My 20 months old daughter is ill. She has a serious bacterial infection, called cellulitis, on roughly 40% of her face. She's in hospital for a few days, but she is improving rapidly.
Every single drug they give her either tastes so bad you wouldn't take it yourself, or she screams for a half hour while it goes in, intravenously.
There must be some way to make even antibiotics taste halfway decent. Modern medicine has made huge advances, but the geeks who formulate these drugs are apparently lacking in imagination.
To the idea: If it takes 10 years to get a drug to market then there is ample time to find a palatable flavour masking agent to bring some comfort to those unfortunate enough to need the medication, surely? And, if they're formulated for kids then there can't be too great an impediment to making them in shapes that kids will eat. I tasted one of them, yesterday, to see what the fuss was about. HOLY SHIT, it tasted bad.-- UnaBubba, Aug 31 2003 Tongue Cot http://www.halfbake...m/idea/Tongue_20CotI'm SURE the lil'un would LOVE one of these [lurch, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Flavor for Medicine for Kids (they choose!) http://www.flavorx.com/Baked [PiledHigherandDeeper, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Osmocote fertilizer capsules http://2001.osmocot...owOsmocoteWorks.cfm [bungston, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] The technology is baked as micro encapsulation http://www.morrisgreenhalgh.co.uk/I don't know why the don't use it for medication. Your medicine could have any flavor, should be packaged in Jello for easy swallowing with a sore throat. [kbecker, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] BBC news http://news.bbc.co....ireland/4582536.stmdescription of new drug delivery method for persitent infections [xenzag, Jan 05 2006] glad she is on the mend.
my dad used to make me up cherry cough mixture, mind you that was back in the days when they used leeches and blood-letting <g> still seems a nice cover-up flavour.-- po, Aug 31 2003 Best wishes to your daughter's speedy recovery. Often thought about this myself, could be something to do with the addictive properties; if someone likes a medicine they will be more likely to keep taking it. How about: Flavorsome Flucloxacillin?-- silverstormer, Aug 31 2003 I'm not sure whether antibiotics could be regarded as addictive. I guess there's a substantial risk of overdose with some of them, that will be alleviated by foul flavour. That hadn't occurred to me.-- UnaBubba, Aug 31 2003 addictive? surely they are prescription only and doctors do try to limit antibiotic use - can't see that a problem-- po, Aug 31 2003 I hope her condition continues to improve. This is serious.
Shame there's no taste-testers. In the meantime, can the liquid meds be eyedropped into some type of capsule shells?-- thumbwax, Aug 31 2003 Could there be an oral spray like Chloraseptic that knocks out the taste buds temporarily? It would have no flavor or medicinal properties itself, but the effect would last long enough to allow the user to ingest any bad flavored substance.-- wombat, Aug 31 2003 Ah, wombat, you beat me to the idea. I was almost done typing when I decided to refresh my browser. I wanted to suggest a lollipop having said properties. An accompanying salve to rub above the upper lip could target receptor sites in the nose for maximum benefit. For extra incentive, the sucker could have a secondary layer containing msg, or such, thereby enhancing its remaining, more desirable flavor.-- Tiger Lily, Aug 31 2003 There should be a patch for the lil'un.-- FarmerJohn, Aug 31 2003 The lollipop idea might be a good one. I've noticed painkillers and decongestants being marketed in lollipop form, recently.-- UnaBubba, Aug 31 2003 [blissmiss], assuming the lollipop method required a doctors script, the antibiotic could remain repulsive and unlikely to be abused, even accidently.-- Tiger Lily, Aug 31 2003 whats solarcaine - some sort of local? that method sounds dangerous to me.
foggy, those balloons - sounds like the sort of thing blissmiss might like to organise.-- po, Aug 31 2003 I hope she is home with you soon. FJ's patch idea sounds good.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Aug 31 2003 Somewhere I've heard....
