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How to apply cod liver oil to the skin for effective absorption of nutrients as an alternative to orally off the spoon or via capsules.
Hands down, one of the most frequent questions I get is how to get a child to take cod liver oil. Giving a baby cod liver oil is quite easy as you just drip 1/4 teaspoon into the mouth with an eye dropper.
How about young children? Taking cod liver oil off the spoon chased with a swig of water is my favored method as demonstrated in the linked video. But what to do if a toddler spits it out? Not a whole lot except clean up the mess on the floor!
Once they spit it out after the first try, toddlers will typically refuse to open their mouths again for a second go.
What is to be done at this point?
Stop the Gag Reflex
If your child doesn’t like to take cod liver oil due to gagging, using a simple acupressure technique can stop the gag reflex for about 30 seconds. See the linked article for a description of how to use it with a video demonstration.
This approach works very well even for adults who struggle with this issue.
Absorption via Skin
If you’d like to bypass taking cod liver oil by mouth, the nutrients in cod liver oil are readily absorbed by the skin too.
In fact, until just a few decades ago, over the counter diaper rash creams used to contain cod liver oil!
Drug companies are increasingly taking advantage of the ability of skin to absorb chemicals of all kinds with the smokers patch being one of the most well known.
There are now skin patches for birth control and even a patch for motion sickness when you take a cruise or fly in a plane.
Skin will not only readily absorb drugs but it also absorbs nutrients.
How does the skin compare?
Research suggests that absorption of substances (both good and bad!) placed on the skin is about 64% with near 100% for areas with thinner skin such as the armpits. (1)
Externally Applied Cod Liver Oil
When sunbathing with no sunscreen, the vitamin D forms in the tiny pools of oil on the skin to be easily and quickly absorbed.
When you take Epsom salt baths, the magnesium and sulfur are readily taken into the blood.
In addition to vitamins and minerals, there is evidence that oil itself is absorbed by the skin.
Midwives frequently suggest rubbing castor oil on the belly of an overdue patient or using a castor oil pack in order to stimulate contractions.
Using this information to get cod liver oil into your child with no swallowing needed can be a very practical approach!
Thinner Skin is Best
Since high vitamin cod liver oil can stain clothing and burn the eyes, it is important to put apply it to an area that is not easily accessed by little fingers and hands.
It is also a good idea to apply where the skin is a bit thinner for maximum absorption potential.
With these goals in mind, the best place for application seems to be your child’s bare bottom. Slathering a bit of cod liver oil on this area during a diaper change once a day works really well.
You can slather the 1/4 -1/2 tsp daily dose on at one time if you like. There’s no need to put it on at every diaper change.
If your child is out of diapers, you can slather the cod liver oil on the belly area instead and wrap some gauze around the torso to keep it from contacting clothing. This method also works for older children with disabilities.
Don’t worry about a lingering fishy smell. Any odor is surprisingly gone within just a few minutes of application!
Which Brand to Use?
Should you apply the high vitamin cod liver oil with the synergistic butter oil too? That is a good idea as they work together to increase the potency and effectiveness of each other according to the research of Dr. Weston A. Price.
Please refer to my shopping guide for vetted brands that are pure, unprocessed and contain only natural vitamins.
This is the brand my family has used since 2015. If you decide to try it, be sure to use coupon HealthyHome10 for a 10% discount even on reorders!
What about adding liquid FCLO to kids juice? I thought that I’d heard of that idea and planned to try it.
Wish my mom had known about this. That nasty stuff repeats on you all day.
i always recommend getting the cod liver oil in at 6 months so children grow up with it “in the water” and it is part of their palate. giving fish eggs at this time as a first food also “seasons” them for strong fishy flavors. we did not do that, unfortunately, and came to FCLO later with our first. we started giving our kids FCLO when sylvia was 4 and henry was 1. we all take it together (parents lead by example) as a family in the morning after breakfast and use the oslo orange flavor. it is a wise tradition in our home like lighting candles for the sabbath or singing happy birthday. when i forget, my children remind me. 5mls for the kids and my husband, 10mls for me. we all chase it with cold raw milk (i don’t need a chaser and neither does my daughter – tough dames in this house!). my husbands says that if he has the right amount of milk with the oil he does not have a problem at all but if he doesn’t have enough he burps up oil for a while and that’s not so nice. i have spilled cod liver oil and it stinks up everything to the point of having to throw things out so i can’t imagine what it would be like applying it to the skin. i reckon we would all smell like fish which might be a bit much to tolerate after a while. making the FCLO (Family Cod Liver Oil is Fermented Cod Liver Oil) a morning (or before bedtime) family routine is a beautiful bond of love, health, wellness and tradition that i hope my children will continue with their families for generations to come. the FCLO will see to that!
This is great advice. We’re trying to start now (kids 6 and 3), and having a rough go of it…
YEAH!!! I’ve been wracking my brain over this one. Thanks for such great info.
I’ve been doing this with our 6yo son for a month and I have a couple of questions.
First of all, we use the liquid FCLO (he takes the butter oil on toast) and 1/2 tsp covers the whole front of his body! How can you get it just on the diaper area without it running everywhere? Would using the FCLO/BO combo be not as messy?
Second, it takes forever to soak in … we’ve been putting it on his chest/stomach after his shower and it takes an hour + to soak in so that it’s dry. Wouldn’t putting gauze over it just cause the oil to soak into the gauze instead of his skin?
Oh, and third, I’ve noticed that he’s got these little bumps (they look like small bites or hives after his shower – redder) on his chest. Has anyone doing this seen any skin irritation or reaction on their kids?
Thanks! I knew he’d never swallow it and thought applying it to his skin would be the perfect solution, but it’s pushing back bedtime (which is causing it’s own problems) and (possibly) causing some skin irritation. Ugh! Would switching to the blend possibly solve these issues?
Hi Amanda, try using much smaller amounts that will soak in more quickly and will just spread in the diaper area. You can just apply more frequently instead of just one application.
What about offering some raw honey as a reward after the FCLO? My kids don’t get many sweets, so the raw honey-straight off the spoon-is decadent. Keep persisting. You’re doing great trying so hard to give your son the best. Be patient. It will come in time.
Heh! That’s how I take mine, and I’m an adult. ;-3
What I can’t tolerate is the after-burps, so the honey solved that problem, too.
SO I bet this would work for me as well!
They do sell flavored fermented cod liver oil… my toddler likes the orange… i prefer the cinnamon… either way, it helps to soften the blow.
What a great idea!!
I have just ordered my CLO and Butter Oil from Green Pastrues, after reading about them here (thank you!)…
I am hoping that, since the dose size is small, I can reason with my Littles (6 and 3), but it’s nice to have a back-up option.
I’ll look forward tot heir skin-focused products!
How young should we start our daughter on fish oil? she is 9 months by calendar (6 months adjusted age–born prematurely). She is still on breast milk.
Hi Heather, do not give fish oil. Only cod liver oil and only the brands recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation as some brands are very low quality.
The WAPF recommends starting babies on cod liver oil at 3 months of age. At 9 months, she definitely would benefit from a daily dose.
We use emulsified from Green Pastures with our 4 year old. Is that okay for the baby?
Just read & see that the Green Pastures we already have will be okay for the baby, too. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/05/should-babies-get-cod-liver-oil/
How to Get Your Child To Take Cod Liver Oil – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/izzbRXN
Here’s our two cents on getting kids to swallow the stuff:
Krista