Random Things We Can't Travel Without: Oral Dosing Syringe

Okay - I know!  What a weird thing to include on a packing list!  But aside from the standard uses, an oral dosing syringe can be an invaluable tool on a flight.

Anyone with an infant can relate to the fact that giving medicine to a squirming, crying, sick baby is not fun and can often result in a lot of spilled medicine.  Our pharmacist tended to give us the calibrated oral medicine droppers with any liquid medicine my children had to take. 

Our infant ear protector - an oral dosing syringe! 

As a nervous mother, who really didn't want to make a mess or lose any medicine, the droppers were just a disaster waiting to happen.  I can't count the number of times I squirted too early or too late and spilled medicine everywhere!  At one point I was so frustrated, I asked for another option and the pharmacist suggested a calibrated medicine spoon, but the open end was just as problematic as the bulb on the dropper.  So I just said no.  Then they offered me a oral dosing syringe!  The stress in my life (at the time) just seemed to melt away and administering medication was never a problem again.  Of course, anytime we went on a trip, I made sure to pack the acetominephen and ibuprofen drops, along with one of the oral dosing syringes, which I kept in my carry-on bag.

Neither of my children were pacifier users, and for the most part, they both wanted to eat 24 hours a day.  But somehow, each time we began our descent on a flight, neither one of them would have anything to do with drinking from a bottle.  Maybe they were too excited to lay down and miss any of the action, I don't really know.

But it worried me - A LOT - because I just knew their ears were not clearing as we descended back toward Earth!  So, as a frantic attempt to make them swallow, I took the syringe and filled it with water or formula and gave them little sips every few minutes.  Luckily it worked like a charm because they could sit up and people-watch, and I knew they were swallowing regularly.

Now that they are older, the syringe is still part of the packing list, but now it is relegated to its planned purpose.  Now gum is their ear popper of choice.