How to teach an 11 year old to swallow pills

[HollyDay]

Dd has never been able to swallow pills. But, now that she is getting bigger, the ped said it will be difficult to get many common meds in liquid form. So, we are trying and trying to learn. I have tried putting the pill in jam, peanut butter, yogurt, applesauce. We have practiced with peas, lima beans, tic tacs, m & m's. We have tried warm drinks, cold drinks, fizzy drinks. I have tried honey. What else is there??? Younger sister has no problems with pill swallowing. I am just worn out and stumped with this one.

[Debbie in London]

Mine learned by putting the pill on his tongue and then drinking from a straw.

Hope that one does the trick.

Debbie

[Stirsmommy]

We practiced with the older to by swallowing nerds (the candy) whole and moved up to tic tacs. It helped them figure it out without the nasty taste. I think I personally I learned by swallowing my peas whole at supper so I wouldn't have to deal with the pea mush inside!

[Karin]

My 12 yo drinks first, holds the water in her mouth, then swallows. I take a bite, chew, put the capsule in and then swallow just when I'm ready to swallow (is that what you mean by putting it in food?) The others do it the "normal" way.

[Tracy in Ky]

She may not learn for 20 years. I've always had trouble, and for years and years I just had to chew things up, open capsules up into applesauce, and request liquids.

I do better now, but I still chew lots of pills.

She'll be fine. :o

[battlemaiden]

My 11 yods was just confronted with the news that it's time to take pills. He wasn't thrilled. As a matter of fact he made himself sick over it.

My magic cure?

"Take the pill or I'm going to strangle you!"

Okay, so it didn't exactly go like that, actually there wasn't any *one* thing. He did find out that capsules float so he leaned forward to get it to the back of his throat. That helped.

Honestly, he just had to get used to the feeling of a pill going down his throat. It was miserable for a few days, but in the end he bragged to the whole family that he is a "pill taker now".

I wouldn't try to hide the pill. I would keep working on how to swallow with liquids- straws, water bottles, different positions, etc.

Try it all, but don't give up.

Jo

[Maria/ME]

I wish I had some help...you've tried everything I can even think of suggesting. Finding a pill that doesnt' have a taste was a big deal for my dd. Because if it doesn't go down, but is "swilling" in water, the pill begins to taste..and usually horribly. I think I learned by trying little round pieces of mushed bread and swallowing those...making sure they are dry. I also think a big deal is one is trying to get those things down but they swish around and so one panics a bit....you know? I always take my horse pills with warm water...my throat is more open then whereas cold water or ice seems to make my throat contract and it's harder....

Good luck!

[mrscopterdoc]

My daughter learned with 'slick' pills. Something that was really smooth and easy to get down. Then she would put it back as far as she could without gagging, then take a drink and 'gulp' it down. If you gulp it opens the throat more and makes it little easier. Her fear was the pill would get stuck and this helped. The first time it worked was such a confidence boost she's gotten better every time.
HTH

[Debbi in Texas]

My son learned very early and he takes pills the way I do. Put the liquid (milk makes it easier to swallow pills for some reason) in your mouth. Kind of hold your head back as if you are going to gargle. Drop the pill in and swallow. It works really well.

Hope this helps.

[susie in tx]

My 6 yo learned using DHA pills from Nordic Naturals. They are small and strawberry flavored. As someone else mentioned, they are slick, so they go down nicely with the water. She had trouble with tic tacs as well, but the DHA's worked like a charm.

My 12 yo still has trouble swallowing pills. She puts the water in her mouth first and then the pill. She won't change up the process. However, it gets done. She doesn't like it, but it gets done.

You could always ask the pharmacist if they could make up a special med for her. Compounding pharmacies do this all the time.