Some kids will refuse to take their medicines. They will clench their teeth making it impossible to get a dose in their mouth. No amount of cajoling or sternness can entice them to open up their mouths. However, there are five tricks that can cover the taste of the medicine making it more enticing for the kids to take.
Get Help from the Pharmacist
You can talk to your pharmacist about your kids dislike for taking medicine. Some pharmacist will offer to add extra flavours like, Bisolvon childrens cough syrup,to make the medicine taste better. The medicine may not taste exactly like the flavour added, but the extra flavour may help entice your child to try the medicine.
Medicine Goes Down Better with Food
Crushed tablets or liquid medicine can be added to small amounts of food making it taste better. However, if the child sees the medicine put in the food, he or she may choose not to eat the food. Therefore, this method will need to be done without the child present, and you will need to make sure that the child eats the food to get the medicine.
Reward the Child
After taking the medicine, you can offer the child a special reward to get rid of the medicine taste. The aftertaste of most medicines is often the worst part of taking them. A sweet reward will make the medication easier to swallow. You can give them chocolate syrup or their favorite dessert to chase away the bad tasting medicine. Other rewards can include hugs, kisses or a favorite bedtime story.
Use a Syringe
Medication can be given with a syringe. It will be easier to get in a child’s mouth than a spoon is. If the child closes his or her mouth, you can hold his or her nose to open his or her mouth. This allows you to quickly shoot the medicine into their mouth. You can have a glass of water or juice ready for them to wash away the bad taste afterwards. When you hold their nose, you are blocking their sense of smell which lessens the taste of the medicine. When you use a syringe, you can squirt the medicine in the throat making the taste less noticeable since it does not touch the tongue.
Disguise the Taste
Medicines can be disguised when added to other liquids. For instance, juice can help to cover the taste of the medicine. You need to make sure that the child does not know that his or her medicine is in the juice, or he or she will refuse to drink the liquid. In addition, you do not want to put too much juice in the cup, or the child might not drink it all. Another solution would be to add it to a spoon of jelly or jam to disguise the taste.
If all of these tricks fail, you might try talking to your child. You can explain to the child that the medicine will help make him or her get well faster.
Author Bio: John is a dietitian and has been for the past 2 years. In his spare time he likes to write blogs about health, fitness and all round well-being.
