Syringes for administering meds

liamo

Hi,

Does anyone know where I could buy a pack of 2.5ml and 5ml syringes?

My 18 month-old won't take Calpol/Neurofen/Antibiotics any other way.

When I'm getting a prescription for her I usually ask the pharmacist for a couple of syringes but they don't always have them and the markings on the ones I do have tend to fade to the point where I can't tell accurately how much I'd be administering.

Are they the sort of things that can be bought in certain pharmacies?

Thanks

LilMrsDahamsta

liamo wrote: »

Hi,

Does anyone know where I could buy a pack of 2.5ml and 5ml syringes?

My 18 month-old won't take Calpol/Neurofen/Antibiotics any other way.

When I'm getting a prescription for her I usually ask the pharmacist for a couple of syringes but they don't always have them and the markings on the ones I do have tend to fade to the point where I can't tell accurately how much I'd be administering.

Are they the sort of things that can be bought in certain pharmacies?

Thanks

I have a whole collection cause we were syringe feeding when babs was very sick. Never had a problem getting 5/10/20ml ones in any pharmacy.

I've never found they fade. Are you sterilising them in Milton? I use the steam steriliser same as for bottles and that doesn't seem to damage them.

wmpdd3

Ask anyone who has picked up their eu mum box, theres one in that.

dublinlady

All Pharmacies should have them - most give them out for free! But if u want a fair few they come in boxes of 100 that the pharmacy can order in for you! Otherwise you can buy then individually - I.e they can just charge you for 10 or 20 if that's all u want - if they won't do it change pharmacy!!!!
My little mrs keeps spitting anything like that out - she has decided after 14 weeks that she hates infacol..... We paying the price!!

cbyrd

Pharmacies will have them, usually hand them out or they come in the strawberry nurofen bottle for children.. I know hickey's had a baby event last year and they were handing out the syringes..i'm sure they still have samples left

January

Yep, if you pick up a large bottle of Nurofen for children it comes with a 5ml syringe with markings at 2.5ml and 5ml.

cbyrd

dublinlady wrote: »

All Pharmacies should have them - most give them out for free! But if u want a fair few they come in boxes of 100 that the pharmacy can order in for you! Otherwise you can buy then individually - I.e they can just charge you for 10 or 20 if that's all u want - if they won't do it change pharmacy!!!!
My little mrs keeps spitting anything like that out - she has decided after 14 weeks that she hates infacol..... We paying the price!!

Just a little tip.. get the syringe right to the back of her throat and that way it goes down before she can spit it out.. you can lay her on you knee with your other arm around her head with your hand on her forehead to hold her steady and when she starts to give out and big wide open mouth... bang... in it goes

dublinlady

cbyrd wrote: »

dublinlady wrote: »

All Pharmacies should have them - most give them out for free! But if u want a fair few they come in boxes of 100 that the pharmacy can order in for you! Otherwise you can buy then individually - I.e they can just charge you for 10 or 20 if that's all u want - if they won't do it change pharmacy!!!!
My little mrs keeps spitting anything like that out - she has decided after 14 weeks that she hates infacol..... We paying the price!!

Just a little tip.. get the syringe right to the back of her throat and that way it goes down before she can spit it out.. you can lay her on you knee with your other arm around her head with your hand on her forehead to hold her steady and when she starts to give out and big wide open mouth... bang... in it goes

Great thanks! Will give it a shot! Mission impossible - I think I need a third hand

liamo

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies.

Liam

LilMrsDahamsta

cbyrd wrote: »

Just a little tip.. get the syringe right to the back of her throat and that way it goes down before she can spit it out.. you can lay her on you knee with your other arm around her head with your hand on her forehead to hold her steady and when she starts to give out and big wide open mouth... bang... in it goes

A nurse in the hospital taught me to /gently/ pinch his nose if he won't swallow. It triggers the swallowing reflex apparently if they have liquid in mouth. Also, 5ml is sometimes too much of a mouthful; goes down better in two halves.

Lola92

cbyrd wrote: »

Just a little tip.. get the syringe right to the back of her throat and that way it goes down before she can spit it out.. you can lay her on you knee with your other arm around her head with your hand on her forehead to hold her steady and when she starts to give out and big wide open mouth... bang... in it goes

LilMrsDahamsta wrote: »

A nurse in the hospital taught me to /gently/ pinch his nose if he won't swallow. It triggers the swallowing reflex apparently if they have liquid in mouth. Also, 5ml is sometimes too much of a mouthful; goes down better in two halves.

