How to get a one-year-old to swallow stinky fish oil?

November 2, 2007 8:06 AM

What's the best way to get a one-year-old child to swallow some foul-tasting liquid (omega-3 supplements) without spilling any on him or on the floor?

For health reasons, it's important that my one-year-old son take omega-3 supplements. Currently, that means trying to get a half teaspoon of strawberry-flavored (!) fish oil into him every evening via an eye-dropper. He'll swallow the stuff once it's in his mouth, but getting it in there is the trick. Allowing one drop of the stuff to fall on his clothes is a nightmare, since the smell is very hard to get out afterward.

Is there a better way to do this? Are there alternatives to stinky fish oil? Ideally, you could just deliver the stuff via pill, since that keeps the stinky stuff contained, but he's too small for that. The only thing that occurs to me is injecting the oil into something small and edible (something like tortellini?) which he can chew, thereby releasing the oil inside his mouth.

(Why strawberry-flavored, is my other question. Fishy smell would be bad enough on its own, but the combination is deadly. You don't just cover up a bad odor with a lot of air freshener. That only makes it worse!)

posted by chinston to grab bag (37 comments total)

Can't you mix it with another liquid? Fruit juice would seem to make the most sense with the strawberry flavor. With a 4:1 ratio, he'd never know it was there.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 8:11 AM on November 2, 2007

Try using the pacifier medicine dispenser. Works like a charm. They dont know that they are getting anything until its already in their mouth.
posted by enobeet at 8:12 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm a former pediatric nurse and worked with a lot of parents with this same struggle. You could try mixing it into something like strawberry yogurt or ice cream to make it more palatable.

Good luck!
posted by zach braff's mixtape at 8:13 AM on November 2, 2007

We had a similar problem with my son when he was your son's age, only he wouldn't go quietly. We literally had to hold him down on the ground and force open his mouth (this was for antibiotics and medication for asthma). Our doctor's nurse advised us to get one of those syringe-like squirter thingies (like this) and put it between his cheek and upper gum before squirting the meds in. That way it was past the tastebuds and far enough in that he'd automatically swallow. Since your son will swallow it once it's there, try the syringe. It doesn't drip.
posted by cooker girl at 8:30 AM on November 2, 2007

Couldnt you work more fish into his diet?
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:36 AM on November 2, 2007

Could you get the pills and crush them up into something else? I couldn't swallow pills when I was a kid so my mom would crush them into peppermint ice cream, which masked the grainy crushed pills and any residual pill flavor. (That could work for the liquid form too, maybe, though that flavor combo sounds pretty deadly.)
posted by leesh at 8:39 AM on November 2, 2007

Put it into a food or drink. And if you think strawberry is bad, we have lemon flavoured fish oil. It's like fish oil plus pledge. But juice or yogurt both worked for my kids.
posted by GuyZero at 8:49 AM on November 2, 2007

Don't skimp on anything you use to disguise it. I still find it difficult to think about eating a certain confectionary since it was used when I was small to disguise an unpleasant pill.

(Although having trouble eating only one of the countless confectionaries available is hardly a major problem)
posted by edd at 8:49 AM on November 2, 2007

Lie him on his back, plug his nose and pour it into the back of his throat with a spoon or dropper. His reflex will help him swallow it. You'll get faster at it and it will feel easier.
posted by MiffyCLB at 8:56 AM on November 2, 2007

First, refrigerate the stuff till it's *absolutely* as cold as possible. It will make it harder for him to taste. To be clear, you're talking 2.5cc, right?

Go the the pharmacy and get yourself a medicine syringe (very different from an eyedropper). It will have a longer delivery end to it and it's easier to give it quickly if you can shoot it into your child's mouth rather than trying to drop it in. It will also be a more accurate dose (not to mention be easier to keep clean).

Lay him on his back, tilt his head so that he's looking up and back toward the ceiling. It will help if you have somebody assist you, but if you don't, criss cross his arms across his chest and firmly hold them in place with your dominant forearm (which will also have the syringe in hand).

With the other hand, open his mouth. It will probably help that he will be screaming at this point. But if he's not, gently, press on the corners of his jaw with your forefinger and thumb. Insert the syringe between his jaw and inner cheek.