That a... Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down The medicine go down-wown The medicine go down Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down In a most delightful way-- LabRat, Aug 31 2003 // It's a double-edged sword //
The best kind.-- DeathNinja, Aug 31 2003 Is Calpol antibiotic? [edit - no, just paracetamol] That stuff tasted great and was sold as medicine for children (not prescription strength).-- chud, Aug 31 2003 Glad someone mentioned Calpul. When I was young, I used to pretend to be slightly ill just to get a dose. Now that I'm a bit older, though, I do wonder if it was just a pink, sugary-tasing placebo. Still, wishing you and your wee one all the best, UB.-- lostdog, Aug 31 2003 Okay, how about a two part medication, each separately tastes horrid to discourage children from administering it to themselves, but when mixed, viola! it tastes like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or other child-friendly flavor.
Seriously, a kid's sense of taste is so acute that I think it is really, really hard to mask the flavor of the active medicinal ingredients. Even my burned-out adult taste buds can detect really tiny amounts of certain spices buried in a cauldron of soup. Seems like a very hard problem to solve.-- bristolz, Aug 31 2003 [jurist], I think anybody who takes medical advice from *anyone* on the same website which advocates Bologna Pop Tarts and exploding soap, is a complete and utter retard. ;)-- DeathNinja, Aug 31 2003 Good point, [DN].-- UnaBubba, Aug 31 2003 If they don't read the instructions, then it's their own fault.-- UnaBubba, Sep 01 2003 One of my relatives was in the hospital and needed some kind of mineral supplement. I think it was magnesium. It hurt intravenously and the pills were huge, even when broken in half and tasted terrible. The supplement was available in capsule form but the pharmacy just didn't carry it. I got an order from the doctor and she was given capsules for the rest of the time she was in the hospital (I had to bring them in). I don't know about the rest of the patients who didn't know it was possible. There are "compounding" pharmacies that can put almost anything into capsules for a pretty reasobable rate. Good luck.
I'm sorry. I read 20 yrs. instead of 20 months. I don't suppose there are really small capsules.I would try to mix the antibiotics with correctly thick liquid and squirt into the back of her mouth with small syringe. Probably a useless idea, but good luck. I hope your daughter gets well quickly.-- NotSoQuick, Sep 01 2003 what about freezing it into a lolly or ice-cream. would the coldness detract from the yucky flavour?-- po, Sep 01 2003 Ok, well, anbesol does the same thing, and it's designed for the mouth. Maybe?
Sorry by the way, didn't mean to hurt your little girl.-- fogfreak, Sep 01 2003 Sorry your little girl's been so sick, and so glad she's on the mend.
I know some folks at some drug companies, and I'll float the idea.
My understanding of why it hasn't been done is that antibiotics were originally derived from mold, so there's an intrinsic yuck factor.
I think the French do suppositories, but she probably won't like that much more than intravenous.-- grecosartre, Sep 01 2003 I remember when I was a child having banana-flavoured penicillin. Anyhow I'm pretty sure the reason why many drugs taste awful is so that small children don't ingest it thinking it's candy or juice.-- RogerRam, Sep 01 2003 That's fine. Perhaps the solution proposed by [bristolz] is best.
Two parts, mixed together. One tastes like hell in a teaspoon, the other is a masking syrup. Then there's little risk of overdosing on the drug, and no risk of overdose on the masking agent (except that the kid smells like bananas for a few days... don't visit the zoo.)-- UnaBubba, Sep 01 2003 Yup, this is a problem that needs solving alright.
I remember trying to give liquid antibiotic (supposedly banana flavour... it was yellow, but I think that's where the similarity ended) to Rattlette when she was about 20 months or younger... even my mum who was a nurse with a lot of experience giving meds to uncooperative patients... neither of us could get it into her, she blew faux banana "raspberries" across the room. Guess it was good she was that feisty though.
What we ended up doing was mixing the antibiotic in a little dose cup with sugar, it wasn't the perfect solution, but not bad.
We've also tried mixing "icky" medicine with another tastier medicine too - only when she has to take both - like cough syrup & tylenol. That works fairly well.
