administering Omeprazole

Reuben is on Gaviscon for reflux, and has now been prescribed Omeprazole (same as Losec) to be used in addition to this. I've got the tiny capsules and need to give him half of one daily. I'd been expecting tablets which are easy to measure half of, but a cap? How do I make sure I have the right dosage? They're teeny-tiny ones to start with. Do the granules dissolve in EBM or will I need to crush them into a paste? I know the chemist can make up a suspension of it instead of capsules, but I didn't ask for this as today I was at a chemist waaayyy across town rather than my regular one, and the suspension lasts 10 days, meaning I'd be back there every 10 days at least, till the script runs out.

I figure there must be lots of people on here who've used it before. Any hints? Thanks

Alex was prescribed omeprazole last week and we were told to open the capsule and put it in with a teaspoon of pears as it needs to be given with something acidic. I questioned this cause I was woreried bout giving him solids at only 5wks but the paed said it wont do him any harm. He only had a few dozes cause he seemed to get worse on it. The paed said the suspension was really bad tasting and that babies generally dont like it

Hi Andie. I open the capsule and roughly divide the granules. I save some of the capsules so I can make up the doses in advance.

I then just tip the granules into Jackson's mouth and squirt some pears in with a syringe to wash it down.

They can't be given with milk (wait half an hour after giving before feeding) and they also aren't meant to be crushed (they're actually disolved when the chemist makes the liquid, and it takes hours).

Here is a bit of information about the granules off the cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz site:


Information shows that babies/children may respond to as little as 0.7mg per kilogram per day, or need as much as 3.3mg per kilogram per day. One dose does not fit all of the same weight with the same severity of reflux, and it appears to be very individual as to what dose suits each person. The important fact here is to use the best dose to suit the child. High and very high doses should be managed with the oversight of a paediatrician.

The complete dosage may be taken as a single morning dose, or divided into two separate doses to be administered morning and night. It is most effective if given half an hour before a meal.

Omeprazole is only available in capsule form in New Zealand. To achieve a smaller dose than available in a capsule it is opened and the granules divided into child sized doses. This does not need to be done exactly i.e. if giving 5mg per dose guess half of a 10mg capsule and keep the remainder for the next dose (unless you enjoy counting granules).

The granules should then be mixed with something acidic before administration as mixing with other substances eg. milk will reduce its effectiveness. A few mls of fruit juice, or ½ to 1 teaspoon of pureed fruit or fruit yoghurt is ideal. The granules must not be crushed and older children may need to be reminded to swallow but not chew.

The Omeprazole should be taken within 30 minutes of preparation.

The pharmacist sometimes makes Omeprazole into liquid form. This is done by dissolving the granules in a sodium bicarbonate solution, and was initially intended only for administration via a naso-gastric tube. It is not pleasant tasting, is light sensitive (a colour change may occur on exposure to light to orange-to-black) and it is important to shake the bottle. The suspension is best given with something alkaline so a drink of milk immediately after the dose is recommended. It is thought that Omeprazole may be less effective as a suspension, and it contains a large amount of sodium as does Gaviscon and Mylanta. The sodium content is ?229mg per 10ml of suspension. (Please check the amount with your pharmacist if this is a concern). A letter for health professionals about Omeprazole suspension is available.

Edited by kiwilaurie

I tip the granules onto a saucer and divide them in half (there's about 54 little granules in a capsule) then I get a bit of baby food, my guys on solids so just some of whatever he had for breakfast or dinner and stick them to my finger with the baby food and smear it into the back of his mouth. Watch out for sneezing those suckers can fly!

eta: the suspension tastes like poison

Edited by SarahP08

I wouldnt mix 2 meds together Andie- ie the losec in the lactulose.
Have u tried giving the gav before his feed? That way u would have more time after the feed to give the losec before he due to go to sleep. The constipation from Gav usually peaks after a few weeks of use, then improves. Well thats hoping he doesnt have pooing issues like Ella did.
Losec shouldnt make the constiptaion any worse tho.

I can relate Andie, and MTCW is that I wouldn't be giving him pear at this age with the family history.
Regardless of *why* you give them pear at such a young age, the gut is still permeable so there are risks involved.

With lil miss I just used to shake the granules into her mouth as they are, and she'd swallow them. Her paed told us that as long as 80% of the intended dose go down then it's all good. As for splitting them, I just used to open the capsule, tip roughly half into one side and give it to her, then put the cap back on and give it to her for the next dose. If she got a wee bit too much at one dose, it was evened out with the next dose being slightly under.

Lol I sound like the medicine police! Hope shaking the granules into his mouth works. Bit hard when you cant do the pear thing eh. I so wouldnt wanna give solids either. Good luck! Hope it works!