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Jun 25, 2007 — Zithromax, an antibiotic, goes well with the piquant undertones of grape, raspberry or sour apple. Whereas the citrus essences of orange or lemon are the ideal complement for Maalox, an over-the-counter anti-nausea medication. And savory hints of orange cream and raspberry best enhance Tylenol with codeine.
Pharmacists at York Hospital can keep track of it all with "The Wheel of Yuck," a device that rates common liquid medications by unpleasantness on the tongue and the flavorings that best mask that unpleasantness.
"Some of them are pretty nasty tasting," admits Courtney Rodgers, head pharmacist at York Hospital. "Some of the stuff is pretty mediciney, sour, whatever."
Since the beginning of June, the pharmacy has offered an additional service. For an extra $3, patients can get their liquid medicines custom-flavored. In one of the rooms is a selection of dropper-equipped bottles for carrying out the task - along with a manual describing how many drops from which bottles achieve what effect. And of course, "The Wheel of Yuck" offers recommendations.
Rodgers said the service is aimed primarily at children - the main consumers of liquid medication and often the least willing to take it. But it's available to adults as well, Rodgers said. Sometimes liquid medications are best for adults, who might have problems such as limited motion of their tongues because of a stroke.
So far, 10 people have opted for the flavoring, including one adult, Rodgers said.
The product comes from Flavorx, a firm based in Bethesda, Md. Teresa Chen, a company spokesman, said that the product has been around since 1995.
Chen said the company's founder, Kenny Kramm, is a pharmacist who has a daughter with cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. He had trouble getting her to take her seizure medication. Even hiding it in her food wouldn't work.
Eventually, drawing on his pharmaceutical experience, Kramm developed flavoring that masked the medicine's taste to a point where his daughter would willingly take it. And that eventually led to Flavorx.
Rodgers said the flavoring is sugar-free and has no effect on the medicine.
She said she emphasizes to parents, however, that it's still medicine and not a treat. Child safety caps are still mandatory, and parents still must keep the medicine out of the reach of children.
"We don't want kids to think medicine is candy," Rodgers said.
Reach Tom Joyce at 771-2089 or tjoyce@ydr.com.
WHAT'S ON THE MENU?
Common children's medicines and what "The Wheel of Yuck" recommends to improve the taste:
Bactrim: watermelon, orange, grape
Ceftin: bubblegum, banana, grape
Erythromycin: watermelon, orange, grape
Zithromax: raspberry, sour apple, grape
The full flavor menu: apple, banana, blackberry, blueberry, bubblegum, butterscotch, cherry, chocolate silk pie, cinnamon, coconut, coffee, grape, lemon, licorice, lime, orange cream, peaches and cream, peppermint, pina colada, pineapple, raspberry, root beer, sour apple, strawberry cream, tangerine, vanilla and watermelon.
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