The Information Book Edition 3 - Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service

Hints to help your child take tablets:• Crush tablets and add to a teaspoon of jam, ice-cream or juice, but takecare not to put your child off something he / she likes. A tablet crushercan be obtainedNOTE: Some tablets shouldn’t be crushed. Check with the pharmacy first• Break large tablets into halves or quarters. Tablet cutters can bepurchased from a pharmacy• Try this: Put the tablet on the back of the tongue, take a big mouthfulof water, tip head back and swallow• Tablets that taste horrible can be put inside a gelatine capsule – availablefrom the pharmacy• When taking capsules, take a mouthful of water first to wet the mouth.Vomiting tablets• If vomiting happens after taking tablets, talk to the oncology pharmacist,nurse coordinator or the ward. The pharmacist can tell you what to do andcan supply replacement tablets or capsules if necessary• If vomiting always happens with tablet taking, tell your consultant oncologist.Medication and sharps return and disposalThe reason to destroy unwanted medicines and equipmentUnwanted medicines stored in the home can be a source of poisoning.Medicine and equipment can also contaminate the environment and harmothers when discarded via routine rubbish collections or flushed down thetoilet.Other equipment such as gloves, plastic medicine cups, syringes (but not withneedles), empty medicine containers and empty blister packs can be disposedof in normal rubbish. This also applies to the equipment used with cytotoxic orcancer medication and drugs.Sec.3.12 CancerUpdated July 2012