giving antibiotics and inhaler help!! | Autism PDD

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OH how I feel your pain. I have been through your situation for almost 5 years now with Skylar. Sounds like you have tried everything that I have done in the past. I wish I had some suggestions as of right now, I have nothing. But I will try and help come up with something.

Until we all find a solution to your problem, good luck and hang in there.

I can't give them in a dropper anymore, he'll instantly throw up.  It's a total disaster!  I honestly don't know about the sinus infection thing.  The doctor wants to try meds to clear up a possible low grade sinus infection.  I'm not sure I'm willing to do this as it is so hard to get the meds into him.  They need to find a way to check if he has an infection.  He's had allergies since he was an infant and they've gotten really bad.  In June he started having coughing fits that last for hours.  They think it may be asthma.  the inhaler helps but it's hard to get him to use it. 

We use a funhaler, check out www.funhaler.com
It has a whistle and a spinning section, so you can see they are breathing
properly and getting their full dose, and they get the instant reward of
making things spin and whistle.

There's another current topic on the question of how to give medicine:

http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19711&am p;KW=MEDICATION

And another older, more active topic on the same question:

http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13906&am p;am p;KW=popsicle

At the Sensory Processing Disorder website, I ran into this article "Swallowing Pills:  Helping the Medicine Go Down."

http://www.sensoryprocessingdisorders.com/help-for-swallowin g-pills.htm

Good luck with everything.

I believe the only way to confirm a infection is X-rays.

Again I feel for you if forcing the meds is not a going to work hiding it in a fav food seems the only thing left - I do know there at shts but that sucks to.

maybe children hospitail nurse would have some ideas

Allergies can start a sinus infection and that will drain and coughing can be from that to.  good luck it sucks to see our kids sick :(

He is using a spacer with his inhaler.  He does not like it but will breathe in a little which does help.  I may try switching to a face mask but he may fight that even more.  He took his antibiotic today in pudding but I think he may get sick of pudding 2xday for 2 weeks!

My daughter used a spacer with her inhaler. 

How do you get your kids to take medicine?!  This has been such a problem for us.  ds is on a tolerance program for liquid meds but it is slow going.  Right now we try to hide antibiotics in food and it was working great with omnicef.  It is avail as a capsule you can break open and sprinkle in food (soy choc. pudding).  THen he became allergic to it. Next tried augmentin, after 4 days he became allergic to that too.  He's supposed to take a new one for a sinus infection and I can't get it in him.  I had it flavored and everything but it is gross.  Also, they suspect asthma and he is needing his inhaler everyday at this point it is not under control.  I am having a hard time getting him to take it, he gags etc.  Any ideas?

My DD HATES taking meds and even mixing them in her bottle is failing.

Most times I have to wrap her in a sheet and hold her tilted and pour the med mixed in apple juice in her mouth and masage her neck to get her to swallow OH and pray she doesn't throw up.

Do you guys get many sinus infections and is you DS a mess when this happens - I just ask cause we have struggled with them and have had them go on for months ( oh and the x-rays to check are SOOOO... fun). I thing every time we have an allergy or cold DD gets one.

I took her off milk and that helped the on going congestion.

one thing that did help was mixing the med in chocolate syrup and syringing it in her mouth HUGS it's not a fun task and we have been dealing with meds for her from 2 wks and had been on up to 7 at 4 months :((

Butterscotch pudding, actually, I don't eat chocolate.  Of the non-chocolate flavors, butterscotch seems to hide it the most.  YMMV. [QUOTE=catmille]How do you get your kids to take medicine?!  This has been such a problem for us.  ds is on a tolerance program for liquid meds but it is slow going.  Right now we try to hide antibiotics in food and it was working great with omnicef.  It is avail as a capsule you can break open and sprinkle in food (soy choc. pudding).  THen he became allergic to it. Next tried augmentin, after 4 days he became allergic to that too.  He's supposed to take a new one for a sinus infection and I can't get it in him.  I had it flavored and everything but it is gross.  Also, they suspect asthma and he is needing his inhaler everyday at this point it is not under control.  I am having a hard time getting him to take it, he gags etc.  Any ideas?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=catmille]How do you get your kids to take medicine?!  This has been such a problem for us.  ds is on a tolerance program for liquid meds but it is slow going.  Right now we try to hide antibiotics in food and it was working great with omnicef.  It is avail as a capsule you can break open and sprinkle in food (soy choc. pudding).  THen he became allergic to it. Next tried augmentin, after 4 days he became allergic to that too.  He's supposed to take a new one for a sinus infection and I can't get it in him.  I had it flavored and everything but it is gross.  Also, they suspect asthma and he is needing his inhaler everyday at this point it is not under control.  I am having a hard time getting him to take it, he gags etc.  Any ideas?[/QUOTE]

