Compounding · For children
Children’s compounding, for small people with strong opinions.
Murray Shore is a pediatric compounding pharmacy in North York, Toronto, preparing children’s medication in flavours, liquid forms, and strengths that fit the actual child. Three things can change: the taste, the form, and the strength.
Taste · Form · Strength
What we can change
- Taste Flavouring
Flavouring is worked into the preparation itself, and your child gets a say in choosing it. Bubblegum and grape have brokered more bedtime peace treaties than we can count.
- Form Liquid, capsule, dissolvable
A tablet your child cannot swallow can often be prepared as a liquid instead, with your prescriber’s agreement: a suspension measured in millilitres, drawn up in an oral syringe, given in seconds.
- Strength The exact dose
Children’s doses do not always exist on a factory shelf. A compound can be prepared at the exact strength your prescriber wrote, sized for the child in front of us rather than an average adult.
Real examples
From problem to preparation
Sometimes it solves a problem, and often it simply gives your child a say: a flavour they chose, a form they will take without a fight.
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The problem The tablet is too big to swallow.
What we prepare The same medicine prepared as a flavoured oral suspension, drawn up in an oral syringe.
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The problem The liquid tastes terrible, and your child knows it.
What we prepare Flavouring built into the preparation, in a flavour your child picked themselves.
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The problem The prescribed dose falls between the strengths a factory makes.
What we prepare A preparation at the exact strength ordered, so nobody is splitting tablets over the kitchen counter and hoping.
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The problem Dyes or sugar are a problem for your child.
What we prepare Dye-free bases and sweetening alternatives, where the formula allows.
Step by step
How it works
- Talk to us. Bring the prescription, or just the problem. Call or visit, even if you are not sure a compound is the answer.
- We work with your prescriber. Taste, form, and strength are confirmed together before anything is prepared.
- Pick up or free delivery. We mark the oral syringe at your child’s dose and show you how to draw it up.
The eight o’clock standoff
Every parent who calls us describes the same scene: a small person with their lips pressed shut, a medicine cup nobody wants, and a clock that says this matters. The medication is not the problem; the delivery is. The fix is not a firmer grip on the syringe. It is a preparation the child will accept, and with your prescriber’s prescription there is more room to work with than most families expect.
Let the kid pick the flavour
It sounds small. It is not. A child who chooses their own flavour has a stake in the routine, and choice is one of the calm, practical tactics Canadian parent resources recommend for medicine time, alongside staying relaxed and asking your pharmacist the questions as they come up. We keep the flavour on file, so refills taste like the one that worked, every time.
Practical wisdom for the kitchen counter
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Ask about the fridge. For some liquids, refrigeration is an option worth asking about: Alberta’s provincial health resource notes a cold liquid medicine may not taste as strong, which can make it easier for a child to take. Check with us first for your specific preparation.
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Shortages have workarounds. When children’s liquid pain and fever products ran short across Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society pointed families toward other forms, like chewables and suppositories, with a pharmacist confirming the right product and dose. That pharmacist conversation is exactly what our counter is for.
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Never guess a children’s dose. If the label and the situation disagree, or a dose comes back up, call us at 416-789-1800 before improvising. The answer depends on the medication and the timing, and it takes us two minutes to give you a real one.
Questions parents ask us
My child refuses their medication. Can it be flavoured?
Usually, yes, and this is the request we hear most. With your prescriber’s prescription we build the flavour into the preparation, and we invite your child to pick it. A five-year-old who chose bubblegum is dramatically more cooperative than one who had grape imposed on them.
Can a tablet really be turned into a liquid?
Often it can, in partnership with your prescriber: the medication is prepared as an oral suspension at a concentration written for your child. You measure it with an oral syringe, so the dose is exact instead of approximate.
What if the dose my child needs is not manufactured?
That gap is precisely what pediatric compounding is for. When the prescribed dose falls between or below commercial strengths, a preparation may be made at the exact strength ordered, so you are never splitting tablets over the kitchen counter and hoping.
How do I measure small doses accurately?
With the oral syringe we dispense, not a kitchen spoon. We mark the syringe at your child’s dose, show you how to draw it up, and stay one phone call away if the 2 a.m. version of you forgets what the 2 p.m. version was told.
Any tricks for a child who fights every dose?
A few, and they are backed by Canadian health resources we link below: stay calm, give the child small choices, and ask us whether the preparation can be refrigerated, since a cold liquid may not taste as strong. If a medicine is vomited back up, call us before repeating anything.
Can you leave out dyes or sugar?
Where the formula allows, yes. Tell us about sensitivities, dietary rules, or a dentist’s warnings, and we will go over which bases suit your child, including dye-free options and sweetening alternatives.
What happens during children’s medication shortages?
Shortages of children’s liquid medications do happen, as Canadian parents learned firsthand. Alternate forms and strengths sometimes remain available when the familiar bottle is not, and a pharmacist should guide the substitution. Come talk to us before improvising at home.
Wondering what compounding is in the first place? Start at the compounding overview.
Sources
- Helping Children Take Medicine (opens in a new tab) · MyHealth Alberta
- Shortage of infant and children’s liquid pain and fever medications (opens in a new tab) · Canadian Paediatric Society, Caring for Kids
Your pharmacist is one call away.
416-789-1800 Call nowPrefer not to call? Email info@murrayshore.com or visit us at Bathurst & Baycrest.