

[ADisneygirl]

My DS, 16y.o. already, and still can not swallow a pill. He is like Houdini ~~~ he can swallow an entire glass of liquid and the pill will still be sitting there on his tongue! If I can't get a liquid, I crush them and mix that into something else.

 

[Becky2005]

Good Luck! My DD 12 STILL can't do pills...I'm not quite sure what we are going to do when she's too old for chewables. We have tried many things, no luck so far.

However, my 9 year old has to take pills and we just use the applesauce trick, put it in applesauce and down it goes, no problem (tried that trick with DD with smaller pills than DS takes and no luck!).

I have also heard putting a mini M&M in a straw and having them suck it up that way to learn.

I have a hard time taking pills myself but figured it out on my own. The way I have to do it is fill my mouth up with water/liquid, then pop the pill in & swallow. If I don't get it down in that gulp of water, then there is a problem. I can't put the pill in first then get water, etc... It has to be basically a mouth full of water, then the pill then swallow it all together.

 

[Sleepy]

I am 36 and still have to use food. Learned the trick on a movie. Take a bite of food, chew it, then before swallowing, place the pill in your mouth and mix the pill in the food and swallow. Works great for me. Been doing it this way for almost 20 years. Before I learned that trick, I crushed pills or chewed them.

 

[Cruisin]

I am 36 and still have to use food. Learned the trick on a movie. Take a bite of food, chew it, then before swallowing, place the pill in your mouth and mix the pill in the food and swallow. Works great for me. Been doing it this way for almost 20 years. Before I learned that trick, I crushed pills or chewed them.

This is the method that I use and I find it works great.

Just make sure they don't chew the bite again before they swallow or they might accidently bite into the pill and have a bitter taste.