Help! Advice on kid swallowing a pill...

TazziRN, RN · Apr 9, 2006

How 'bout starting with an M&M?

TexasPediRN · Apr 9, 2006

I had a friend in high school who couldnt swallow pills. All of her medication had to be in liquid form.

have you tried practicing with a tic-tac?

Some kids just have a hard time swallowing pills. My best idea would be not to push him too hard and perhaps try again in a few months. For now, you'll just have to mix it in applesauce or something along those lines..but just keep practicing...

Although, can you just sprinkle the med onto something instead of mixing it? Will he take it that way?

Personally, I count to 5 before I swallow a pill. I put in in my mouth, take a drink (I cannot swallow it without), count to 5, and swallow on 5. It helps me to do that. I cant just pop a pill and swallow.

Good luck!!!! Just give him lots of encouragement :)

see2mee · Apr 9, 2006

I've never liked putting a pill on my tongue to swallow it. I take a mouthful of water FIRST and then put the pill in my mouth and swallow. That way, it gets washed down without my ever noticing it. Good luck finding something that works. My daughter learned by practicing with a Tic Tac.

Catherine

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Apr 9, 2006

youngest son still has difficulty swallowing meds at age 17---can very well relate when started on meds at age 6.

what worked:

1. encourged him to teach himself to swallow so he can be healthy.

tipping head forward chin to chest then throwing head backward works

best for ds.

2. start with those cake sprinkles: set out only 3-5 to "practice with".

3. moved on to m+m mini's.

4. small daily mutivitamin tablet.

5. actual med.

worked for us. found capsules, oval meds go down, still problems with round pills, had to split biaxin tablet last month to get down as liquid "much worse mom."

great articles re teaching kids swallow meds:

trouble swallowing pills

how to help the medicine go down

maolin · Apr 9, 2006

How 'bout starting with an M&M?

That's how I learned to swallow pills! At the age of 17 :imbar I got tired of chewing up medications :barf01: , that one day I sat down with a bag of M&M's determined to learn how to swallow a pill whole. Worked like a charm! :idea:

It's how I taught my, then, 7 year old to take a pill. Come to think of it, it's also how I taught him to aim for the toilet bowl!

M&M's are great for a lot of things, I guess. You can do anything with a bag of M&M's and a roll of duct tape. :lol2:

whiskeygirl, LPN · Apr 9, 2006

Uh, I couldn't do it until I was 16.

I understand what you are trying to do. He has to learn it sometime.

HOWEVER! See if the pharmacist can do something different for your child. SOmetimes, they can straight up do a liquid (and make it taste like chocolate/watermelon/cherry/bubblegum) or lollipop.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Apr 9, 2006

My daughter used to not be able to swallow pills,, I used to have her chew up a piece of bread, cracker or something else (hey pizza or another snack of their choosing). When it was chewed, i would have her pop the pill in and swallow it with the bolus of chewed food. It worked and she can swollow pills now with a gulp of water.

My theory was most kids dont chew their food well anyway. She learned if she chewed a bite,, stuck the pill into the bite before she swallowed it, it went down with the bite of food.

However, i have a 24 year old niece that still cant swallow pills

kukukajoo, LPN · Apr 9, 2006

Okay this is how I taught myself being a sikly kid with constant UTI's. I was always taking something and some were just massive horse pills. Sorry for the discriptive nature, but this does work!

Get him to clear his throat good, like he was getting ready to hock a loogie but to keep that phlegm in the back of his mouth/throat. Put the pill on the tongue about 3/4 of the way back and hold in place with roof of mouth. Take a big swig of water and get ready like you were going to gulp it down and tip head back and swallow it all at once, releasing the tongue from the roof of mouth so pill goes right down. This all should only take a second or two and the phlegm helps it all go down smooothly and the gulping motion opens the throat more.

Good luck!!

RNin2007 · Apr 9, 2006

Thanks for all the great tips everyone! Wow, I had no idea there are so many of you that struggled with this until late teens. I guess I just assumed this was a childhood thing, but maybe not. He has a lot of anxiety with this: afraid of where the pill is going, what if he chokes, etc. We did try an M&M once, and also had him try chewing up a cracker...and then putting pill in and swallowing the whole mouthful. He just ended up gagging. He has a strong gag reflex and relatively large tonsils, which doesn't help the situation. However he IS at least attempting to try, which tells me he hasn't given up yet - so I haven't either. This simply creates issues for sleepovers, daycare (full day), camps, etc. It will be so nice when I can just hand him his pill with a cup of water and call it good.

As far as having the pharmacy put it into an elixer...well my insurance doesn't cover any compounding pharmacy services (that is where this would fall) and I would have to pay for his meds out of pocket which would be over $600/mo. Ouch.

Please keep the ideas coming! I am willing to try anything, and thank you for the links NRSKarenRN. :)

~J

KeithEMU · Apr 9, 2006

As far as having the pharmacy put it into an elixer...well my insurance doesn't cover any compounding pharmacy services (that is where this would fall) and I would have to pay for his meds out of pocket which would be over $600/mo. Ouch.~J

My youngest daughter is disabled and has had to take up to 6 seizure meds at a time as well as a couple others. We have tryed many things over the years. To 'home compound' get a pill crusher, but make sure the meds should be ground. Some are time release, or coated to prevent nausia. The round ones that have a twist on cap work best, and they are pretty cheap (plastic, so they need to be replaced every few months). Then you can mix it up in whatever. Yogert, pudding, applesause or any kind of pureed fruit like baby food all work well. Capsules and sprinkles can be used as is, just open.

After years she eventually stopped willingly taking her meds, which sucked. We would have to put them in her mouth and hold her nose till she took them, sometimes holding her mouth shut as well. Can you imagine the looks we got if we were in a resturaunt. It's obvious she is disabled, but people still want to try to get in your business. Felt like telling the fools to come up with a better idea that worked that we hadn't tried and I'd try it. Actually did a few times, and they stopped looking.

It's a lot easier now because she stopped eating much and we had to put in a G-tube. At least we don't have to fight meds anymore.

EmilyCCRN · Apr 9, 2006

I learned this trick from a naturopathic physician:

When you're about to swallow a pill (take a sip of water first and then pop the pill, or vice-versa), press on your philtrum (the indentation between the nose and mouth) with your finger as you swallow. I was told that it's a pressure point that relaxes the throat, but I'm not sure if that's true. It does seem to work for me, though, so whether it's really a pressure point or if it simply distracts me long enough to swallow the pill, I don't care because it works! :)