If you can get the meds into her, a quick chocolate milk or milkshake chaser apparently works really well to get rid of the after taste. That gets Rattlette's seal of approval. She'll alternate sips of meds & milkshake just to get it into her. Is some easier now though since she's 7.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for the UnaBaby.-- BayRatt, Sep 02 2003 Recovery is well along, though the skin is peeling off half of her face. It looks remarkably like a burn. No damage to the epidermis, so no scarring, it would seem.-- UnaBubba, Sep 02 2003 Thank you for your concern, everyone. I've just got home from a day in pursuit of the corporate dollar and she's beaming, despite having shreds of skin hanging from her little face. It warms a father's heart.
We've mixed it into a strong drink of Ribena. It seems to be working.-- UnaBubba, Sep 02 2003 Yay!-- thumbwax, Sep 02 2003 Good news. Go, UnaBaby!-- egbert, Sep 02 2003 Great news, UB. Glad she's on the mend.-- st3f, Sep 02 2003 My littlest got an eye infection which turned to cellulitis last year (when he was 9 months), so know what it is like. Glad she's on the mend. He had intravenous anti-b's and then a super powerful one that was just one dose, and then went home with some Flucoxacillin (strawberry flavour) which he didn't seem to mind. He gets a lot of ear and eye infections and usually has Amoxycillin (bright yellow and banana flavoured) which he actively likes the taste of. Certainly all the penicillin or erythromycin type antib's solutions you get in the UK are pretty strongly flavoured for kids.-- goff, Sep 02 2003 Forgive me if I'm missing something here, but wouldn't the solution to the "double-edged sword" problem be to coat the medication in a COMPLETELY tasteless material that dissolves quickly and easily in the stomach? No yucky taste, no kids associating it with candy!-- jivetalkinrobot, Sep 02 2003 Custard?-- silverstormer, Sep 02 2003 <nods>Custard!</nods>Take care [Unababy]-- gnomethang, Sep 02 2003 Medicine in capsules cannot be tasted, but capsules are hard for small kids to maneuver. But I am thinking of tiny capsules, like those they use to provide water/fertilizer to plants (see link). These are hard and dry, but then absorb water, swell, and release their contents. They are small, and with extra $, I am sure they could be made half the size. The medicine would be put in these little balls then chilled. Imeediately before administration, the balls would then be mixed into a sweet frozen drink like a slurpee. The kidlet will eat the purple flavored slurpee with glee, not noticing the small balls mixed among the coarse ice granules. The medicine balls hydrate, then relase medicine in the stomach.-- bungston, Sep 02 2003 Ahhh... I think I see the problem. These are pills that are chewed then? I was thinking capsules, but didn't consider that young ones have a hard time swallowing something without chewing it.-- jivetalkinrobot, Sep 02 2003 when i was young,(i'm talking 6 years old here) i used to have this vitamin tablet things that were in the shape of teady bears and tasted absolutely divine.....i wish i was young again, how simple life was-- Mind_Boggle, Sep 02 2003 We're certainly wishin UnaBaby the best -- I remember I used to chase down medicine with a doughnut and pepsi ... just a little bite followed by a little sip ... sertainly beats the IV alternative ... well for some-- Letsbuildafort, Sep 03 2003 Chase the nasty cough syrup with vanilla rum, followed closely by Coke, or fizzy beverage of your choice.-- Letsbuildafort, Dec 23 2003 Antibiotic-flavoured M&Ms.-- friendlyfire, Dec 23 2003 Seems to me it should be possible for the antibiotic to be supplied in tiny enteric coated granules such as those in a "Contac" capsule. The dosage in this form could be mixed with apple sauce or ice cream or pudding. Just tell the child "don't chew."-- hangingchad, Dec 23 2003 To get medicine down a small mammal, such as a cat or child - 1. Kneel on the floor, with the baby pinned between your knees. Grip the child firmly by the scruff of the neck with one hand; with the other hand pry open the jaw 2. Place the pill, powder or liquid on the back of the tongue, then immediately close the jaw and stroke the throat to encourage the wee beastie to swallow. 3. Retire to the nearest emergency room to have all wounds treated ;-)-- submitinkmonkey, Mar 24 2005 cue UB's experience with cats.
