Mucomyst

[StephRN08]

Does anyone know of any tricks for administering Mucomyst PO? I have heard mixing it with grape juice hides the smell. Any other suggestions???

[pers]

I let the patient choose the mixer but apple juice seems to be the preference of most. I pour a small amount of juice in a cup and swish it with ice to make it super cold. I then draw up the mucomyst and submerge the needle in the juice before squirting it in. Making the mix really cold helps the taste (or so I'm told) while submerging the needle seems to cut down on the initial smell substantially. They then have a chaser of their choice. The majority of patients hate it, though while I've never had anyone love it, I do get patients who don't mind it.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

I give this constantly. I let the pt choose what they would like as a 'mixer', then I mix a small amount of whatever they chose with the Mucomyst in a small medicine cup. I have them swallow the Mucomyst mixture in one gulp and give them a sip of whatever their drink of choice was as a 'chaser'.

this is what I do also.

[MadNursePa]

I don't like to give it mixed in anything in case the puke or don't finish it. Then, you don't know how much medication they drank. I too, work in the ER and only give the first dose. Often these patients are out of it and its given via NG tube.

[pinksugar]

I usually mix it in cranberry juice or diet coke, but I have used an oral syringe to squirt it into patients' mouths and then they can chase it with whatever they want. Seems to work well for those who really can't choke down a whole cup of the mixed med.

I put it in a med cup (very small one) and mix it with a little bit of juice/soda - it is only 15-20 cc. I love your oral syringe idea but we don't have any of those on the unit, and pharmacy would take an hour to send a few.