◆Putting Creon in applesauce, yogurt, or pudding, something that slides down when eaten instead of chewing is the easiest way to get kids to take their pancreas pills without too much of a fuss. You can also do this with other meds if you simply crush up tablets. You will need to make sure that they are eating all of what you give them to get the full medication.
◆During snack times to add extra calories even if you have a fussy CFer who doesn't want to eat. Make it a game by using their imagination. Make food, fun, take celery and put peanut butter inside of it topped with raisins (Ants on a log). Or get fun cookie cutters to make their sandwiches come to life.
★ The more fun you have with food the easier it will be making sure they hit a high fat high calorie diet. While trying to help you stay away from sugary cakes and cookies. More fun tips for eating for little ones can be found in my Food & CF blog.
◆During treatments make them be the big bad wolf and have them blow the house down. Tell them that you are in a competition with one another to see who can breathe better. Tell them If they don't get through the treatment they will not be able to defeat a cartoon villain they are familiar with.
Always use their imagination and yours for the little ones. They always want to be strong and the super hero's. You can also use the princess card for the little girls. Go to your local store and purchase a princess crown and let treatment time be princess theme! There are so many things that you can do that will have their imaginations at work.
★You can also create games to help build lung function which I included in my Lung Strengthening blog
Some silly tricks that I do, personally I would like to pass along, they really don't do too much, but in the end makes things a little easier.
◆I have too many meds for one of those Mon-Sun pill holders, as I am sure all Cystic's do. So instead I have a night stand that I keep my meds in.
What I do when I get back from the pharmacy from picking up my meds. Am I first getting ALL of my meds out onto my bed. Go through them, some I can throw away because its a antibiotic I am no longer on or are expired. So get rid of the ones you no longer need. Second, I take the meds I take in the morning, take a sharpie to them and write "AM" on the lid.
I have recently started to write the name of the med on them so I fiancé can grab one if I need it in a hurry.
I follow through with the before bed/night meds by writing "PM" on the lids of those. Followed by the ones that I take 2 times a day with a simple "2X" meaning morning and night and "3X" for morning afternoon and night! I also have PRN's and label them as such. This makes the transition of meds so much easier. I do not need to go through and read each label when it is time to take my meds. I group them together and just pick up whichever one says "AM" take them and be done. It kills a little time and makes it a little easier. Possibly easier for teens as well.
◆As for vials as soon as you get home if you take them and tear them apart the day you get them from the pharmacy and put them near your nebulizer, it makes it a bit quicker for you to just grab your med and go. I always get irritated pulling them apart if I can't breathe and really need to start a treatment. So having them broken up already helps a little.
◆For neb trash I have taken a tums bottle that was empty and it is big enough to discard used vials of meds right next to your nebulizer. This way you will not have to go through the trouble of getting up and going to the trash can every time you do a treatment, really helps in the before bed treatment. Of course you could also just have a small trash can next to your nebulizer area.
★I keep everything next to my bed so it is more comfortable for me to do my nebs and meds.
◆Always have lotion on hand, our skin also lacks absorption as the rest of our body so you should be moisturized often. Most people tend to forget about their skin with everything else we are worrying about. I won't lie, I did until I got my sleeve tattoo on my right arm., now I am OCD about moisturizing. Learning that my skin has always been very dry and flaky. It shows more with the tattoo than not.
I think that is all of the tips I can come up with for now. I know my mind is full of more, so I will probably be writing more on my status updates on Facebook!
Be helpful,
Sandi
◆During treatments make them be the big bad wolf and have them blow the house down. Tell them that you are in a competition with one another to see who can breathe better. Tell them If they don't get through the treatment they will not be able to defeat a cartoon villain they are familiar with.
Always use their imagination and yours for the little ones. They always want to be strong and the super hero's. You can also use the princess card for the little girls. Go to your local store and purchase a princess crown and let treatment time be princess theme! There are so many things that you can do that will have their imaginations at work.
★You can also create games to help build lung function which I included in my Lung Strengthening blog
Some silly tricks that I do, personally I would like to pass along, they really don't do too much, but in the end makes things a little easier.
◆I have too many meds for one of those Mon-Sun pill holders, as I am sure all Cystic's do. So instead I have a night stand that I keep my meds in.
What I do when I get back from the pharmacy from picking up my meds. Am I first getting ALL of my meds out onto my bed. Go through them, some I can throw away because its a antibiotic I am no longer on or are expired. So get rid of the ones you no longer need. Second, I take the meds I take in the morning, take a sharpie to them and write "AM" on the lid.
I have recently started to write the name of the med on them so I fiancé can grab one if I need it in a hurry.
I follow through with the before bed/night meds by writing "PM" on the lids of those. Followed by the ones that I take 2 times a day with a simple "2X" meaning morning and night and "3X" for morning afternoon and night! I also have PRN's and label them as such. This makes the transition of meds so much easier. I do not need to go through and read each label when it is time to take my meds. I group them together and just pick up whichever one says "AM" take them and be done. It kills a little time and makes it a little easier. Possibly easier for teens as well.
◆As for vials as soon as you get home if you take them and tear them apart the day you get them from the pharmacy and put them near your nebulizer, it makes it a bit quicker for you to just grab your med and go. I always get irritated pulling them apart if I can't breathe and really need to start a treatment. So having them broken up already helps a little.
◆For neb trash I have taken a tums bottle that was empty and it is big enough to discard used vials of meds right next to your nebulizer. This way you will not have to go through the trouble of getting up and going to the trash can every time you do a treatment, really helps in the before bed treatment. Of course you could also just have a small trash can next to your nebulizer area.
★I keep everything next to my bed so it is more comfortable for me to do my nebs and meds.
◆I have a container that I keep next to my machine with a natural DIY disinfect to hold the mouth pieces of my nebs so that I do not have to worry about bacteria or anything growing on them. It is super simple to make. You just need a plastic container using 1 Cup Water, equal parts of; Lavender Oil and either Thyme or Eucalyptus Oil, and 1/2 the amount of Tea Tree Oil! All three of these oils have antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. Combined with water, they make up a great all-natural alternative to the chemical-based disinfectants. You can get these oils at any pharmacy or Walmart type store. Be sure to change it out every other day or stretch it over 3 days is fine if need be.
★I did find this recipe online, however, it works wonders and if you are feeling under the weather a little due to natural reasons not CF it will also help with that as well. The only thing is tea tree oil is NOT safe for your furbabies! So be careful using tea tree oils around them.
◆Of course taking apart the entire neb and boiling them in hot water once a week will stretch out the length of needing to order new neb pieces a little bit longer.
◆Always have lotion on hand, our skin also lacks absorption as the rest of our body so you should be moisturized often. Most people tend to forget about their skin with everything else we are worrying about. I won't lie, I did until I got my sleeve tattoo on my right arm., now I am OCD about moisturizing. Learning that my skin has always been very dry and flaky. It shows more with the tattoo than not.
I think that is all of the tips I can come up with for now. I know my mind is full of more, so I will probably be writing more on my status updates on Facebook!
Be helpful,
Sandi