presently squishing tablet into fishpaste - cat getting bored with fishpaste. cats get bored with menu more often than humans.-- po, Mar 24 2005 My son had a stomach ache tonight and he asked for a castor oil capsule because he knew they were "good for tummies". I gave one to him but he said he couldn't swallow it so I got him to drink some water with it but it still didn't go down. He then said something like this:
"Never mind, I'll just eat it.
"It feels kind of rubbery. Like rubbery medicine <giggle>
"Something's squished out of it.
"UUUUUURGH!! That tastes YICKY!!!"
[+]-- wagster, Mar 24 2005 Maybe some kind of short-acting agent that will render taste buds/nasal receptors inactive for a while will one day be invented.-- mailtosalonga, Mar 25 2005 "WagCo Castor Oil. Now with Taste Anaesthetic™!"-- wagster, Mar 25 2005 Hear, hear! +
[wagster] that made me fall off my chair!-- DesertFox, Jan 04 2006 Antibiotics aren't addictive, as they have no neurotropic effect. Even prescription painkillers, the best of them, aren't addictive if there's actually pain involved. It's funny about that, but apparently the brain gets so tied up in some part of the body hurting that it forgets to realize that demerol makes it feel really, really good.
The danger with antibiotics, as I'm sure we all know, is that they will be given out too freely (hence the prescription) and allow for evolution of antibiotic resistance in large numbers of nasty diseases.
[po]: Solarcaine is a topical anesthetic available over-the-counter in the US. It's a weak form of novacaine. There's really not much of a danger of overdosing on any of the topical anesthetics for minor sunburns or irritations, though severe overuse can lead to tissue death and possibly gangrene (they work by temporarily restricting blood flow, causing the nerves to temporarily shut down, but overuse can cause the tissue to die of oxygen starvation).
As for burning sensations when IVs are delivered, that's probably one of three things: *The medication contains a potassium salt, which is a great way to balance pH but is also an effective irritant *the IV punctured vein a little messily, and some medication is leaking out - ketamine, for example, burns like the fires of hell unless it stays in the bloodstream rather than the surrounding tissue. *the IV solution is too cold, which is solved by simply soaking the IV bag and drip tube in bucket of warm water, if time allows.
The best way to deal with the taste problem is probably a spray anesthetic beforehand, if it's delivered in a hospital. A higher-octane version than Chloraseptic is probably called for if delivered by a trained medical professional, and it can safely be sprayed right on the tongue, rather than the green stuff's preferred back-of-the-throat location.
Glad to hear [Unababy]'s been up and running about for two years now.-- shapu, Jan 04 2006 I know about cellulitis - it's nasty. A new painless delivery method to cure MRSA and other persistent infections has been developed in my home town. It involves impregnating a slime mould with the antibiotic, which is then pressed into the site of infection. After it is removed the site is subjected to a powerful light source, killing all of the bacteria - this is a condensed, layman's version of what I saw. I thought it looked like a brilliant solution - more info available on BBC web site, who featured it as a news item last night.-- xenzag, Jan 05 2006 //Maybe some kind of short-acting agent that will render taste buds/nasal receptors inactive for a while will one day be invented// Mace.-- coprocephalous, Jan 06 2006 She's fine now. Not a scar in sight. Healthy kid, with a few odd allergies. Some soap powders, some fish, eggs, cantaloupe... etc.-- UnaBubba, Jan 06 2006 Glad to hear it [UB].-- coprocephalous, Jan 06 2006 Yes, we are all glad that [UnaBaby] is allergic to cantaloupe. Hear hear!-- DesertFox, Jan 06 2006 halfbakery