DD12 refuses to swallow pills...

[dj2]

...or chew the chewable kind of dramamine--yet on our last flight a few weeks ago she used 5 airsickness bags on the way there. we had a terrible time getting her to take the dramamine for the return home flight--not a pleasant experience for a vacation.

anyone know of something liquid that she could take? i asked the wal-mart pharmacist, but he didn't know of anything. the best the osco person could come up with was to ask for a prescription for a suppository, but i KNOW she's not going for THAT!

it's been this way for 11 years. she used to gag and throw up even liquid medicine. we could never do the ones that were three times a day for 10 days--such agony! i remember once asking for a shot for her instead of a prescription just to make sure she got the antibiotic into her.

when will she outgrow this!!!!

thanks for any tips.
dj

 

[kerry34]

I have no problems with the dramamine so I am not 100% sure on this but I think they make a wrist band (called Sea Bands). I remember a cousin of mine using one a few years back when she traveled. I dont know anything about them and how well they work but it couldnt hurt to check anyway. Good Luck!!!


Kerry

 

[kerry34]

Here is a link that I found:



http://www.sea-band.com/travel_usa.htm

 

[alloyd1170]

Sea Bands dont work for everyone. Have you tried getting a pill crusher, crushing the pills and mixing it into something she can drink? I do that with vitamins for my 2 yr old since he wont chew or swallow any pills either. I got a small pill crusher at Walmart that had space under the lid to store a few pills.

alison

 

[prplcrzy]

I was also going to suggest crushing the pills and putting it in something. If liquid doesn't work, try applesauce or pudding, something that it can slide down with.

Good luck!

Nancy

 

[dj2]

thanks for the suggestions. we discovered that the non-chewable dramamines pills do dissolve very quickly into a "liquidy-gritty mush" in a tiny bit of water (which is one reason why, i think, that she won't swallow them--they come apart too fast in her mouth). our best hope right now is to dissolve one in a teaspoon of water and follow it with a chaser, or two or three, of ANYTHING she'll agree to. i was kind of hoping someone knew of an already made liquid form. oh well. thanks again!!!

dj

 

[hurley]

Our youngest son ALWAYS got car sick, no matter the duration of the trip. Before our last drive from Boston to Orlando, our pediatrician recommended the wrist bands. He said that the medications just make them drowsy, etc.. Best 10 dollars we ever spent. The wrist bands are great as long as they are positioned properly. We can now drive anywhere without him getting sick.

 

[ErinInCT]

I had the same problem as a youngster. My dad STILL teases me about it (I'm 39). I guess I finally "got over it" when I was pg & had to take those horse pill prenatal vitamins!! My sister told me to keep the pill in my mouth until I had a natural urge to swallow & then it would go down & ya know what - it worked. I was trying so hard to swallow it so fast that I would gag & choke & heave, etc, but when I relaxed & let me natural urge to swallow take over, it was fine. I guess I was always afraid to leave it in my mouth too long because I would taste the bitterness after the coating dissolved. But nowadays I think they are pretty well coated & I never tasted anything bad yet. Now I can pop pills with the best of them!!!! Well, I take that back, my dad takes about a zillion pills & vitamins ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!! Now THAT is impressive. Dh takes pills WITHOUT water! Impressive as well! I still have a bit of a phobia & have to down a lot of pop or something after. Oh yeah, I could not use water as a chaser, that seemed to make it worse so I drank juice, soda or anything else!!!
Good luck! There is nothing worse then motion sickness! Definately try the wrist bands, my mom uses them! (And she can swallow pills but does not like feeling drosy or having a dry mouth). Oh, and they use to make a patch that goes behind the ear. Not sure if they still do - I want to say it was called transderm scopolamine or something like that. (Dad was a pharmaceutical rep) Do a yahoo search on transderm scop & hopefully they still make it!!

