information for parents and carers
How to give medicines: capsules
This leaflet gives tips about how to give capsules to children.
Leaflets on individual medicines are available on the Medicines for
Children website, www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk
This leaflet has been written specifically about the use of Dispersing capsules to give a part dose
medicines in children. Please read this leaflet carefully. Occasionally, you will need to give your child part of a
Keep it somewhere safe so that you can read it again. capsule. Your doctor, pharmacist or nurse will tell you to
disperse the contents of the capsule in a small amount of
Capsules (general) water and give only part of the dispersed medicine.
• Capsules should be swallowed whole with a glass of
For example, to give 30 mg of a medicine that is available
water, milk or juice.
in a 50 mg capsule, disperse the contents in 5 mL of water.
Some capsules should be taken with food or milk. Other Once dissolved give only 3 mL of the mixture using an oral
capsules work best on an empty stomach. There are syringe. You can get an oral syringe from your pharmacist.
a few capsules that should not be taken with certain
foods, juices or milk. This should be shown on the How to give a part dose
medicine label. If you are not sure which food and drink • You will need to measure 5 mL of water (for young
your child should have with the medicine, speak with babies use water that has been freshly boiled and then
your doctor or pharmacist. Detailed information about cooled). To do this put the tip of the oral syringe in water
what to do is given in the leaflet for each medicine on and pull the plunger back so that the top of the ring is at
the Medicines for Children website, 5 mL. Aim the syringe into a small glass and push the
www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk plunger in slowly so that the water goes into the glass.
• Your child should not chew the capsule. • Holding the capsule over the glass, carefully pull
apart the two ends of the capsule shell and empty the
Mixing with food contents into the water. Throw away the outer shell.
The contents of some capsules can be mixed with a small
amount of food. If you are not sure if your child’s capsules
• Mix the water and powder together vigorously – it may
make a cloudy mixture. Keep mixing the solution until all
can be mixed with food, speak with your child’s doctor or
lumps have dispersed.
pharmacist.
• Open the capsule and mix the contents with a teaspoon • Using the oral syringe measure the required amount
of the solution for the dose. Your doctor, pharmacist or
of soft food (e.g. yogurt, honey or jam) or a small
nurse will tell you how much to give to your child.
amount (10 mL, which is about 2 teaspoons) of fruit
juice or squash. • Pour any left over mixture into a tissue and put it in the
bin. Do not pour the liquid down the sink and do not
• Make sure your child swallows it straight away, without keep any liquid for another time.
chewing. (The capsule contents may have a bitter taste,
The content of some capsules can be dispersed in a small
so you will need to use something strong-tasting to
amount of juice or squash. Check the medicine label to find
mask it, such as undiluted fruit squash.)
out if your child’s capsule can only be taken with water.
Dissolving in water
Sprinkle capsules
The contents of some capsules can be dissolved in water or
‘Sprinkle capsules’ can be sprinkled in food. This information
juice. Your doctor will have told you how much liquid to use,
will be shown on the medicine label.
and how much of it to give your child.
• Open the capsule and dissolve the contents in the right • Open the capsule and sprinkle the granules into a
teaspoonful of soft food (e.g. yogurt, honey or jam).
amount of water or fruit juice.
• Give the mixture to your child straight away, using an • Make sure your child swallows it all straight away,
without chewing.
oral syringe or medicine spoon. You can get these from
your pharmacist. • These capsules can also be swallowed whole with a
glass of water, juice or milk.
www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk
Version 2, January 2017. © NPPG, RCPCH and WellChild 2011, all rights reserved. Reviewed by: January 2020.
The primary source for the information in this leaflet is the British National Formulary for Children. For details on any other sources used for this leaflet, please contact us through
our website, www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk
We take great care to make sure that the information in this leaflet is correct and up-to-date. However, medicines can be used in different ways for different patients. It is
important that you ask the advice of your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure about something. This leaflet is about the use of these medicines in the UK, and may not apply
to other countries. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG), WellChild and the contributors and
editors cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of information, omissions of information, or any actions that may be taken as a consequence of reading this leaflet.