The most important step:

IN ONE FELL SWOOP, quickly dispense the medication and close his mouth, making sure his head is still tilted back. You want to get the medication as close to the back of his mouth as possible.
posted by dancinglamb at 9:12 AM on November 2, 2007

Oh, and to get the stench out, try Nature's Miracle. If it works on barf, it will work on fish oil. You can find it at any pet store.
posted by dancinglamb at 9:15 AM on November 2, 2007

Flaxseed oil is a lot less nasty. He still may not like oil squirted into his mouth, but at least the stuff doesn't poison fabric like fish oil does. (Bonus: No need to worry about mercury levels.)
posted by desuetude at 9:17 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Does it have to be the fish based Omega-3? Why not the flax stuff? Have you tried that fish stuff? It's gross. And I can't imagine it's any different for a kid but I find that I burp fishy-ness hours after ingestion. I've given up.
If you insist on the fish based oil - put it in OJ. One of my bosses kid gets daily doses and doesn't even know it.
posted by Wolfie at 9:21 AM on November 2, 2007

Also, make sure the fish oil hasn't gone rancid. A strong, nasty fishy taste indicates rancidity. Even newly-purchased oil can be bad before you open it, and unfortunately it's quite common with fish oil. I stick with Carlson's lemon flavored liquid fish oil. It tastes like lemony oil, no fishy flavor.
posted by Durin's Bane at 9:25 AM on November 2, 2007

I have an objection to adding it to another food or drink because if they don't finish it (and my kids NEVER finished it) you don't know how much they got.

dancinglamb has it.
posted by Sassyfras at 9:26 AM on November 2, 2007

Buy the expensive ultra-purified stuff - our Whole Foods has one flavored lemon. The fishy taste is filtered out. You get what you pay for with fish oil. And flax oil isn't equivalent, as it has more of the omega-6's and less of the omega-3's. Most Americans have too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3 in the diet as it is.
posted by selfmedicating at 9:37 AM on November 2, 2007

Are you doing this forever or for a little while? I think that would matter in terms of tactics.
posted by barnone at 9:38 AM on November 2, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

Why fish oil instead of flaxseed? Er, good question. That might be the best solution, really, as long as there aren't any nutritional differences.

We're doing this indefinitely, I guess. There was a promising recent study showing that omega-3s lowered the risk of developing type-1 diabetes, a disease which he's already at a (relatively) high risk of developing.
posted by chinston at 9:42 AM on November 2, 2007

My friend gives her daughter Omega-3 chocolate truffles - I've had them, they're good. Several different flavours, and easy delivery mechanism - they're chocolate.

This is the brand I've had, from Trader Joe's:

https://shopping.florahealth.com/products.asp?categoryid=106
posted by annathea at 9:47 AM on November 2, 2007

Have you looked into Coromega? It's actually kind of yummy.
posted by houseofdanie at 9:50 AM on November 2, 2007

Again, this is all very helpful. Maybe I should wait to mark any best answers until I've put theory into practice, however, since no plan of battle survives contact with the enemy baby. . .

A few responses:

- He'll eat a decent amount of fish, but I figure supplements are the way to be precise.

- I don't think the fish oil is rancid. Maybe I shouldn't have said "foul-tasting." The fishy smell by itself is just rather strong, and I think it's the strawberry overlay that is the worst part.

- On my failing to preview earlier, thanks, selfmedicating, for the note about flaxseed and omega-6s.

Probably the next step is to try a better brand of fish oil, or that Coromega stuff, and maybe if the taste is better ( or nonexistent), he'll be more compliant about swallowing it. Mixing it into food or drink is a good back-up, but again, supplements are probably the best way to be precise.
posted by chinston at 10:12 AM on November 2, 2007

And flax oil isn't equivalent, as it has more of the omega-6's and less of the omega-3's. Most Americans have too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3 in the diet as it is.

