My Daughter won't take medecine?

Question

My three year old daughter has been diagnosed with kidney reflux and is now on her 3rd urine infection in four months. the 1st 2 have caused some kidney damage, so bviously i am now very worried when she gets them. When she was 1st admitted to hospital she had such an awfull time trying to get an iv line over 20 times with no luck! She is now terrified of taking medicine, needles. We have tried everything that we and others can think of. she now has to have her medicine through a tube in her nose wich she still hates but at least we can get it into her.

Some of the nurses have been rather funny with me saying that i should try harder as this way ( the tube) is rather extreme. We have tried everything and hate putting her through this. We are at the end of our teather and this is a real problem. It's only happened scince the 1st hospital visit along with nightmares every night. Can any one suggest somewhere i can get some help with this.

Answer 1

hmm, well if you can get pills, crush up the pills in little tiny bits, and sprinkle it on her food. or, tell her to chew a piece of bread, take the bread out of her mouth, stick the pill in the middle of the chewed bread, and then she can just swallow it, since its just bread. that's what i do. hehe. i hate taking pills w/ water. so afraid i'll choke.

hope your daughter grows up to be  a healthy girl!

god bless you and your daughter!

Answer 2

I may get thumbs down for this but this is what I did.

Put her in her high chair and strap her in.  Then tell her it is time for her medicine.  IF it is liquid get the syringe type not the bulb type med. dispenser.  Fill it and go over to her and tell her that it will keep her healthy or make her feel better.  Then stick it in her mouth and slowly squirt it in.  About a 1/4 of a teaspoon at a time and praise her for taking it.  IF she refuses to take it tell her she has to take it nicely or you will make her take it the hard way.  IF she still refuses stand behind the highchair grab her chin, tilt her head back and put it in her mouth and squirt it in and hold her head until she swallows it.  Then tell her if she takes it nicely next time you will give her something nice.  Giving Meds is serious business and I don't believe in p***y footing it around.  Go get it done and praise if they take it nicely ignore if they don't.  My children now takes their meds without a fight.  Some may find it cruel but my children had some medical problems in the beginning so taking meds nicely was very important.  Now at 3yrs and 19 months(twins) they are very good at the med thing.

Answer 3

Ask your pharmacist if the medication would be ok if it was mixed with juice or milk.  Then don't tell her it's in there or let her watch you mix it.  If she can still taste it then put the medicine in a special cup with a curly straw or something to make it fun or mix it in a drink you wouldn't normally let her have, like Kool-aid or gatorade or something else sugary.  

You could also try getting some little trinkets at the dollar store and wrapping them up and let her choose a present after she takes her medicine.  I'm not a person who normally bribes her kids but for medication I think you do what you have to do!   Good Luck!

Answer 4

Can you bribe her with something?  She is 3 so she can understand rewards and there might be something she wants that will motivate her to take the meds.  Tell her if she takes her meds, she can have, whatever it is,,,,, milkshake, chocolate milk, m&ms, etc.   Hopefully these things are such treats for her that it will make her more cooperative.

This is one situation where the bribe is worth it.

Answer 5

My daughter has just recently gotten a kidney transplant after 3 years on dialysis. Her kidneys were damaged by a defective bladder. So if you can I would check into having a urologist repair her uretor if possible. A good urologist should be able to get her uretor open to improve the urine flow. There are lots of other kidney patients and caregivers who can answer your question on the dialysis message forum at www.ihatedialysis.com. Online discussions are a great way to connect with those with similar situations. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 6

hang in there mama.  you are doing the best that you can.  *hug*

Answer 7

I'm not sure I understand.  Is the only way to give her the medicine is through a tube in her nose or IV?  What about a liquid medicine she can take by mouth?  My daughter hated liquid medicine, but if you mix it with applesauce, she'd gobble it right up.

Also, for a1cat's answer - I used to do it this way, not so extreme.  HOWEVER, my kids always threw it up.  So, that way may not work for everyone.  I could not just hold them down and squirt it in there, no matter how delicate I did it - slowly, a little at a time, whatever - they ALWAYS threw it up.

Answer 8

WELL , what are you going to do .. your child has to take the medicine and you are only taking good care of her and she has made the choice herself and yes she is three but she can understand that she needs the medicine and if she does not take it this is what happens ( the tube in the nose) . as parents we sometimes carry the burden for our children when they make wrong or bad decisions  but she does have a choice take the medicine by mouth or suffer the consequences. as you can tell I am a toasted mom of a difficult child  and at the end of the rope myself SO I give 2 choices and if the dear one makes the wrong one or refuses , the penalty is hers

Answer 9

Bless her heart!  She is scared!  I had my daughter in and out of the hospital due to her asthma when she was young.  We had a terrible time with her.  Sometimes, I slipped in her juice, one time even ice cream.  She was terrified of everything because she was poked and prodded at with needles and such.  There were times that I had to listen to her scream, and two of us would have to hold her down to get her to swallow the medicine.  It broke my heart, but it was for her own good.  I even talked to my Dr about it, and he said she HAD to have the medicine and that if I didn't get her to take it she would be right back in the hospital.  She also wouldn't let anybody in the hospital give her breathing treatments, except for me.  She was so scared that I would sleep in the tent with her!  I'm sure you are doing an awesome job, just keep it up and hang in there!