How can I get my child to take medicine that tastes really bad?

When a child is sick, it would be hard for the parents to see the baby crying while taking medicine, and they might even wish they were the ones who were sick.

Commonly used tips for taking medicine are as follows:

(1) If your child refuses to take medicine: It is best to use a medicine feeder (like a syringe) to deliver the medicine to the back of the child's tongue. This is because the taste buds are in the front half of the tongue, and the back half is relatively insensitive, so the child will be less susceptible to the bitter taste.

(2) What if the child finds the medicine bitter and refuses to take it? You can add some white or brown sugar to make it easier to feed (adding sugar will not affect the efficacy of the medicine, please note this!)

(3) Some children swallow bitter medicine, but soon vomit it out of disgust. In such cases, you can rub freshly cut ginger slices on the child's tongue about 5 minutes before taking the medicine, which can effectively prevent vomiting.

(4) Many parents are used to feeding their children some sugar or juice immediately after taking bitter medicine. Is this feasible? The answer is: not recommended. Generally, after being sick, try to eat less raw and cold food, and it is best to drink boiled water to wash it down.

(Gao Tianxue, Henan Provincial Children's Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine)