How to Feed Your Child Medicine with Ease and Safely

The mother always bears on a mentally burden when facing with her sick child who refuses strongly to take medicine. For her, it is an unhappy moment to have learned that her child is sick, irritating and pain due to the sickness. Despite her priceless love towards her child, she will definitely feel worried and anxious if she finds that her child refuses to take medicine as this will cause her child becoming very sick. To solve this problem, the mother should furnish herself with some appropriate skills and techniques particularly at the moment when she is going to feed her child medicine. She should take some necessary precautionary steps so as to avoid the side effects and the bad experiences that may be gone through by her child.

Things to take note while feeding medicine

Do not force the child to take medicine as this will lead to some negative effects. The child may feel pain and suffering when the mother forces him or her violently just to make sure that the medicine was being fed.

Some children refuse to take medicine as they perceive that the medicine has a bitter taste and strong smell for them to swallow. Some even could not bear on the smell of the medicine. In this case, the mother can add in some fruit juices or chocolate syrup into the medicine to dilute its bitter taste so that her child feels at ease while taking the medicine. In this way, the child may not be phobia towards the medicine.

The mother should approach her child with a gentle word and a mild expression to encourage her child taking medicine. She should explain nicely to her child the reason to take medicine in order to get rid of his or her fear towards the medicine. The mother can also encourage her child taking medicine by offering a candy, lollipop or a biscuit so that the child will naturally accept the fact of taking medicine is to recover from the sickness.

The mother should examine if the medicine is in a good condition.Avoid any medicines which are spoiled or moldy due to the moisture at the room temperature. Before feeding her child medicine, she should read the information such as the date and the name that are usually indicated on the label of the medicine carefully. Another thing to note is whether the medicine is taken before the meal or after the meal and how many times the medicine should be taken within a day. The intake for two doses within a day should have an interval time of four hours.

Generally, the hospital will mark the method of taking medicine, side effects and ingredients of the medicine on the medication’s label or bag. Therefore, the mother should read the stated information carefully before feeding her child. If the mother is unsure of this medicine, she should consult the doctor who prescribed the medicine for the safety purpose.

Unfinished medicine should be thrown away and not to keep in the store for a future usage. The medicine should be kept under its suitable temperature and should be taken within the specified time that is indicated clearly on the label of the medicine. If the mother could not find this information, she should consult the doctor for the sake of her child’s safety and health.

The mother should not give an adult medicine to her child as this will cause some unpleasant conditions that might worsen the state of her child’s sickness. Some parents think that they can reduce the dosage by giving half or quarter of the medicine to their child but in fact, this concept could not be applied to the child. It is illogical and wrong to ask the child to take an adult medicine. Some parents may even have a bad habit of keeping leftovers of the previous medicine which they may use to feed their child who falls sick in the future. In fact, this is very dangerous to the child’s health as it may cause drug poisoning or allergy. As the child’s age, height and weight varies with each other, the medicine is strictly not allowed to exchange or feed among the same group of the children.

Not all medications can mix with milk. It is always advisable to consult the doctor to inquire if there is a possibility of adding milk into the prescribed medicine to avoid any side effects.

The mother should observe the condition of her child to whom the medicine was being fed. Some medicines that are used to cure influenza or coughing may accelerate the heart beat and heart rate. The mother is advised to observe her child’s condition one hour after the medicine was being fed.

If the child experiences some allergic reactions due to the medicine taken, the mother should consult the doctor immediately. Normally, analgesics (painkiller) or anti-epileptic medicines are not suitable to be given to the allergic child. If the mother encounters any abnormal symptoms of her child, she should stop using the medicine immediately but consult the doctor for further advice and treatment.

Generally, different child requires different methods of feeding. The notable difference between the infants below one year old and above one year old is the instrument used for feeding.

Syringe or dropper is applicable to the infant who does not know how to swallow. A tablespoon is used to feed a newborn baby or a child who is above one year old. A medicine container is always used to feed above one-year-old infant who has already learned how to swallow.

For the infant who is above one year old, desserts such as biscuits, puddings or fruit jellies can be used to tempt him or her to take medicine.

“Don’t” in feeding medicine

Some medicines cannot be mixed with milk without the prior confirmation from the doctor. Additionally, the unfinished medicine with the milk adding in should not be given to the child for the next intake as the components of the medicine may be changed due to the chemical reactions which may affect the medication’s efficiency in curing the disease. In some cases, this condition may also lead to poisoning and other health impacts.

Do not use a milk bottle to feed your child, particularly for the infant who is less than three months. This is because the infant may have an unhappy experience with the milk bottle and thus causing him or her to refuse feeding with the milk bottle.

If the infant vomits out the medicine, the mother should stop feeding. This is because the baby may have swallowed some medicines, re-feeding may only cause him or her to vomit again. The mother can wait until the next meal to feed her baby again. It is advisable to feed before the meal to avoid vomiting.

Do not directly press the spoon on the infant’s tongue as this will cause him or her nausea or vomit easily. The mother should feed her child by putting the medicine on the side of his or her tongue.

The adult should never be shared a spoon with an infant to avoid any transmitted germs.

“Do” in feeding medicine

For infant who is below 6 months, the mother can boil the pill with some lukewarm water or mash the tablet with a spoon before pouring it into the dropper. Then the mother can slowly drip it into the infant’s mouth drop by drop using the dropper.

For a big baby whom is above one year old, the mother can communicate with her child by explaining the reason to take medicine is to expedite the recovery from the sickness. The mother should encourage the child to try to swallow the medicine slowly and make sure that he or she drinks much water after the medication.

If the child cannot be persuaded, then the mother should tempt her child to take medicine with small biscuits, fruit jellies or pudding as the reward.

The medicine should be fed before the meal is given to the infant. The infant can only be fed with milk half hour after the medication. In this way, the baby will not vomit out the milk easily.