danybug Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I wondered if anyone had any super great tips to get my 11yo to be able to swallow his medicine in pill form. We had an awful gag fest yesterday trying. Then we crushed them up and he ate them in yogurt, but that was another whole obstacle to get him to eat the bitter stuff. Anyone have any great tricks to share? He is a big 11yo and needs to start swallowing so he when sick he doesn't need crazy amounts of liquid meds. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My kids have been swallowing pills since they were bitty. I have one that fills his mouth up with water, tilts his head back and puts the pill in, then swallows the entire thing. They other one doesn't need water at all. He puts it at the back of his tongue and swallows. They both learned with M & M's or other little candies. That way if they didn't get it swallowed it tasted okay. Both have daily medicine to take and hated liquid. As a matter of fact, my little man head strep throat 3 weeks ago and the doctor gave him liquid because I forgot to say something. He barfed all over the hallway. :( Pills for him from now on! Good luck to your son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 What worked for my son was to put food in his mouth, chew it mostly up, then slip the pill in before swallowing. Swallowing with water didn't work because he could feel the pill, but with food in his mouth he couldn't feel it. Has to be bread or something substantial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 The only way I could do it when I was young was with a special cup. It has a lip on the inside to set the pill on. Then when you take a big drink, it washes in and youdon't notice it. Here's one like it on Amazon. We still have the old one from when I was a kid, and my dc use it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 For tablets, we do the mouth full of water-head tipped back thing. However if it is a large tablet, I will occasionally rub a little butter on the pill to keep it from "getting stuck", or feeling like it is adhering to the throat lining. That probably interferes a little bit with absorption time, but getting it down is worth it. With capsules, we take a moderate drink of water, hold it in our mouths, pop the capsule in, then tip our heads downward so that the capsule floats up to the back of the throat and is more easily swallowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Sometimes tipping the head forward rather than backward makes the pills easier to swallow - not too far, but just dip the chin down a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resbows Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 We do the head tip things like everyone else had mentioned and sometimes even cut the pill in pieces to get it down, usually with some flavored drink to cut the taste,but if you do it in quick order it isnt bad. With practice he will get em down no problem soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrin Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I second the idewa to practice with candies. I remember I couldn't swallow pills for the longest time. We had many gag and crying fests! One day, a friend dared me to swallow an m&m whole, and though I said I couldn't, I was surprised to discover I could! Next time I had to swallow a pill, it was NO trouble. I think it was just some sort of mental block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in AL Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 When I was little, my mother had me swallow pills by putting them (whole) in a spoon of pudding or yogurt. The pills were 'coated' then and went down easily. I ate a spoon of whatever it was to 'coat' my throat, then a spoon with the offending item in it. :D It worked really well and I was thankful for this method when I needed my wisdom teeth out at the age of 13 and had 'horse pills' to get down. It didn't take long to get them down on my own, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 :bigear: I am a grown-up and can swallow smaller pills, but the typical antibiotic and vitamin pills just don't.go.down. I think it has something to do with my tongue motion while drinking water (the only way I've tried swallowing a pill). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I put the pill(s) under my tongue, just behind my teeth. Then I start drinking water, as much as needed. I don't know if the pill gets pulled up and over by the pull of the water as I swallow, or if I do something with my tongue to bring the pill up and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetIrony Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My daughter is 2 and can swallow pills, but she needs them every time she eats, so she had a lot of opportunities to practice. For a long time we opened the capsules and poured them into applesauce. Then she started putting the whole pill in a spoonful of applesauce and swallowing it like that. After a while she could put the pill in her mouth and drink from her cup to wash it down. Now she can sometimes swallow several at once! What kind of pills does your son have to take? Uncoated pills are awful and even I have trouble with them. I find coated pills or capsules much easier to get down, even if they are large. My sister is 29 and she always either buys chewables or puts her pills in a piece of banana and swallows that. Going with the candy idea, I read something somewhere about using different sizes of candy to teach a kid to swallow pills. Like starting with sprinkles, then tic tacs, then m&ms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My 12 year old boy was having trouble with this, in fact, his last ear infection he asked for liquid so he wouldn't have to swallow pills- and then he hated it. His infection didn't clear, so the next round he wanted pills. I had read somewhere recently that using mashed up banana would help- so we tried it, and yes, it worked! I would just cut a round of banana and mash it with a fork and stick the pill in it and then he would try to swallow it- tell him to gulp it. He was able to every time and got real good at it. