If your baby is of the human variety you have probably noticed that getting them to take medicine is quite the challenge. This is especially true if the medicine in question is Zantac or some other drug that tastes like gasoline, licorice, or feet. Newborn babies who have not yet mastered the ability to get their hands INTO their mouths are remarkably good at getting yucky medicine OUT of their mouth.
I’ve been effectively shoveling yucky medicine into babies for so long I suppose it’s time to put it on my resume under “skills.” This is my super secret technique to do so. Of course I’m only sharing this with you so don’t tell anybody else.
Giving Your Baby Medicine
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- Get a small syringe from your doctor/pharmacist (take off the needle obviously).
- Put the appropriate dose into the needle-free syringe.
- Hold baby flat-ish on their backs.
- Put the syringe into their mouths pointed to the back corner. Note: if you point it directly down their throats they will choke and likely throw the medicine back up on you. However if you put the syringe into the front of their mouth they’ll simply push the medicine back out with their tongue.
- Give medicine (depress the stopper in the syringe).
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Your baby will probably be upset about this rude treatment. However if you hold them on their backs for a few seconds they’ll typically swallow the offensive medicine (due to lack of options). You’ll want to follow-up with something pleasant (nursing, rocking, warm bath) to make up for your obvious breach of baby etiquette.
Anybody else have any magic medicine giving techniques they want to share?
{Photo credit: Tambako}
CarrieVS
February 18, 2012 at 6:53 pmThanks. I shall remember this if I ever have to give a baby medicine. Now if you can tell me how to get a pill down my cat, I’ll be really impressed.
Alexis
February 19, 2012 at 11:12 amActually this technique works for cats too. The only difference is that you need to wear one of those leaded x-ray bibs and long leather gloves that people who train hawks wear. Otherwise it’s exactly the same.
Kathryn
February 19, 2012 at 7:42 amLove this post! I have been giving my baby Zantac twice daily for 2 weeks now and I am impressed with how quickly she has learned to swallow. She is 12 weeks old so swallowing without sucking is actually an impressive skill for a person of this age. I use basically the same technique that you described but I squirted the required dose into a medicine cup and then used a medicine dropper to put it in her mouth as I found this to be less traumatic for her (the syringe I got is kind of fat). I do it during a nursing session so she is already in swallowing mode. I squirt in about 0.5 ml at a time and offer her the breast between each squirt, and this seems to be pretty easy on her. She even smiles and coos now that she is used to it. She did scream and cry for the first week, so you need to be patient and not give up just because your baby doesn’t seem to be able to do it. It just takes a little time for them to learn something new and then it is no big deal.
Alexis
February 19, 2012 at 11:15 amThat’s great that she got used to it and actually smiles now! My peanuts always HATED Zantac (of course we forced the issue regardless but there were no smiles or coos involved).
Eventually we got bumped up to Prevacid which is essentially a small cherry flavored candy which they were happy to take. Not suggesting that anybody switch drugs to a “tastier version” but we were happy to get out of Zantacville….
Amanda
February 19, 2012 at 5:33 pmNo matter how far I put it back onto her tongue, my daughter always pushed out the medicine. Always. It was incredibly annoying. For this reason we switched from Zantac to Prevacid. Much easier! When she got a double ear infection and an antibiotic prescription meant to be taken for 10 days, I was a little worried. After she spit out the first few syringe-administered doses, I decided to try a spoon. She was 4 1/2 months old when I tried this and she ate up every drop. I recommend trying a spoon out if the syringe doesn’t work for you, especially for thicker, syrupy medicines.
Alexis
February 20, 2012 at 3:44 pmPlus antibiotics tend to taste better (Zantac is rough stuff). I’ve had the same experience with Tylenol and such – sweet and syrupy. They taste better so babies tend to be more accepting.
Reflux babies also tend to get more ear infections so good luck with that 😛
CarrieVS
February 22, 2012 at 12:22 pmWhen I was little, I’d have downed the bottle of antibiotics if I’d been allowed.
