Toddler spits out medicine: best way to crush pills

Taking medicine of course with doctor prescription is common and necessary to get over sickness.  However, it’s especially difficult for toddlers. In most cases, their common reactions are turning their head, running away, closing their mouth or throwing up pills. So it’s very stressful for a parent not only because of illness but also negative reactions of children to medicine.

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Where does the fear of taking medicine come?

Actually, there are two main reasons making toddler spitting out medicine. Firstly, it’s awful taste. We all know most medicines are bitter and not delicious at all, so obviously, children don’t like medicine. Secondly, a toddler is fear of swallowing pill because feelings of some things may be stuck in the throat is very uncomfortable.  

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How to prevent a toddler from spitting out medicine?

Although that’s a difficult task, you may find several tricks below useful to get your child to take medicine by handling the origin of his fear.

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Use liquid medicine instead of pill

To children especially small ones, liquid is much easier to take and more familiar than pill or capsule form. In addition, liquid medicine is often added with children’s favorite flavor such as orange, honey, etc. That would help your child to overcome the fear of swallowing pills. So you may try first to choose some liquid medicine instead of pills or capsules, of course with advice from the doctor.

You should know as well: how to take care of your infant in fever?

Hide medicine in foods and drinks

TODDLER SPITS OUT MEDICINEConsult the doctor if the medicine can be used with some foods or drinks. If it is acceptable, you may get your toddler take medicine with a spoonful of yogurt, applesauce, peanut butter, etc.

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Divide medicine into small amount (how to crush pills in the best way)

Sometimes it’s hard to get your child take the whole big pill or capsule. So it may be not bad to break it up and let the child take small amount once. But of course, you must check with your pharmacist first and let baby taking the whole dosage for just a few minutes.

To do it easier, you can crush the pills or to open capsules and mix small, dot-sized pieces of foods. But you should make sure that child takes all the amount of food so he consumes the full dose of medicine.

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The best way to crush pills:

  • First thing: make sure if the pills is available in liquid, spay, injection or other alternatives that’s easier than swallowing.
  • Use Pill crusher 
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Carex Health Brands Ultra Pill Crusher - 1Each

Carex Health Brands

The Ultra Pill Crusher is specifically designed for those suffering from weakened grip or arthritis. The Apex Pill Crusher uses an inverse molding process creating a tight seal which allows the user ...
Start from: $6.49
amazon amazon.com
Last price update: 2024-03-29 16:02:20
We have a lovable dog who has been part of our family for 14 years. She takes daily medication for joint pain (½ aspirin 2X/day, ½ glucosamine tablet) and a nervous condition (1 meclizine tablet). To avoid stomach problems, our vet advised to grind the medication and mix it with her food. We had been crushing the tablets with a wooden kitchen mallet, which was a real chore, but then found this pill crusher. It made pill crushing so much easier and convenient!This pill crusher has a simple but rugged design that fits comfortably in your hands during use. The pill crusher has two parts, a clear plastic crushing chamber that is threaded on the outside and a crushing handle that is made from a high-density (hard) polypropylene. You simply put the pill(s) inside the crushing chamber and turn the crushing handle until you crush the pills to the desired consistency. The crushing chamber has smooth walls so the crushed pills are not trapped in any tiny crevices, but sometimes a film of fine powder will cling to the sides of the crushing chamber; we found this powder film to be the case when crushing the aspirin tablets to a powder. We crush our dog's pills to a more granular texture, but you can turn the crushing handle to turn the pills into a fine powder.As stated earlier, our only concern with this device is when you turn a pill into a powder, some of that powder clings as a film to the sides of the crushing chamber so you will not get the full dose of your medication; we estimate that up to 5% of your pill may cling to the crushing container wall as a fine powder film. Other than this concern, we found this to be an excellent product that should give you long-term use. We have added some photos to illustrate the points of our review.
October 31, 2012
So Far this is the best pill crusher Iv'e ever used. What I really like is how big it is. I have huge hands and most of the pill crushers on the market are so small that its a chore to exert the force I need to crush a pill with such a small device. With this pill crusher I get the job done easy - almost effortlessly. Don't get me wrong - there are a few things that could make this a better crusher ( in regards to design ) but compared to the other models on the market its like comparing a ferrari to a ford pinto. The base could probably be a tad sturdier and I wish it was just a little taller so my hands werent so close together while turning the crusher down on the collection bay - but other than that - its perfect. Unless I find something better - This will be my favored pill crusher. I have not owned it long enough to vouch for how long the device lasts with daily multi - vitamin crushing - but if it breaks early, or I experience defects I will update my review. What makes this crusher so effective is the angular crushing bay which utilizes a flat conical surface lacking crushing teeth which many of the lesser quality crushers on the market harbor. The problem with teeth on a pill crusher is that pill residues get stuck between the teeth and it is not only hard to get out - but effects future crushes. The large , easy to spin grip makes it easy to use leverage to your benefit, enabling you to maximize the strength of your wrist and forearm during crushes - yielding a fine powder in no time, compared to the chunky, non powder yields you will get from cheaper markets that leave you frustrated.
April 10, 2017
This pill crusher is brilliantly simple and simply brilliant. You unscrew the top, drop the pill in, and screw the top back on. Voila! Crushed powder, ready to mix into unsweetened applesauce or other food or beverage. It does not require any hand strength to use this lightweight item. Moreover, although it does not advertise itself as a pill slicer, I have found that if you prefer to cut the pill in half rather than crush it, you can often do so simply by making one fewer twists of the top.Some hints for those of you who may not have needed to crush pills before:Do not attempt to crush gel caps; they are not designed to be crushed. If you try it, you will end up with a small amount of messy, useless liquid.Do not crush extended release pills; they will not work right if you do.Since most pills are not designed to be crushed, most of them taste nasty. Be prepared to have something with texture and taste to mix it in or to to drink afterwards. My doctor recommends – I kid you not – chewable Flintstones children’s complete vitamins for me to take. I find that chewing one immediately after swallowing a spoonful of crushed medicine mixed into unsweetened applesauce kills the vile taste of the medicine. If you are considering a liquid version of the medication, ask the pharmacist what it taste like. Some are even worse then the taste of crushed pills. Moreover, The liquid version may be considerably more costly since the pharmacist may have to reconstitute it. One of my medications in pill form cost $7 as a co-pay but in liquid form cost $50 as a co-pay.
January 28, 2018
  • Use Pill splitter
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Ezy Dose Pill Cutter with Safety Shield

