How do I get son to swallow tablets??

[Smowball]

He just retches then spits them out! Have tried breaking them in half, putting them in food, llghim to gulp loads of water quickly but he still cannot swallow them. And its getting a bit silly giving Calpol to a 12 yr old!

[mayennaise]

When my daughters were young (8 & 10) we were lucky enough to have a holiday in Kenya. This involved several nasty inoculations, which they put up with, but the thing they couldn't cope with was swallowing the malaria tablets. I resorted to crushing them between two teaspoons (as someone as already suggested) and mixing the results with a spoonful of lemon curd or jam. I felt a right numpty and got some very odd looks, doing this on the flight from Gatwick to Mombassa, especially when I produced the jar of lemon curd!!

[mayennaise]

PS the eldest is now 32 and still has a problem swallowing tablets!

[tinkerbell23]

Smow dont ever open a capsule!! It can alter the drug and its dangerous - most are in a capsule for a reason ..i cant swallow "uncoated" ones but i try them in yoghurts or custard!!! Liquid alternataves are available for alot of things xx

[Smowball]

Just thought that the bigger he got then calpol just wouldnt be strong enough. It was actually the doctor who made a thing about it when he prescribed him tablet antibiotics and I said he wont be able to swallow them and the doc looked at him very surprised and asked why not at his age

[shaneystar2]

I'm a tablet gagger .
A friend gave me the tip of drinking them with fizzy .Fizzy water.,
lemonade ,cola etc. I have to take medication every day and it's the only way I can get them down.

[Purple_Popple]

Yep, my parents always used to crush tablets between 2 spoons to grind into a powder then mix this with some sugar, lovely! lol !

[woofgang]

Then the doctor is an idiot. its not at all uncommon.

[B00]

My daughter's 23, and only just got round to swallowing tablets. That might have more to do with the cocktail of pills she's now on though, than "getting over it", it'd take bloody hours to get em down her if she had to crush them first!

[jackthehat]

Get him to practice with Smarties.

Put Smartie on tongue, take a fairly big mouthful of water, sloosh water round mouth (like a final tooth-cleaning rinse) and then big swallow.

Using a Smartie will stop the panic of getting the awful 'tablet-taste' that accompanies an unsuccessful tablet swallow. Once he is confident that he can do it on repeated occasions he ought to be more relaxed with any medication he needs to swallow.

[EvianBaby]

I was just about to suggest the same as JTH. Just a big mouthful of water (or whatever drink he likes) and knock it back in one go, the tablet should just go with it.

I like the idea of practicing with smarties. Think I need some tablet taking practice :)

[ojread2]

why on earth si it silly to give a 12 year old calpol?
If he needs a pain killer, anything he can take is of benefit

[andy-hughes]

If all else fails - try this.

Get him to take a mouthfull of water and hold it.

Slip the tablet inbetween his lips - he should be able to do this without swallowing the water.

Bend at the waist until he is at forty-five degrees - the water will now slosh to the front of his mouth, and the tablet will float in it.

Stand up straight and as soon as he gets to the upright position, without a pause, tell him to throw his head back and swallow - the water and tablet will both go down together, and he won't feel the tablet.

Try a few practise runs without the tablet to make sure he's got the hang of it.

This will only work if he is relaxed, so make sure you are not tense, it will transfer to your son. If it works, lavish praise and a treat is the order of the day - but don't promise the treat in advance - it adds to the pressure.

Let us know which method works - this worked for me, but I can see huge merit in Jack's idea, so do try that first.

[sherrardk]

Boy #1 has just gone on to tablets (he's 11) - he was brill about it. Big gulp of water, tablet in, another big gulp of water. He was having liquid Neurofen and was having to take 3 x 5 ml so it was getting a bit out hand really. Hope your son gets the hang of it soon (and your GP is an idiot, if your boy needs medicine does it matter to her/him if it is in tablet or liquid form?).

[Smowball]

Thankyou all for your lovely and helpful replies. Think doc was a tad insensitive, as you say, swallowing tabs can be very hard for some people.

[EvianBaby]

It's all in the mind, most people would have no trouble swallowing a piece of food that size.

[Smowball]

exactly EB, but think coz he had a tablet stick in his throat before, he now expects it to happen every time