Also Calpol, but I tasted that a little while ago and I can only imagine they’ve changed the formula, because it’s disgusting.
Alexis
February 26, 2012 at 3:52 pmI was in love with baby aspirin. They looked and tasted like smarties!
MRR
February 24, 2012 at 9:55 amAs a pediatric ER nurse, I’ve fought my fair share of battles when it comes to giving oral medications to children. The approach described above is exactly how I’ve learned to “persuade” babes to “take” their medications. However, as they get older, like toddler older, they become a tad smarter. They realize they can hold it in their mouths and spit it out when the vice grip is released. My sure fire way to combat this is to hold them tightly, use the technique mentioned above and once the medication is in, plug their nose! They will be forced to swallow if they want to breathe. I know it sounds brutal, but parents who bring their child to me with a raging fever, whose child “won’t take their medication” are grateful that the Advil is in and working its magic. Like I say, it may seem a little harsh, but when it comes I taking antibiotics and half of your medication is on the floor, on you, on your kid, this approach works! My daughter who is 3 has only spit Clavulin on me once…ad after a few nose holding wrestling matches, knows that when it comes to medication, there is no negotiation!
And don’t forget, many medications do come in suppository form!
Great website by the way. I came across it when refreshing myself on newborn sleep for my 3 month old daughter!
Alexis
February 26, 2012 at 3:55 pmNothing makes my day like a highly qualified pediatric nurse backing up my medicine giving technique – thanks so much!
When you mention that medications come in suppository form most parents blanch and back slowly away from your right? I would totally stick medicine up the back door if desperate but I would definitely prefer to wrestle medicine in through the mouth if I possible could 😉
Laurie
March 15, 2012 at 11:57 pmThis is an awesome, helpful site, Alexis. I found it while looking for help with #3 and getting her some better sleep.
For getting your kid to take the foul tasting stuff, try putting it into flavored syrup before drawing it up into the syringe. Torani syrups (found in the coffee aisle at every Seattle grocery store) are great for this. They are thick enough to stand up to any pills that need to be crushed and strong enough to mask bad, bitter flavors. My kids are jealous of each other when they have to take any kind of medicine – it’s like dessert to them.
Alexis
March 16, 2012 at 8:11 pmAnd as an added bonus they taste great in coffee. Most excellent suggestion – thanks for sharing!
Amy
August 1, 2012 at 9:34 amWe give our little man (he’s now 4 months old) Zantac twice a day. It doesn’t taste very good and he used to push quite a bit out of his mouth. Now we pop in a pacifier and squirt the medicine into the corner of his mouth with the syringe. He still dribbles a bit out, but swallows most of it. Now that he can get his fingers into his mouth, this works well too. Sucking = swallowing! Although I’m sure he still doesn’t like the taste, he really doesn’t mind it now with the use of a swallowing aid (fingers/pacifier)!
Sabrina
October 23, 2012 at 7:22 pmOur 3.5 month old daughter is on prevacid, and what we have found works miracles is a Numimed. It’s basically a bottle nipple with a measured container attached. As a bonus, I’ve never had a problem with her refusing to take a bottle even though she is EBF and we hardly ever give her one 🙂 Also, we compound the prevacid using a product called TummyCare Max, which is buffered and tastes good so not only does she like taking it, we don’t have to time it around meals and we don’t have to worry about the solutabs causing her stomach pain.
shelly
November 25, 2012 at 8:46 pmSabrina,
can you tell me your early experience with tcm? i just ordered it and should be getting it soon. i am desperate for help!!!
thanks,
shelly
Alexis
November 26, 2012 at 1:37 pmI’m curious too! Have never heard of this option. I’m also wondering if getting the compound version means that insurance will no longer pay for it? (Historically that has been my experience with BCBS and compound drugs anyhoo).