EZY DOSE

Ezy Cut Tablet Cutter - Pill Splitter - This Pill Splitter is Simple To Use and Easily Cuts Through Tablets and Pills . This Pill Cutter has a simple design that is easy to use. It's stainless steel ...
Start from: $8.49
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Last price update: 2024-03-29 16:02:25
I am really disappointed with this purchase...First off I feel the picture is misleading as the base is shown with a translucent clear blue plastic and to me it looks like there is a collection tray for the split pill halves-there is not. Every pill cutter I have ever purchased has had one and I was expediting this one to be the same based off the picture as shown. Secondly, I did try cutting my pill and it broke it unevenly instead of a clean cut. I wouldn't mind the cheap feel it has but, without a built in collection tray and the poor cutting performance, I will not be using it and feel like I wasted my $. I will be asking for a refund ...
November 15, 2016
My recent purchase of this pill splitter was a replacement for the identical model that finally wore out after several years of excellent service. Based on that previous experience I can say with confidence that this is the best pill splitter I have ever owned. The sharp blade and lever action help it split pills cleanly, even those that are not scored. The sliding pill holder keeps even oddly shaped pills and pills in a wide size range firmly in place for accurate cutting. The safety shield is a nice touch, but it does lead to the one minor, but solvable, down-side of this product. Two plastic rods running in channels on each side of the device slide the shield over the blade as the lid is raised. Over time the rods begin to slide roughly. I suspect because of abrasion from pill "dust" in the channels. To solve this problem, I have put a tiny dab of vegetable oil on a piece of paper towel, run the towel along the channels and raised and lowered the lid a couple of times to distribute the oil. Bingo! The shield runs smoothly again. I highly recommend this product to anyone for whom pill-splitting is a routine chore.
February 24, 2017
Easy to use and cuts all the various tablets I have tried easily. I have discovered that you must use constant increasing pressure to affect the cut, verses a sudden thrust. Using that method works every time.
August 16, 2016

/!\ Warning: it’s recommended to have your doctor’s confirmation of the fact that it’s totally safe to crush the pills.

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Use some supportive tools

Baby medicine syringes and droppers are also effective ways in case your toddler cannot swallow pills. You may bleach medicine into a little water and squirt the liquid into the back of toddler’s mouth slowly while putting him in reclining position to prevent choke.

One of best baby medicine syringes we recommend is “Baby Medicine Dispenser Kit”: it’s a combination of a baby syringe and baby pacifier. This top rated product can be found out easily on Amazon:

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Baby Medicine Dispenser Kit - Mearsuring Syringe + Pacifier Liquid Medicine Dispenser

Rumble Tuff

Easy:This pacifier offers an easy alternative to administer your child the medication that is needed; Leakproof:A 5ml leakproof reservoir lets your child take in the liquid medication at their own ...
Start from: $13.99
amazon amazon.com
Last price update: 2024-03-29 15:03:30
My son has reflux and has been on medication since he was about 6 weeks old. He was great about taking his meds but the syringe was a bit much for him. Once I found this, he was Golden...now, at 5 months old, when he sees this coming, he gets so excited...he knows it means good things.This was seriously life changing for us and it is absolutely one of the best things I have purchased since he was born. From now on, when I go to baby showers or by a baby gift, this will be one of the items.
May 3, 2017
My 6 month old daughter was on antibiotics for an ear infection and would spit out the liquid medication. I purchased this pacifier and she swallowed the medication successfully with no spit up. Very easy to use. I recommend to other parents.
June 9, 2017
This worked to get my baby to take nasty medicine. Easy to use- just make sure you don't squirt the medicine too quickly or it will fly out of the nipple. Wish I would've bought this sooner.
July 12, 2017

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Encourage him

For long terms, to disguise the medicine is not a good idea. While your toddler grows up and develops desire of self-confirmation, you may explain him the necessity of taking medicine and encourage him to do it.  Praise him and give him a prize. For example, tell him that he could play with his dog as soon as he finishes it.

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