For one thing, trying to hide antibiotics in food is almost impossible.  I mean, trying to hide most meds is, but antibiotics are even worse than usual.  One thing most people don't appreciate about meds is they're strong-tasting enough that almost nothing masks the flavor well.  They think it must take some sort of sensitive sense of taste to find them, but seriously for most meds it doesn't.  (I can't swallow pills so I've got a lot of practice with this.)  I'm not sure what to suggest on that, except that if he can't get them any other way and really needs them he might need them given to him in some other manner.

With regards to inhalers:

1.  Does he have an aerochamber/spacer/etc?  It's recommended anyway so if he doesn't he should.  But I have never been capable of using an inhaler without one.

2.  There's always the option of a nebulizer if an inhaler doesn't work out.  Those are often used for children.

I love chocolate pudding but 5 months...I think I would get sick of it too!  Thanks for everyone's help.  I hope the tolerance program helps.  As he gets older these things are getting easier too.

I've been eating pudding 3 times a day for five months now and it does get old, old enough that unless I'm eating some truly vile kind of medication, I prefer as tiny amount as possible. Maybe I'll try that for him!  Thanks.

Hi! I'm new here.. but this has always been a problem for our youngest.. Ian.  Ian has some serious eatting issues anyway.. and getting oral meds into him is just about impossible.  He can find anything we try to hide and then will reject that food for months.  When Ian has infections.. which he does quite often  since his immune system is immature, we now have the doctor give him shots.  Unfortunately, this means 3 trips to the doctor, once every other day, but it has made a world of difference for us.  Ian can get over the pain of the shot (usually being restrained botehrs him more) much faster then he gets over us having to force meds.  And, we know he is getting the full dosage, whereas with oral meds, he never got the full dose. LOL  

Best of luck :o)

 


this is the spacer we use... brilliant!
http://www.funhaler.com/products/funhaler.php

Sorry i don't know how to attach this as a link, please do the copy-paste
trick and check it out we love it.Both my kids have an inhaler and we use the nebulizer frequently.  The one thing I have done with the inhaler for my youngest is the aerochamber.  Insurances want usually cover it but you might be able to get one from your dr.  Mine youngest hates it but I can usually get it on his face long enough to get two puff in because they only have to breathe in 6 times and it goes into the lungs right away.  With the medicine we hide it in a little soda pop because it kills the taste.  It is a bad way to have to do it but one of the only ways I can get them to take it without spitting it out.  The other option is if you can do the strips and seeing if they make any of the meds in the quick dissolve strips those have been a lifesaver for us.  Jasper learned to use the mouth piece on his nebulizer. He HATES the mask
on his face , so learned to tolerate the adult mouthpiece.

I really want yo to see a picture of this...

[IMG] http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd283/chibbylick/funhaler 01g[/
IMG]
hope this works! ... It does'nt seem to have worked, so I attacked my Sig. We
think this is the best spacer ever. It whorls and whistles. we love itChibbyLick39340.0350578704Have you ever tried chocolate frosting ( the kind in the can) to hide the meds? My sister does this and just give her kiddo a spoonfull of frosting and it seems to do the trick.

[QUOTE=ChibbyLick]
this is the spacer we use... brilliant!
http://www.funhaler.com/products/funhaler.php

Sorry i don't know how to attach this as a link, please do the copy-paste
trick and check it out we love it.[/QUOTE]

Oh this looks good.  He has the regular spacer and he "cheats"  I can't get him to inhale while I spray in the meds and then he won't keep his mouth all the way sealed so I think he is breathing from the sides.  He gets some meds  but not a lot this way! 

Thanks for the link!

[QUOTE=drmomtojoe]Have you ever tried chocolate frosting ( the kind in the can) to hide the meds? My sister does this and just give her kiddo a spoonfull of frosting and it seems to do the trick.[/QUOTE]

What a great idea!  I'm sure it would work if they will give us just the medicine granules or capsules I can open instead of that nasty suspension liquid that is impossible to hide!  If all else fails we'll try the shots but I may not get him into the building by myself after the first one.  dh might have to carry him!

Okay, now you've seen the picture of our fav. spacer, I'll take it out of my
signature lol we couldn't recommend it more highly.
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