As a side note – the generic form of Prevacid has been on manufacturer backorder ALL YEAR so our own Prevacid bill has been GIGANTIC (because we’re buying brand version vs. generic). Which is hideously painful but definitely better than the alternative 😛
Cathy
January 19, 2013 at 1:37 amUgh, the unflavored liquid Prevacid is wretched!Who’s idea was it to disolve it in sodium bicarbonate (ie, baking soda)??
Hartley
January 1, 2013 at 7:49 pmMy child is on Zantac 3 times a day and hates taking it. As a pediatric nurse, I am well versed in giving oral medications to babies. Despite this, my son always vomited up his Zantac after swallowing it and his reflux continued to bother him. Quite frankly, I would probably vomit after taking liquid Zantac, too. It’s really quite gross. I found that refrigerating his medication and giving it to him in the bath worked well. Kids will often take medication that has been chilled in the fridge. I’m not sure the science behind it, but it really seems to work.
Cathy
January 19, 2013 at 1:33 amYou shouldn’t have to dose Zantac three times a day; twice daily dosing (or even once a day if the reflux is mild) should be sufficient.
Randi
February 17, 2013 at 11:11 pmOur baby girl is on 2x daily Zantac since she was 3.5 months old. My MIL is a pharmacist and she told me to do the following: Measure out the dose (1.5mL for us) using syringe and put it into a medicine cup. Then mix with breast milk or juice, take mixture back up into syringe then give to the baby. I used BM (3mL), and baby girl wasn’t a HUGE fan, but at least she stopped screaming with each dose. It took longer since it was a bunch more liquid, but it was worth it. After about a month of this, as well as making sure we always fed her after the meds to associate the meds with good food, we started reducing the amount of BM mixed into the meds. She’s now 5mo old, and takes the meds without screaming and without BM. So if you’re having issues, check with your ped/pharmacist about mixing BM or juice into the meds to cover the taste. And be sure to associate the administration with something happy or fun.
Beth
March 4, 2013 at 1:30 amMy twins are on prevacid and zantac. One twin had no problem swallowing everything down with the syringes from the pharacy, one twin spit everything out that went in by syringe. I started taking the nipple off the bottle and putting the medicine in the nipple and just letting her suck the medicine out of the nipple. She had no problem sucking it herself, and since she sucked it she didn’t spit it out. When she gets the medicine out, I replace the nipple back on the bottle and give her the bottle of milk. It has worked wonders for us.
Bryony
September 17, 2013 at 3:57 amMy daughter is on Lactulose, Ranitidine and Gaviscon (I live in the UK) and this is the technique we use to get meds into her. I was reading through to see if anyone had already suggested as I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone needs to know about this method after we spent WEEKS without success trying syringes/cups. We found this method to be BRILLIANT! She has no opportunity to dribble/spit out the medicine cos it’s gone down before she has the chance! All my mummy friends with kids on meds now use this technique and it works for all of them (note, none of them have had a problem getting their baby to take a bottle) so now I’m on a mission to tell the world about meds through a bottle nipple! It’s great!
Joanne Davis
June 5, 2013 at 9:07 pmThanks for the tips. It’s been a great help for me. I’ve been experiencing this to my baby too. And your tips worked on her. It’s really great.
Tammy
December 20, 2013 at 10:47 amThank you so much, your technique worked so much better than trying to give the med sitting up! I think we actually got some into her! Singing also helped my girl feel better about it. Just fyi it’s steroid for croup that we had to give; I’m sure it’s gross but I don’t know how it compares to your Zantac.
Sabeen
May 27, 2014 at 4:38 amThank you, thank you, thank you!!!
LeAnna
January 10, 2015 at 11:05 pmMy 11 month old son will not keep most medicine down for months now, luckily he hadn’t needed any regularly. Now, he’s got the flu and an ear infection so we have amoxicillin, tamiflu and alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen if he gets a fever. No matter what I give him, about a minute or two later he throws it up. I even gave him a baby dose of Zofran tonight so I thought, it would keep him from being nauseated from the taste. No help, same issue.
