By Richard Malik, ND
14 June 2006

It can be difficult for children to take natural medicines. Capsules and tablets are great because they hide the nasty taste of some medicines while allowing them to be absorbed in the digestive tract. Many children have a hard time swallowing capsules. Children can learn to swallow tablets and capsules at about 3 or 4 years old.

• First of all, communicate the importance of taking the medicine to your child
• Use a small tablet or capsule with good tasting ingredients. Papaya enzyme tablets or Nordic Naturals DHA Junior capsules are two items that fit this description. Then, the child can use water, juice or herbal tea to practice swallowing the tablet or capsule without the stress of experiencing a terrible taste if it happens to dissolve in her mouth. If the tablet or capsule tastes good, practicing can actually be fun.
• Coat the tablet or capsule with olive oil, yogurt, or maple syrup. This lubricates the capsule, making it easier to swallow.
• Try to keep the endeavor fun and rewarding for your child. When your child learns to swallow a tablet or capsule celebrate it as an accomplishment to be proud of and a sign of getting bigger.
• Some children are still too young to learn to swallow a tablet or capsule. In these cases an alternative is to open the capsule or crush the tablet and mix the ingredients with apple sauce, pudding, or other tasty treat. Cold temperatures tend to work better because they reduce the sense of taste.

Using tinctures is a great way to customize effective therapies for individual patients. However, many herbs taste bad or even awful. Goldenseal is very, very bitter. Potent echinacea leaves a buzzing sensation on the tongue for many minutes after ingestion. Other herbs are pungent, sour or some other intense taste experience. In addition to the taste of the herb itself, most tinctures are extracted using alcohol which has its own strong taste. So, how can we encourage our children to be able to take tinctures?

• Place the tincture dose in a medicine cup and dilute with a small amount of water or juice to be swallowed in one gulp
• Have the child hold their nose while taking the tincture to minimize their sense of taste
• Follow the tincture with a bite of some flavorful and yummy food
• The tincture can be formulated with tasty herbs like licorice, cinnamon, peppermint, fennel, anise, lemon balm, and stevia
• Add a sweetener or flavor enhancer to the tincture formula including: vegetable glycerin, stevia, agave nectar, honey, and strawberry or orange essence
• Mix the tincture with a yummy pudding or cold treat that can hide and minimize the taste
• These suggestions can be used in combination – the bottom line is to do what works best for your child!

Compounding pharmacies combine medicines specifically for doctors and their individual patients. Your local compounding pharmacist can help make tinctures or supplements more palatable. Unfortunately, compounding pharmacies are not found in all communities.

The sooner your child becomes accustomed to taking tablets or capsules the easier it will be for her to benefit from natural medicines. I have seen numerous children become accustomed to the strong tastes of herbal tinctures and watched the taking of these remedies not be an issue any more.

The information in this article was obtained from personal experience as a parent, clinical experience from working with pediatric patients, discussions with other natural healthcare providers, and from Mary Bove’s book An Encylcopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants.