Sunday, December 28, 2014

Giving Medicine to Your Tactile Defensive Child


When my daughter gets sick, it is a nightmare starting with the doctor visit. Tactile defensive children do not like to be touched. So, the exam is really difficult. When she is not feeling well, it is even more difficult. To ease he anxiety, we bring her doll, so the doctor can show her and tell her what he is going to do before he touches her. Sometimes this helps. After the doctor visit, comes the real challenge- giving my tactile defensive/ feeding disorder child medicine.

When giving her liquid medicine, she gags and throws up. I have tried putting a candy on top (which she picks up and eats and refuses the medicine). I have tried holding her down and giving it is small amounts (which she spits out). I have tried mixing it with food (but then she doesn’t finish all of the food).

After getting some suggestions, here are things that worked for us:

1.     Chewable tablets - She thinks they are candy

2.     Non- flavored medicine- We mixed it with a small amount of juice (she loves juice so she drank it all). If the medicine is flavored Rootbeer helps mask the taste.

3.     Suppositories-  put in with a bit of Vaseline to make it more comfortable

Our biggest challenge came today when she woke up with conjunctivitis, and now requires eye drops and ointment. The only way to give her this medicine is with two people. My husband has to hold her down while I clean her eyes, put in drops, and rub on the ointment. Once we let her go, she rubs the ointment off while screaming. We then immediately wash her hands and hope she is getting some of the medicine that she rubs off.

On hard days like this, I remind myself that this too shall pass. I enjoy the extra snuggle time that I get, and pray for quick healing.

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