Augmentum

If he won't take it on his own there isn't much you can do other than pin him down and squirt it to the back of one cheek. My oldest was terrible with taking any type of liquid medication we tried everything from milk to hiding it in pudding nothing worked but holding him down my youngest has been on medication for along time and he will just open his mouth and take anything you give him

A.,

As a pharmacist, I would recommend having a pharmacy flavor the medication. I work for Target and we have sweetening enhancers, many different flavors, and another additive that will take out the bitterness taste of the medication. Augmentin is one of the worst tasting antiobiotics out there for children. Good Luck.

J.

My 2 1/2 year old had this problem which led to her not even wanting to take Tylenol. But I ended up putting a bit of ice cream on top of the medicine (at first so she couldn't see the med.) then increased the amount of med on the spoon & kept topping it with ice cream until she had taken the whole dosage.

My daughter (she is only 9 mo) was the same way. I tried everything - syringe, in formula, in cereal, etc... After 4 days, I called the doctor, and she switched her to cefprozil (looks like amox - pink versus white and chalky), and she took that without a problem.

When my daughter had to take penicillin- which she HATED- I used Orange Juice and Hawaiian Punch. I think they have a stronger flavor than chocolate milk and therefore covered up the taste more. Also I would recommend a VERY small amount of liquid in order to make sure that he is drinking all the medicine.
Hope that's helpful.
Good luck.

I agree about having it flavored. If you have a good relationship with your pediatrician, you can also call and see if they will/can prescribe something else. My son was on augmenten for an ear infection, and he also really hated taking it. My doc offered to switch to a different antibiotic if he refused for another couple of days.

Also, a 2.5, he's big enough to bribe. Is there anything that he loves that he's not allowed to have? A little cake for breakfast goes a long way...

Good luck!

Give him a freeze pop or popsicle to numb his taste buds then quickly give the med and let him finish the pop!

Hi A.
Maybe your doctor could prescribe cefzil. Augmentum is nasty. My kids are not picky but I have had similiar issues with that med. I have held them down and forced them to take it but that resulted in them throwing it up, so if there is another option I would go for it. There are so many meds out there. There should be other options. Amoxicillian is very mild so I understand that they needed to prescribe a better med, but I would opt for a different one. I also found that the augmentum always seemed to cause a yeast rash. Good luck!

my 13 year old hated this too,so I mixed it with a big spoonful of chocolate ice cream(not too much or they won't finish all the medicine) and some chocolate syrup. Don't mix syrup all the way in, that way it will really mask the taste.I told him it won't taste like chocolate ice cream,but it also won't taste like the plain medicine. When given the choice of the 2,he chose the icecream!!

I mixed with strawberry syrup. But so that i didnt waste it, i put it in a syringe & gave it that way. Make sure its put in the back corner of the mouth ( back of their teeth ). He's not going to just take it for you. Some kids fight horribly, some need to be held. Its not a pleasant thing, but it has to be done. Good luck.

call your doctor they may have to change it to amoxicillin Augmentin tastes horrible see what he comes up with that is a strong antibiotic(augm). Does your child get put in antibiotics alot?? good luck, P.

We had to go from Amoxicillan to Augmentum one time and it was AWFUL!!! After a couple of very stressful days I finally called the pedi and got Chewables! I knew DS wouldn't take the chewables after trying to get two different meds into him...so I crushed them and put them in his food/drinks. It was a lifesaver! If you are still having issues - ask your pedi about chewables!!!

Augmentin is really nasty stuff. I tried forcing it into my 3 year old and then discovered that she had a reaction to it which made her vomit. I found that no amount of flavoring can mask the taste, either.
I would get a different antibiotic from your doctor. You don't want this battle to become so traumatic that your child won't take ANY medicine. Augmentin is definitely the worst of all.

We had CVS add flavoring and my son took it without any issue. It costs $2.50 or so.

Hi A.,

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this. My daughter had to take anti-reflux medicine twice a day for almost a year and she hated it. The meds started around 8 weeks old until she was 1 year. I wish that I could tell you a way that made it easy. But I can't. What finally worked for us was to have my husband and I tag-team her. I would pin down her legs with my legs (not really sitting on her, but I was in a kneeling position); he would pin her arms down; when she would scream, her mouth would open and I would squirt a little by her cheek in the back of her mouth and then blow on her face to force her to swallow. We continued until the dose was in her. It was like this for months. One day, she just took it without a problem. We stopped the whole process and gave it to her normally.

I wish that I could tell you a different story, but that was what finally got the meds into her. I had to separate myself from the process or it would hurt too much. I hope that you find a good solution--at least one that will fit your needs. Good luck.

if you haven't already gotten this answer....go back to the pharmacy you had it filled at and they can flavor it for you. the best flavor to do augmentin is grape. i work in a pharmacy and we do it all the time. there is a charge for it but it's worth it. even if you have had a a few days you can still bring it back and have them do it. any liquid medication can be flavored so if you run into this problem again just ask the pharmacy what the flavor the particular medication can be done. not all flavors can be done. good luck!

