Giving medicine to children,
especially to babies, can be tricky. Here are some tips to
make things easier. Babies are more likely to take
their medicine when they're hungry. So, give it to them
before you feed them. They're also less likely
to spit it up that way. Now, let's go over how
to prepare the medicine. First, measure the dose
with the spoon or syringe that you got from the pharmacy. Now, give the medicine to
your child in small amounts and watch for them to swallow
before you give them more. If you're using a syringe, try putting
the medicine inside their cheek pouch. This will prevent them from gagging. If you're still having trouble,
try giving your baby a popsicle or a freezie before giving them medicine. The sweet taste and slight numbing
sensation will help the medicine go down. We recommend, unless you have to, you
don't mix medicine with food or drinks. Mixing it makes it harder to know
if the full dose has been taken. If that's the only way your child
will take the medicine, check with your pharmacist first
because certain foods, like yogurt or applesauce, can
stop the medication from working.
And others, like honey or
syrup, work only if your child is not on a restricted diet. If you do use food or drink,
use a very small amount, like this, so that the
child will finish it all. When giving medicine to any
child, it's important that you double check the amount and
the dose with the instructions that are written on the bottle. If you use a log or a medicine
diary, that can help to prevent either giving too many
doses or missing some doses..