It's my understanding that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 was actually heavily on the omega 3 side for flaxseed oil.

chinson, ground flax seed is also easy to cook with for your little guy's snacks (granola bars, muffins, etc.)
posted by desuetude at 10:15 AM on November 2, 2007

blowing gently in your child's face triggers a natural swallowing reflex.

we use a medicine plunger-style syringe (no needles, of course), stick it in his mouth and just spray it in there quick then blow. works every time.
posted by uaudio at 10:42 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Desuetude - I should back up and say fish oil has more of the omega-3's EPA and DHA (the ones that have been studied the most and have been shown to have the most benefit). Flaxseed oil is high in the omega-3 AHA. AHA does get converted to EPA and DHA in the body, but there's controversy over how efficiently this actually happens. The american heart association's take on it is that fish oil is better than flaxseed. I think fish oil is best - but if it's a choice between flaxseed or nothing, I would take flaxseed.
posted by selfmedicating at 10:45 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have no idea to trick a kid into eating something it doesn't want to but Carlson's fish oil actually tastes kind of good. They also have some children's products.
posted by 517 at 10:47 AM on November 2, 2007

I'd also add that Carlson's is the only one I know of that tests for heavy metals like mercury. Which may actually be a bigger problem than we would all like to think.
posted by 517 at 11:06 AM on November 2, 2007

Seconding Carlson's Cod Liver Oil (I get the lemon flavored kind) which only tastes like lemon and no weird after taste, as well as dancinglamb's suggestion of refrigerating the oil (I'm pretty sure it'll go rancid super quick if you don't, anyway).
posted by zippity at 11:25 AM on November 2, 2007

Allowing one drop of the stuff to fall on his clothes is a nightmare, since the smell is very hard to get out afterward.

Have medicine time right before undressing for bathtime, or even while in the bath. No more problems with laundry.
posted by yohko at 11:35 AM on November 2, 2007

I think hempseed oil trumps them all. google it.
posted by jockc at 12:00 PM on November 2, 2007

The american heart association's take on it is that fish oil is better than flaxseed. I think fish oil is best - but if it's a choice between flaxseed or nothing, I would take flaxseed.

Not to be argumentative, but that's not quite what the AHA site says. First, consumption of foods high in omega-3 are strongly recommended over supplements. The ADA does site fish the top source of omega-3, but also recommends consumption of based omega-3-rich foods (such as flaxseed.) And then there's the heavy-metal-contamination problem. (Start coaching your kid to love herring early?)
posted by desuetude at 12:02 PM on November 2, 2007

"In the fish-oil-treated subjects, accumulation of EPA and DHA in the right atrium was curvilinear with time and reached a maximum at approximately 30 d of treatment and displaced mainly arachidonic acid. Flaxseed oil supplementation yielded a small increase in atrial EPA but not DHA, whereas olive oil did not significantly change atrial n-3 fatty acids." *

"This study suggests there are no beneficial effects of an 8-week ALA intervention on these inflammatory factors among young, healthy, overweight/obese subjects whose inflammatory factors are not significantly elevated." *

"CONCLUSIONS: Dietary ALA has no effect on plasma adiponectin concentration in dyslipidemic men." *

"Although flaxseed and flaxseed oil have several promising future uses, the available literature does not support recommendation for any condition at this time." *
posted by 517 at 12:53 PM on November 2, 2007

Also flaxseed oil has high levels of phytoestrogens . Probably not a good thing in a growing boy. But that's just speculation.
posted by 517 at 1:32 PM on November 2, 2007

how did this sentence get so boggled?

The ADA does site eating fatty fish as the top source of omega-3, but also recommends consumption of plant-based omega-3-rich foods (such as flaxseed.)
posted by desuetude at 1:41 PM on November 2, 2007

I eat Acai for breakfast everyday. My breakfast Omega 3 is about 80 mg (Omega 6=1600 and Omega 9 = 4800). It tastes great and you can easily blend it into a milkshake or add some fruit to it. Sambazon sells it and it's about 5.50 for a pint. That sounds waay better than the oil options.
posted by special-k at 1:43 PM on November 2, 2007

I always used applesauce to fake my kids out.
posted by wafaa at 2:36 PM on November 2, 2007

you might try a compounding pharmacy. they specialize in custom flavorings for meds, maybe supplements too.
posted by anitar at 9:50 PM on November 2, 2007

OP here again. I've found the best approach has been to (1) refrigerate the stuff well (which we should be doing anyway to keep it from going rancid), which makes a lot of the fishy odor go away, then (2) add it to a small quantity of strawberry-flavored yogurt. If his yogurt snack is timed right, he'll be hungry enough to eat it all, and from what I can tell, he has no idea there's anything extra added. In fact, I think his past complaints mostly had to do with being restrained, not the taste. Success so far, anyway!
posted by chinston at 10:52 AM on November 13, 2007