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbkaren Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 We started with swallowing jello whole, then gummy vitamins, just to get used to swallowing things whole. The transition to pills was pretty easy once they weren't gagging anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 when we were trying the pill route about a year or so ago my then ds8 had that problem....our dr said to practice with small candies--mini MMs--regular MMs--smarties-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I "trained" DD with chocolate icing. I'd stick the pill in a bit of chocolate icing on the end of a spoon and have her swallow it. She's a pro now. DS, however, refuses to take any medication - liquid or pill form. He can puke on his own command, and does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I am 39 and only managed to learn how to swallow pills a couple of years ago. (I have a wildly oversensitive gag reflex and also have a very difficult time at the dentist.) I still can't manage large pills, but just the fact that I can take some medication without it being a huge issue is a massive improvement. Anyway, what FINALLY helped me was something my brother suggested -- similar to a PP, I take a bite of food, swallow it without water, then quickly put the pill in, take a big drink of water and DONE! Something about already having food in my mouth makes all the difference in the world for not gagging on the pill. Finally, I'm sure that you have no intention of doing this, but just for th general record, I can personally attest that neither yelling at someone to "Just swallow it!" nor trying to shame them will improve their pill-swallowing abilities. Sigh. Good luck to your son! He can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I am 35-years-old, and I ask for liquid or a pill I can crush. :D I take Goodies, or will chew any pill that doesn't have a Do Not Chew/Crush label on it. Yeah, they taste nasty (Aleve burns!), but they aren't going down any other way. I know it is all in my head, and as I am typing this, my throat is closing up at just the thought of trying to swallow a pill. A friend of mine taught himself to swallow pills by practicing on Skittles. If you don't mind the candy part, you could let him try doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I am 39 and only managed to learn how to swallow pills a couple of years ago. (I have a wildly oversensitive gag reflex and also have a very difficult time at the dentist.) I still can't manage large pills, but just the fact that I can take some medication without it being a huge issue is a massive improvement. Anyway, what FINALLY helped me was something my brother suggested -- similar to a PP, I take a bite of food, swallow it without water, then quickly put the pill in, take a big drink of water and DONE! Something about already having food in my mouth makes all the difference in the world for not gagging on the pill. Finally, I'm sure that you have no intention of doing this, but just for th general record, I can personally attest that neither yelling at someone to "Just swallow it!" nor trying to shame them will improve their pill-swallowing abilities. Sigh. Good luck to your son! He can do it! I have a very sensitive gag reflex as well and have a terrible time at the dentist. I wonder if that has something to do with it? I completely agree with what I bolded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTwinsMom1 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 With mine we taught them with candies and a straw. For some reason using a straw helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danybug Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 After, a whole ridiculous spree he finally swallowed it today. It was like a 45 minute episode of talking and crying about all the variables :glare: And then finally he tried it and it went down. Then, he was like oh that was so easy. :glare: So, hopefully tomorrow when he has to take it again it goes smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 My 4 year old has to take pills twice a day, and this med isn't available in another form. We actually use a "pill-shooter" type thing that is meant for...umm...cats. It's about 6 inches long, holds the pill on the end, and you push the handle to shoot the pill out of the end. We have her tip her head back, open her mouth, say ahh, and I put the pill thing towards the back of her mouth. Then push the button, it ejects the pill basically right down her throat. She will gag slightly sometimes, but the pill almost always goes right down before she even takes a drink. So, you could talk to a vet if nothing else works to get a cat pill contraption :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I used to do the whole fill-the-mouth-with-water-and-pop-the-pill-in trick. But then my friend taught me a new way and I sweat it is magic! I put the pill under my tongue (where I can't taste it), and as I take a drink of water the pill sort of flips over to the top of my tongue and just quickly washes down with the water. Super easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) The only way I could do it when I was young was with a special cup. It has a lip on the inside to set the pill on. Then when you take a big drink, it washes in and youdon't notice it. Here's one like it on Amazon. We still have the old one from when I was a kid, and my dc use it. :D This sounds great! Do the big "horse pills" work with this? I forgot to say that our dd had a horrible time with swallowing pills, too. When she was 14, we were away from home at a VB tourney and she had a horrible headache. She wanted ibuprofen or anything, but couldn't get it down. We had some Snickers candy bars along and she found that stuffing the pill in that and swallowing after not chewing it very well worked for her. There might be a mental block issue because since then she has done pretty good at swallowing pills. Edited March 3, 2012 by mom2abcd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 What worked for my son was to put food in his mouth, chew it mostly up, then slip the pill in before swallowing. Swallowing with water didn't work because he could feel the pill, but with food in his mouth he couldn't feel it. Has to be bread or something substantial. I have always, always had trouble swallowing pills and this is what I do. I typically use a piece of bread. If it is a particularly large pill, I have to cut it in half first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 My kids started by swallowing tic tacs. If you need to crush bitter pills, the taste can be masked by chocolate syrup on a spoon. A pharmacist recommended that to me when I needed to crush pills for my toddler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I started out by hiding the pile in a tiny slice of banana. That worked. Now my kids can take them with just water. It just takes practice. My kids HATE liquid medication though so I was working on them swallowing pills as soon as I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 We used applesauce. Put some applesauce on a spoon, put the pill in as well & swallow. Both my boys learned in a flash this way. They took pills that way for a week or so, then one day tried liquid & it worked. Now they sometimes swallow them dry, against my recommendation.:001_huh: We had previously tried M&M's & my oldest son still tells people I almost killed him with candy. Obviously, that didn't go well.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 We had our kids practice using mini M&Ms to get the hang of it, and then any size pill seemed to go down just fine. Fear is powerful, and it can feel like you are chocking on pills as they go to the back of the throat, but for some reason m&ms don't seems so scary lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.