FAQs

1) My child is 14 years and cannot swallow pills? Last time I requested for a liquid medicine which she hated as she had to drink a lot of it because of her age. Any ideas?

When a child cannot swallow it is often due to fear of choking. It is usually just due to psychological feeling rather than true swallowing problem. Sometimes it is due to a past event when a pill got stuck on the tongue or back of the throat . Following things could be tried

• Working with the  child explaining the importance of swallowing a pill. Reassure
  them.
  

• Try initially swallowing chocolate  mini m & ms (not the peanut  kind) then gradually advance to bigger size m & ms. Some people try swallowing sugar filled capsules or tic tacs or vitamin chewable pills.
  

• Proper positioning of the head during swallowing is the key. First see whether a particular pill floats or sinks in water. Most capsules float and most tablets sink.

    If the pill floats, ask the child to swallow some water and throw the pill into the mouth and ask to close the mouth then tilt the head forward so that the child is looking at the ground and ask to swallow. The water pushes the pill down easily. Many times the child doesn't even feel that they swallowed a pill.
    

   If the pill sinks in water then try the above except that the child needs to look at the ceiling while swallowing.

• It is a good idea to drink a full glass  of water after swallowing a pill to prevent the pill getting stuck. There are rare situations where the pill can get stuck to the wall of the food pipe (esophagus). With this you usually get a feeling of something stuck in the chest or difficulty swallowing and heart burn symptoms.
  

    Parent or Caregiver needs to be aware of rare possibility of choking when a child swallows any pill especially when they are learning.

• If everything fails then ask your physician about another preparation which is easier to administer. Now a days there are usually.  
  

2) My child is very picky about liquid medicine. He is too young for pills. Does not like any meds which tastes yucky. My doctor said that it is important to give the medication regularly. I am worried how I can get the medicines in. Do you have any suggestions?

Several different things can be tried.

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