Hey A. -
I completely feel your pain! My 2 1/2 year old is on Augmentin after a 10 day course of Amoxicillin didn't clear her multiple infections (double ear/sinus/bronchitis). We've been on antibiotics more days than not since Christmas eve ... yuck.
For the Augmentin - she HATES it. However, she's a sucker for a bribe for things she never, ever gets (M&M candies!). Hate to do that to her but it works - I had some holiday M&M's left over and all she needs to see is the jar they're in and, after she grapples with what she has to do to get them, she and I work through taking the medicine (lots of encouragement, hand holding, etc.).
We're on day five of ten of Augmentin and so far the payoff has been a healthier kid - so I'm sticking to getting it into her rather than ANOTHER antibiotic. At this point, she needs to stronger medication and her little body needs to heal and starting another round of another med would make her start the process all over again.
Good luck!

Your post immediately caught my attention! My 19 month old was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday and is also on Augmentin. He loves the Motts flavored applesauce (his fav recently is the peach). I mix about 1-2 tablespoons with the meds (3/4 teaspoon) in a bowl and give that to him first and then he has the rest of the applesauce after. He's been doing okay with it. They've also got blueberry, strawberry, mixed berry... plenty to choose from. Good luck! Just curious... Does your little one also have coughing fits that scare the pants off of you? Did your MD also recommend a nebulizer treatment? Ours didn't, but I am wondering if we should go that route. He's definately better since Friday, but we'll see how he does tomorrow. Feel free to respond individually if you'd like!

Call your doctor but I think we put my daughters in some applesauce with some cinn/sugar and she ate it up!!

My doctor also had us mix it with vanilla frosting!!! Yum

Call the pharmacist they can also flavor the medicine to bubble gum

Have you tried one of those little squirter thingys?
Stand him between your knees, tip his head back, squirt in medicine and pinch his nose. He needs to swallow in order to breathe, yes?
I had one, of my seven, who was greatly opposeed to taking medicines...oh my word, I had to lay him on the couch or floor, pin his legs and arms down with my legs, hold his head with one had and squirt the meds with the other then pinch his nose.
He wasnt crying or fussing...amazing yes? But he would take it if I forced him too. Guess he must have just been accepting the inevitable.
And I always prefaced the ordeal with ...you need to take your medicine in order to get better, and I need to give it to you . It would be easier on both of us if you could just take it.
Have you told doc about this? Doesnt do any good to prescrib a med if the med is not being ingested. Perhaps doc would change to the amoxicillin.
If he refuses his meds, and doc wont change it, then there is going to be some stress on his part and yours. Keep your eye on the goal here. Not everything that is good for us and necessary is going to be fun or without stress.
Your job is to give him the meds,no matter what, so he can recover from the pnuemonia, yes?
Pinching the nose works because they cannot taste it if their nose is pinched shut. If your child is an easy one..then tell him you will pinch his nose so he cannot taste it and have some tasty juice ready to wash down and residual taste.
Do what you need to honey.
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell.

My daughter refuses to take any liquid medication but she will take chewables. I don't know if augmentum cause in a chewable tablet if it does you could try that.

We have also mixed crushed pills and liquids in an apple sauce and vanilla ice cream mixture. It seems to disguise the taste and smell of the medicine and she thinks it's a huge treat. Just don't let him see you mixing it. My daughter was very wary at first because previously we had tried everything - telling her we were mixing it in various foods and liquids, trying to hide it in juice and food, and forcefully trying to squirt in her mouth - needless to say none of that worked but the apple sauce vanilla ice cream mixture saved the day!

Hi A.,

My son was on augmentin multiple times. The pedi suggested we mix it with Juicy Juice berry flavor (the blue box) he said that was how he gave it to his 6 boys. It worked for a little while. We found the best way was a syringe and coke. My son never has soda except when he has to take this stuff. We used to mix coke and the augmentin together and give it to him that way. Now he is 5 and takes the augmentin by holding his nose and then gets a "chaser" of coke (maybe 1-2 ounces.) Good luck!

My oldest daughter - who is very good about taking all kinds of horrible tasting medicines - absolutely HATES the Augmentin, and she is not a complainer. It must really be horrible. We've tried asking the pharmacist to flavor it a different flavor (generally they'll do it for about a $3 fee - if you bring it back - let him pick out the flavor). However, my daughter said it still is no good. She prefers to just quickly get it squirted in and drink a whole glass of water afterward, and sometimes even a piece of chocolate (an M&M or Hershey's kiss) to wash away the flavor afterward. If you try this method - I would try a reward chart whereby he knows he will TRULY get a great reward if he will just go ahead and be a "big" boy and choke it all down - he'll get that toy he's been dying for, or something really, really good.

You might want to call the phramacy that filled the prescription and see if it is possible to bring the remainder back to have flavoring added.CVS,Rite Aid offer a wide range of flavorings (over 15 flavor choices).My 1 yr. old gave me quite a fight taking Amoxicllin but once I had a grape flavoring added it was much easier.Hope that helps.Good luck and hang in there.

hi A.
on our last round of medicine wars i had my son give me/my Husband "medicine" (water in a syringe) at the same time or before - he loved to help and then took his own....
OR call the pharmacy and ask if there is another form/generic with a different (or no) flavor.
good luck.

Bribery and perseverance! I hate to say it but a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down! Good luck!