losec?

Hi my 11month old boy has just (finally) been put on losec. We have been given the tablets and told to put in water and swish it around and then give it to jakson via syringe? only thing is it doesn't really dissolve.
how do you give losec and what is the best way to do it?
sorry all questions. i just hope this finally helps my boy!

Shan, we use losec but we get it specially compounded at the pharmacy, it can be a pain because they say that it is stable for a month, but I find the symptoms generally come back about 7-14 days, so we have to get it done every 2 weeks.

WIth the tablet, what dose has he been put on and how many times a day? The main reason the meds don't work is that they don't dose enough.

The best way to dissolve the tablet though, is to put it in a 20ml syringe or a neurofen syringe, one with a large hole at the end, then draw up some water and give it a shake then give it in the mouth, keep drawing up water until it is all gone.

The tablet is full of little beads and these beads have to be taken whole so you can't crush the tablet. THat is probably what you are thinking doesn't dissolve. Thats why a large holed syringe is best.

There are capsules you can get called probitor, which is the same drug omeprazole, but the pharmacy will have to get them in special, they are a capsule and if you are having problems with the tablet you can open the capsule and put it with apples and generally kids will eat that down OK.

Good luck, I hope that it works out.

Just a tip though, if you are on zantac don't stop it straight away, keep giving it and space it at least an hour from the losec, the reason is that the losec may take up to two weeks to see a difference, but the zantac will get out of the system straight away, so inbetween generally people find that they are a lot worse and it is hard to give the losec a chance to work.

Zantac and losec are different kinds of drugs so it is safe to give both on the same day. Just space them.

Hi Shan

Hope the losec does the trick for you guys.

They way I give it is by using a spoon (I use a medication spoon from the chemist because it's got quite a big surface area) and a syringe.
Then I pop the tablet (or half tab, whatever the dose) on the spoon and then syringe a few mls of water onto it. The tablet will then disperse (not dissolve) then I pop it in bubs mouth. Some little beads may remain on the spoon after the first swallow but then I just put a few more drops of water onto it and give it again until it's all been taken. I find that by using a spoon, all the beads can easily slide off so they get all the dose.

All the best

Losec is designed to disperse in the stomach. It is designed to be taken whole. To dissolve it, there is a special procedure you are meant to follow to buffer it so it retains it's effectiveness. I'll need to do some hunting for it, as it's not a drug that is commonly used in children and so the procedure for dissolving it and stabilising it is a bit odd.

Schmickers, the tablet that Shan is talking about is a losec mups, basically it is a lot of tiny beads but these are enteric coated, so they can withstand the stomach acids. The actual tablet is able to be dissolved, just not the beads.

You are thinking of the compound in which they crush the tablets fully and this needs to be suspended in a bicarbonate solution so that this neutralises the acid on the way down so that the losec gets to the stomach whole.

Losec is used a lot in kids these days. Hope that helps!

hi and thanks heaps for your replies. he is on one 10mg tablet once a day.

Hi,
My DS is on Losec 10mg per day (1 tablet). I just disolve it in breast milk (or water if you aren't breastfeeding) and leave it for a couple of minutes then swish it around, it has basically disolved except for the little beads which are tiny enough for him to swollow. I then pop the mixture onto a teaspoon and he takes it fine from a teaspoon. Hope he takes well to it - my little guy changed for the better once I had put him on Losec. xxoo

Hi do you just put the tablet in whole? or do you break it in half?
thanks for your reply

Shan - we cut the tablet in half and give half first thing in the morning and second half before his afternoon feed. We use the dissolving in syringe method - usually disolves in about 3-4ml of water. Just put your finger over the end and give it a good shake for about 30 seconds or so.

I give it to DS laying down, syringing in a bit at a time. I also find stroking his throat to make him swallow is really helpful or sometimes if he is being stubborn, squeezing his cheeks makes him swallow too. It took a while to get him to take it properly but now he opens his mouth when he sees it coming, although he doesnt love the taste.

We have noticed huge results on the Losec although as the others said, it does take a little while to kick in - i think it was about 2 weeks for us. Good luck

I dissolve the whole tablet, give it stir with a teaspoon and then once dissolved I then give it to him. He doesn't seem to mind the tast of it either (maybe because it is mixed with breastmilk).

im so glad i read this thread!!!!

my bloody pharmacist told me to crush up half the tablet and mix it with water then give to bubs!!!
is he wrong??
My little girl is only 9 weeks old... can i dissolve it in water without crushing and give it??

Yep definitely don't crush it, the little beads are supposed to be kept intact.

The best way that we figure out was to put the tablet (or half tab whichever you need) into the syringe & then draw the water up into it. That way all the little beads are trapped in the syringe & you know bub is getting the whole lot, otherwise it's too hard to make sure all the little beads get pulled into the syringe. It also means you can use a bit less water.

I have been using one o the big round Neurophen (sp?) syringes as it has a nice big whole in the bottom. I just pop the tablet in (half morning, half evening) draw up 4-5 ml of warm water, dissolve and give like other medicines from a syringe, I just keep drawing up water and squirting in untill there are no little white beads left.

Def dont crush it! It loses it effectiveness!
I give 10mg of losec in the morning amd 10mg at night now to my 4 month old, as bub was still getting painful silent reflux.
I pop the tablet in the syringe, and suck up some apple juice - as the granules can taste quite bitter - my bub loves the apple juice and does not even know she is having medicine. I then suck out the left of granules, either with my finger or a spoon and give every little bit into her! I try not to leave anything left!
Good luck!!

My 15 week old girl has just been put on half tablet of losec once a day. ive been crushing the half tablet and mixing it with formula ( shes breastfed and topped up with formula) but now ive read that you shouldnt crush it??
Does the losec usally work well? My bub is so unsettled, the lactation nurse is sure its reflux. She never sleeps longer then 1/2 hour during the day and at night now she wakes all the time (she used to sleep through the night!) im just hoping this will be the answer...i hate seeing her so worked up :(

HI there,

Losec works really, really well if the dose is correct and how you administer it is correct. First off, the crushing, you are not allowed to crush losec, the reason being is they are enterically coated, which means that the coating protects the medicine so that it can get to where it needs to go without being eaten up. Crushing breaks up this coating and then it won't work as well.

The best way to give the medicine, is to put the half a tablet in a syringe, generally a wide hole one, like a neurofen one works best, then drawing up a couple of mls of water and waiting a minute and giving it a good shake, sometimes drawing up a little air as well helps with the shaking. Then give straight from the syringe or if she has problems with this, draw up a little formula as well and give it this way.

You can also put it on a spoon and give it that way.

Twice a day dosing is far better than once a day.

The other thing I would suggest is the dosage, if it is 1/2 a 10mg tab once a day, then this is a low dose and you probably won't see a huge change, if this was approved to 1/2 a tab twice a day, then this would probably be about right.

If it is a 20mg tab, then what I would do is get the 10mg tabs and halve them and give half twice a day, you will see better results.

FInally, it can take up to 2 weeks to see an improvement so don't give up, usually if losec doesn't work, it is doseage or administration, that sometimes drs aren't too clued up with.

Good luck

DD has been on Losec for a few weeks now after having Zantac (we still have the zantac) I simply get the sterile water I use to make her bottles and let it desolve in that (otherwise it gets spat back up) you can get it from a compound chemist (not covered by PBS) but as mentioned above it says not to crush but my pharmacist said it was perfectly safe for babies, however I may just have the wrong information... maybe disolve in some juice?