Giving Oral Medicine to a Baby

Moving off injections is a relief, but giving an exact dose of medicine to a baby who cannot be reasoned with brings its own problems.

Sulfonylureas are made as tablets for adults. For infants, the dose is a small fraction of one, so it has to be prepared differently. A liquid suspension made for this purpose is the most accurate option where it is available. Otherwise, a pharmacist or your hospital will show you how to crush a tablet and suspend it in a measured volume of water, from which you draw the dose.

Whichever method you use, get the preparation demonstrated rather than described, and write the steps down.

• Use an oral syringe, not a spoon. Spoon volumes vary far too much for a dose this small.
• Give it into the side of the cheek, slowly, rather than to the back of the throat — that reduces gagging and spitting.
• Keep the timing consistent from day to day, and follow your team's instruction on whether it goes before or with a feed.
• If you are preparing a suspension, shake it as instructed and make a fresh one as often as you were told.

Ask this before you leave hospital: what to do about a missed dose, a spat-out dose, and a vomited dose. These will all happen.