I’m not a spring chicken at this. I’m a mom of 2, an RN and I worked pediatrics for a year earlier in my career. I know he is getting his medicine in his cheek but it seems like he gets mad and makes himself throw it up (abdominal clenching/arches his back). He hasn’t used a pacifier since he was 6 months old, he was not interested.
I’m at a loss now, and we are starting to feel frazzled about it. Thanks
Maureen
January 26, 2015 at 10:53 amWe have been giving zantac 2x a day for about 3 months. Our little one is 6 months old now. We have had great success putting the liquid medication into an ounce of breastmilk and giving it in a small bottle when he’s hungry. Then we follow up with a feeding. When we tried other methods he would always spit it out. Something to try if other methods aren’t working…
Bridget
July 21, 2015 at 10:37 pmMy one year old will literally throw up every single time I try to give her zantac. I’ve tried mixing it, giving little bits at a time- it doesn’t matter. The stuff smells and tastes like chemical rat poison. I guess I’ll either try the grape or ask to switch.. I read where you mentioned reflux babies get a lot of ear infections. Do you know why? We’re fighting a nasty infection right now :/
Emily
August 8, 2015 at 11:21 pmMy daughter has been on Zantac since she was 3 weeks old, and I found the least traumatizing way to give it to her was to stick my finger in her mouth to get her to start sucking (she won’t take a pacifier), then to stick the syringe in between my finger and her lips and squirt in a little at a time. She still doesn’t like it, but it stops her fron choking and gets more down faster!
Alexis Dubief
August 10, 2015 at 12:28 pmAwesome idea – get her sucking (on finger) so the yucky medicine goes down faster!
Wendi
November 9, 2015 at 11:52 pmMy DD would not take the Zantac no matter what I did or tried…finally started giving it to her while she was nursing. After she latched on, I would put the small syringe in the corner of her mouth. Low and behold after about one month, I tried again to give it to her directly and she took it readily with smiles. She had associated the med with the thing she loves most in the world…breast feeding. Now months later she still takes it with a smile!
Fiona
July 29, 2016 at 2:44 pmThank you so much, this has been best advice. I was at my wits end having tried everything else and failed!
Ryan
March 9, 2017 at 6:18 pmill have to give this a try in the morning. Liquid Prilosec is the worst! Not much luck on the Zantac working for him.
Holly
June 11, 2017 at 8:56 amThank you so much for sharing your technique! My daughter is almost 8 wks and I used your technique this morning, plus stuck a binky in her mouth right after, then rocked her to sleep and it worked like a charm! Before this she spit up everything all the time! She is currently on 1ml twice daily. Hoping the med will work now since she’s actually keeping it down! Thanks again! 🙂
Holly
June 11, 2017 at 9:03 amFor the other mamas out there, I forgot to mention that the only thing I did differently was use the regular medicine syringe they gave me at Walmart pharmacy rather than a needled syringe (minus the needle of course). It does make a huge difference pointing it towards the back corner for sure! I just squirted a little at a time in at first but noticed it being pushed forward a little bit so it actually worked better when I squirted a larger dose. Next time I’ll squirt half in at a time like another mama had mentioned. Seems like a happy medium! 🙂
Brianne
December 21, 2017 at 12:44 pmWe are currently having this battle trying to give our 10-month-old a prescribed (expensive because insurance won’t cover it) antibiotic. It doesn’t even taste bad but he hates it. He has full-on projectile vomited his entire stomach contents every time we have tried to give it to him. He is so sick, he won’t take a bottle, let alone ANY meds now. I looked on here for suggestions and some gave me an idea. I gave him some Tylenol earlier doing this: I breastfed him to sleep and then slowly, by drops using a syringe, pushed a little at a time into his open mouth. He swallowed each little drop and kept it down. I just did the same thing with the antibiotic. It seems to have worked. I will comment back if I have spoken too soon. Hope this helps.