 

[SueM in MN]

A lot of people have trouble swallowing pills. I'm a lot older than 12, but I am not able to swallow pills unless I have some food with them.
One thing that often works is to use a thicker liquid (like milk or one of the yogurt smoothie drinks). Another thing that often owrks is to chew up a bit of a food like crackers or a cookie, and then before swallowing, pop the pill in the mouth on top of the food. Chase it down with a bit of water or milk. If she wants to practice doing that, those mini M & Ms work well for practice. Once she has the hang of those, you can move on up to bigger things (like regular size M&Ms).
Check with a pharmacist to see if there are any foods you should not mix with your pills before doing this.

 

[perpetualplanner]

Both my brother and son had this problem with taking pills. Simply put the pill in something they like to eat that is easily swallowed, for my brother my mom used jelly, my son was ice cream. Jello and other such things would also work. Just tell them to swallow (at first you don't even have to tell them it's in there if you can avoid it). Worked like a charm for both of them.

Hope it helps.

 

[mickeysaver]

Ask your doctor for the motion sickness patches. They need to tell you how to use them, but it's as safe as Dramamine. Best of all you apply the patch to your skin and there is no need to worry about a pill. Maggie

 

[MissingMickey]

Meclizine is the active ingredient in the nondrowsy dramamine and also in Bonine. I used to take meclizine for my vertigo. I am such a lightweight that I had a hard time taking even the over the counter amounts, so they had the pharmacy order me the liquid (they probably use on kids mostly anyway). I know it used to exist. My only problem was I was also allergic to mint and every manufacturer used mint. My pharmacist tried 3 different kinds. Ask your pediatrician for a script?

 

[fran99999]

My DD16 still wont swallow pills whole. I crush them and add them to sugar. I do this with Tylenol and Decongestants when out.

Remember Mary Poppins LOL. It works!! My DS5 also takes his pills this way.

I have also purchased those sugar straw candys and added meds to this. When traveling and forgot the sugar packets. Funny how candy will get kids to swallow almost anything

 

[mbb]

You know the little ones you get at restaurants...

Stick a couple in your bag, time for meds, mix in ...voila!!

Good luck!!

 

[J/T Gramdma]

My grandson had the same problem and we practiced by cutting a m/m in quarters have him try to swallow it . It took some time but it did not taste bad as he was trying. Then we use a 1/2 m/m and then a full m/m and the scary part had been taken away and he did much better on pills. this took time and several practices.

 

[winniedapooh]

DD 14 used to be this way until she had to break up some pills and put them in juice to drink, blech! She practiced with tic tacs to learn how to do it and she is able to swallow fine now. What about breaking it up and putting it in apple sauce etc? A word of warning though.....not all pills can be broken up. Always check with a profession first so as not to cause harm.

 

[laceemouse]

I have had extreme motion sickness all of my life. I know they used to make liquid dramamine when I was a kid. It was yellow. I don't guess they make it anymore, which surprises me. Dramamine is the ONLY thing that works for me. Bonine and the wrist bands do nothing for me, I guess it depends on the severity of your sickness. I have used the patches a couple of times and they did work, but they are not for kids as I recall, a 12 year old may be okay with them, or it may depend on her weight. Ask you doctor. Good luck, there is not much worse than motion sickness IMO. When I get it I actually feel sick for days after, although Dramamine does work after the fact if necessary. Some of my kids don't like pills either, but anything is better than barfing!!!

 

[laceemouse]

Also, the dramamine pills that you swallow are not coated and do disolve and taste bad in your mouth. I guess this helps them get into your system quickly. But they do make chewables which aren't that bad to most folks, just have water of something to chase them with.

 

[vettechick99]

I'm 28 and still have trouble swallowing pills. When I was 10 I had 4 weeks of back-to-back strep throat because I didn't take my pills. And now I gag on those horse pills they call vitamins on a daily basis.

Crushing it up and putting it in apple sauce or pudding would work, but don't tell her its in there. As soon as I realize I have to take a pill, my throat closes up.

Good luck!

 

[MELSMICE]

My 3 DD's were convinced they couldn't swallow pills. DH told them to put a cookie in their mouth & chew it. He said "just before you're ready to swallow it I want you to spit it out". They did & he showed them that their piece of chewed cookie was larger than the pill they needed to swallow. He made them swallow the cookie piece first and after realizing it was actually bigger than the pill they had no problem after that!

Good luck with your DD!