It's not easy convincing young children to take medication once in a while, and it's even more difficult if they have to take medication every day. The daily struggle can create stress for parents and children, and parents can heap pressure onto themselves as they worry about the consequences of their child only taking some of the specified dose of their medication or refusing to take it altogether. Thankfully, the services provided by compounding pharmacies can encourage compliance, and your child may even start looking forward to taking their medicine. Here's an overview of three ways a compounding pharmacy can help your child tolerate their medication:

Add Palatable Flavouring 

Medication in general isn't known for its delicious taste. Some medications prescribed for common ailments in children, such as ranitidine for infant reflux, have a bitter taste that would make adults wince. Unlike adults, children often don't understand they need to take their medicine even if they don't like the taste. If your child finds their medicine unpalatable, a compounding pharmacy may be able to alter the flavour. It's not safe to simply add flavouring at home, as this can dilute the concentration of the active ingredient in the medication. A specially trained compounding pharmacist can incorporate fruit flavouring, such as cherry or strawberry, into the base of the medication formulation without diluting the concentration of the active ingredient.

Alter The Dosage Form

Some children find it difficult to swallow pills, so you can use a compounding pharmacy to find a dosage form your child will accept. Many tablets and capsules can be converted into a fine powder in a pharmaceutical mortar and incorporated into sugar-free gummy treats and lollipops. It's also possible to convert tablets into an oral solution, and this is usually necessary for young babies who are not yet weaned. Oral solutions can be given to babies in a syringe or added to formula or expressed breastmilk. For older children, oral solutions can be added to their favourite drink or taken neat if your child likes the taste.

Change Certain Ingredients

If your child has an allergy, a compounding pharmacy may be able to remove allergenic ingredients from their medication and replace them with an alternative your child can tolerate. For example, tablets often contain lactose as one of the binding ingredients, but this can be removed and replaced with another binder, such as carnauba wax or cellulose. Changing some ingredients may mean the form of the medication has to change from a tablet to a powder or oral solution, but using a compounding service can make essential medications safe for your child to take.

Your GP can provide details of compounding pharmacies in your area. As these pharmacies often provide their specialised services to a large geographical area, it can take a little longer for them to prepare your child's prescription than it would take a standard pharmacy, so give them your child's prescription at least a week before their current supply of medication runs out.