I would do neither of these. If a baby is scared/panicking because they do not know what is going on then holding their nose or a syringe in the back of their throat could cause them to gag and choke or vomit.

The recommended way to give an infant liquid medication is to prop them up in the crook of your arm with their head elevated slightly. You can put the syringe into their mouth close to their cheek and slowly push in the dose so that they get a chance to swallow it. They won't be likely to spit it out if it is going against the inside of their cheek. It can be really tough on them when they are ill, I wouldn't want to panic them by making things any more traumatic than they have to be!

Most pharmacies will sell you syringes for kids/babies for about 15/20c each if you ask the pharmacist. As mentioned above they also come with neurofen for babies.

dahamsta

MrDahamsta approves MrsDahamstas message, and would reiterate that it was learned from a nurse. Not a very nice nurse, but definitely an /effective/ nurse.

cbyrd

He doesn't resist mostly but then you will get times where they resist and getting it into them is more important than not..;) I have never had him choke or cough on it..as soon as the liquid hits the throat it triggers the natural swallow. The syringe is not in the back of his throat but far back in the mouth so the liquid is not going to run out the corner of his mouth. .
I will wait til he's sucking on his dodi and whip it out and syringe in before he notices... less moving around for you to miss and hurt their gums and less opportunity for him to spit it out.. i don't have him in a head lock or anything just my hand on his forehead. .
it's ok when they're a few months and don't resist much but when they get bigger and refuse especially anti-biotics it leaves you no choice ..

i do remember having to sit on my eldest girl years ago (she was about 4) to get a steroid into her.. it was absolutely manky and i don't blame her but if i didn't get it into her she was going back into hospital for more intravenous meds.. kids:rolleyes:

Lola92

I understand sometimes that needs must and all but I recon it is worth trying to see what works best for baby.

Also just to note as well that it is very hany to keep a packet of paralink suppositories in the house in case of a high temp that needs to be brought down fast. It is just paracetamol but can be very handy if a baby/child is vomiting and not keeping any down. Two of my brothers suffered from febral convulsions as babies and toddlers and suppositories get into the blood stream and begin to work much faster so I am always really vigilant of having them around in case they are needed in an emergency. Thankfully they havn't been needed yet!

LilMrsDahamsta

I would do neither of these. If a baby is scared/panicking because they do not know what is going on then holding their nose or a syringe in the back of their throat could cause them to gag and choke or vomit.

The recommended way to give an infant liquid medication is to prop them up in the crook of your arm with their head elevated slightly. You can put the syringe into their mouth close to their cheek and slowly push in the dose so that they get a chance to swallow it. They won't be likely to spit it out if it is going against the inside of their cheek. It can be really tough on them when they are ill, I wouldn't want to panic them by making things any more traumatic than they have to be!

Most pharmacies will sell you syringes for kids/babies for about 15/20c each if you ask the pharmacist. As mentioned above they also come with neurofen for babies.[/Quote]

Obviously I was only suggesting doing something unpleasant like pinching the nose as a last resort! And I did mean very briefly; nothing like holding it! Clearly if the child can be persuaded to take whatever normally, it should of course be done that way. I was stuck trying to get antibiotics into a very unwilling small person, and the nurse advised that a very quick pinch would ensure it was swallowed. Particularly for something like one-a-day antibiotics where you can't give another dose, it was regarded as the lesser of two evils by the staff. As soon as we were home I gave suppositories where possible and as soon as he was a bit better I started putting nice things in the syringes for him to enjoy and now he'll smile away at you whenever he sees one co ming. Makes it very easy when he's sick. It's definitely not something to do if you have any kind of alternative at all, but for an emergency like giving a child with v high temp Calpol it might be justified on a one off basis. It's not a strategy for giving anything even semi-regularly; sorry if that wasn't clear.

purplecat

you could always just use the teat of the bottle, measure the correct medicine amount and pour into the teat, stick teat in mouth and they suck on it and swallow. Your Gp might give you a few syringes if you asked them!!! maybe?