Parenting Tips On Getting Your Child To Take Medicine They Hate

As a parent you hate it when your kids are sick.  We want them to get better as quick as possible, and of course usually the quickest way is with antibiotics or medicine of some kind.

Where the problem comes in is when your child does not like their medicine and does not want to take it.  While you of course will give your child what the doctor prescribes but don't be afraid to ask about the taste and if you have a child that struggles to take a certain kind of medicine see if their is an alternative.

Yes we can force feed them their medicine but it is unpleasant for everyone and if your child gets upset enough they will just throw it back up anyway.  Plus unless you are extremely proficient at this you may waste doses.

Anything you can do for your child to make it easier for them to take their medicine will get them healthier quicker and save you and them from some miserable moments.

I have found with liquids that don't taste good that if I have a drink ready with something sweet it seems to help, I have even been known to use a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down easier. 

While no parent likes to do it you can plug your child's nose so they have to open their mouth and try it that way.  If your quick it does work most of the time, but that doesn't solve the problem if they hate their chewables or can't swallow pills easy.

I finally resorted to bribery with the nasty tasting chewable medicine.  We got a package of sweet tarts and she would have a sweet tart, follow it with the chewable, and then another sweet tart.  This of course only works if you child likes this type of candy.  But you can try others if you have to.

When it comes to pills that need to be swallowed that is sometimes tough for children to learn how to do.  I have found that placing the pill in a spoonful of applesauce makes it easier for my daughter to get the pill down without choking.

I hope these tips help.  Make sure you are firm when it comes to medicine, let them know that somehow someway the medicine must get into their tummy to make them feel better.  But that doesn't mean you can't be sympathetic and follow the dosage with a whole lot of attention and love.

Health,Medicine and Glyconutrition: The Future Isn't What it Used to Be

This is what they call "Hope"?

We've all gotten used to the idea that certain maladies will be around for a while…like until the Second Coming.  Maladies such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis…and many more are expected to be around, in epidemic proportions, longer than we think we will be alive…and anyone who tries to tell us otherwise is looked upon with real skepticism. In fact, when anyone tries to tell us "there's hope" for such maladies as, say, diabetes,  we are more likely to believe that the person is trying to sell us something…and usually we are right.

But, what's even worse is the fact that the "hope" we do receive is usually something like the following:

Studies show  people at high risk for type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight. You can do it by eating healthier and getting 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. In other words: you don't have to knock yourself out to prevent diabetes. The key is: small steps that lead to big rewards. Learn more about your risk for developing type 2 diabetes and the small steps you can take to delay or prevent the disease and live a long, healthy life.

Of course, this is good advice. No denying it. As a medical doctor, I had to dispense advice like this for years, for diabetes and other conditions. Funny, as good as it is, I NEVER saw anyone become ecstatic, do cartwheels or celebrate because they had just received such counsel. Why? BECAUSE WHAT WE REALLY WANT FROM THE MEDICAL WORLD IS A CURE!


And why not?  It just doesn't seem fair that the only real answer to conditions like diabetes or obesity is the "hope" that we stop eating almost everything we enjoy, sweat till we drop,  "pop" prescription pills 'till we're bloated, and think positive…forever.

A new future?


So, of course, I was skeptical too when I began to hear the claims associated with glyconutrition.  As a long time medical professional and scientist, I know that "claims" are easily made… And who ever heard of "glyconutrition" anyway?


In 1999, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Dr. Gunter Blobel for his work in the science of Glycobiology (the biology of glyconutrition). Out of the last eight Nobel Prizes awarded in medicine, four Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made in this ONE field. Believe it or not, this field (glyconutrition) affects maladies such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease directly. Why? Because, eight sugars have been isolated for their support of the immune system and cell communication. Additionally, human life cannot be supported without them.
This information got my attention. When a single Nobel Prize is won in medicine, everyone is paying attention. When four of them are won in the SAME field, as in this case involving glyconutrition, the medical world is "on fire" with the news.


As that information made its way through the medical world, other issues made the news too. For decades the American Medical Association, the powerhouse of medical professionals, taught that nutritional supplements were not necessary for good health. But, in June 2002, the AMA admitted that nutritional supplementation was vital to good health and helpful in treating diseases.


Also, the prestigious MIT published its findings. It wrote that these "sugars" were one of ten technologies it believed would change the world in the next decade. Nutritional supplementation was again vital to the conventional medical world…and at the center of the storm was glyconutrition.


But, what really jolted me professionally was this: Until these discoveries, scientists had NO idea how the cells of your body could tell the antibodies of your body you had an infection and that they had to "get on over here" to deal with it. Until these discoveries, scientists had NO idea how the cells of your body told the rest of your body that they needed nutrition, oxygen, waste elimination, infections healed…and a thousand and one other necessary functions of every cell. Goodness! We in the scientific world hadn't known just exactly HOW even aspirin made its way to that nasty headache of yours. We just knew it worked. So, we prescribed it.

Sugar?  Say it ain't so, doc!


But, my attention was riveted to the news that scientists like Dr. Gunter Blobel had discovered what it was that let the cells COMMUNICATE with the other systems of the body. And would you believe it?  What he found was amazing. Sugar…SUGAR! (Glyco = Greek for "sugar") No…not table sugar (else diabetics wouldn't be so excited over this new-found help for their diabetes). There are over 200 sugars in nature but, eight of them are VITAL to our good health. In fact, eight of them are the glyconutrition "backbone" for helping the body prevent or heal:


"    auto-immune diseases such as diabetes, psoriasis
"    overactive immune disorders such as allergies and asthma
"    under active immune disorders such as cancer, TB, strep
"    inflammatory disorders such as colitis, ulcers, Fibromyalgia
"    other conditions such as Alzheimer's, infertility, heart disease


Suddenly, the medical world was on fire over glyconutrition. The "anecdotal evidence" concerning glyconutrition is mounting rapidly as people are finding conditions which have long grieved them…to be a thing of the past. For so many, the expectation for the future is not a "long, long, road" fraught with impossible dieting, grueling workouts, thousands of dollars of prescriptions, and the need to dream positively. People are getting relief - from diabetes, heart disease, cancer, allergies, and many others - with glyconutrition…and without prescriptions! (Glyconutrition products are NOT prescription items…they're food.)


Oh yes. I almost forgot. If you go to your doctor and he isn't aware of glyconutrition, don't panic. Your poor doctor CANNOT possibly keep up with all of the signs, symptoms, conditions, and their myriads of treatments, chemical make up and complications associated with thousands of maladies and the millions of prescription antidotes for those maladies. I couldn't as a doctor, and I had several DECADES of experience in the field. "Been there … done that" as they say.


Incidentally, doctors don't usually find out first what works. They're just too busy being overwhelmed with the medical conditions they face, day to day. They usually find out like everyone else…They read about it or attend some seminar. Often, the marketplace produces antidotes - or research finds the right treatment, as in this case - long before they do. But, I can tell you this. Glyconutrition is helping conditions as diverse as diabetes and Alzheimer's … and a lot of people have hope that these conditions CAN be and are being…overcome…


Suddenly, the future isn't what it used to be…