Tips to Give Medicine
Parents’ nightmare Doctors’ advice
Feeding a toddler is a Hercule task and making him take medicine, sometimes, looks almost impossible. A sick, irritated child can be very difficult to manage let alone eating bitter pills.
Beansprouts, Gurgaon brings a few suggestions that, sure, would help parents in distress.
The first and foremost is to talk and explain, to the child, the reason and result of taking medicine. So If your child is old enough to understand, explain why he or she needs to take the medication.
Never threaten to give children a “shot” if they don’t take their medication. Approach the situation with a positive attitude. Don’t forget to praise children when they take their medication without a struggle. It’s important that your child realizes that taking medication is not a punishment.
School-aged children can be motivated by incentives. They can be appreciated each time they take the medicine. Parents and teachers can role-play by involving pets or stuffed toys to show how they take medicine. Situation and change of person can sometimes work wonders.
Another way of minimizing your child’s aversion to the taste of the medicine is to dose it out in small portions, they can be crushed, mixed with food, juice, milk, etc, or anything of the child’s liking.
Though not much desired, the last option is to use medical ways.
An intravenous route directly administers the medications to the systemic circulation. It is indicated when a rapid drug effect is desired, a precise serum drug level is needed, or when drugs are unstable or poorly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Let it be the last straw when no option is left.
Beansprouts believes in sharing responsibility and prefers to include children in decision-making. Although children aren’t free to decide whether or not to take their medicine, parents can present them with choices that will help them feel more in control of what otherwise is being forced upon them and they feel responsible and confident.