Babies have low resistance and are prone to illness due to their underdeveloped bodies. When they get sick, they often have to take medicine. Many parents use a gentle approach to feed their children medicine, while some disobedient babies are forcefully fed by their parents. In the following, I will teach you some correct methods of feeding medicine to children, in order to prevent parents from falling into the wrong approach.
【Correct methods of feeding medicine to children】
1. Create a relaxed environment
In order for the baby to take medicine smoothly and open their mouth happily, the first step is to create a relaxed atmosphere. Do not gather a group of people staring at the baby when feeding medicine.
In addition, you can change the location for feeding medicine each time, to avoid the baby associating a particular place with taking medicine.
2. Prepare the medicine in advance
Find a place where the baby can relax, prepare the medicine in advance and place it on the table. Hold the baby, walk around, play with them, and then slowly squeeze the medicine into the baby's mouth.
3. Distract their attention
This method is quite common. Prepare some toys or things that the baby likes to distract their attention.
4. Feed when the baby is hungry
If there are no specific instructions regarding the timing of medicine administration, it is best to feed the medicine 2-3 hours after a meal or milk, when the food has been partially digested. Feeding medicine at this time can greatly reduce the possibility of vomiting.
5. Squeeze the medicine at the back of the tongue
Avoid the most sensitive taste bud area. Insert the medicine dispenser into the baby's mouth from one corner, and squeeze the medicine at the back of the tongue so that it can flow directly into the throat, minimizing the chance of the taste buds on the tip of the tongue detecting the taste of the medicine.
6. Feed during inhalation
It is not advisable to feed medicine when the baby is crying heavily, as it may cause the medicine to be inhaled into the trachea. Instead, when the baby is inhaling, quickly squeeze the medicine into the back of their tongue. This way, the medicine will not be inhaled into the airway, and it can be swallowed when the baby finishes inhaling.
【Incorrect methods of feeding medicine to children】
1. Pinching the nose while administering medicine
Pinching the nose while giving medicine to a child can easily cause the medicine to be inhaled into their respiratory tract. This can lead to coughing, bronchitis, aspiration pneumonia, and even blockage of the airway, resulting in suffocation.
2. Pressing the tongue to administer medicine
This behavior is similar to pinching the nose forcefully to administer medicine. The child's attention is not focused on this, so sudden administration of medicine may cause the child to choke, and increase the likelihood of the medicine entering the airway.
3. Pulling the ear to administer medicine
Pulling the ear does not have any effect on the child taking medicine. On the contrary, it may cause otitis externa in the child. If too much force is applied, it may even cause abnormalities in the child's auditory nerve function.
4. Making the child swallow the pill without water
When children take pills, they often swallow the water but keep the pill in their mouth. After repeating this a few times, some parents may ask their child to swallow the pill directly. This behavior can easily cause aspiration, with the pill being sucked into the trachea.
5. Mixing medicine with food
Some parents believe that mixing medicine with juice, milk, soy milk, or meals will make it easier for the child to take. However, this is a very undesirable behavior. On one hand, it can reduce the effectiveness of the medicine, and on the other hand, it may cause adverse reactions.
【Precautions】
1. Do not repeatedly feed
If the baby spits out the medicine immediately after feeding, you should feed them again. However, if they spit it out after a while, there is no need to feed them again.
2. Administer powdered medicine
When giving medicine to an infant, do not give them pills or tablets directly. Instead, grind them into powder and mix with water and sugar to form a dilute solution, which can then be administered to the baby. Swallowing pills can be practiced slowly when the child is around four years old.
3. Pay attention to the dosage
If the medication is prescribed three times a day, it is not advisable to reduce it to two or one time a day. Also, do not administer two doses of medication at once when you remember.
4. Do not mix with food
When administering medicine, do not mix it with milk or juice, as it can reduce the effectiveness of the medicine. The water used to dissolve the medicine should be lukewarm; hot water can damage the components of the medicine.
5. Administer medicine while the baby is awake
If the baby is already asleep, there is no need to wake them up just to administer medicine. It is better to wait until they wake up. However, be sure to wait at least 4 hours before administering the next dose of medicine.
