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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!
Thank you! Posts like these are why I read your blog. I think I speak for a lot of women when I say I don’t have a lot of people to turn to in my circle of family and friends who have much experience living this lifestyle.
Hear, hear!!
Amen to that!
Thanks Sarah, I’m so pleased about this post and all the helpful comments from others with their tips. I’ve been dragging my heels buying FCLO because I wasn’t sure which one to get knowing my 13 year son with Aspergers would not take it. It’s been my experience that I have to hide things in his food and drink, and even then it doesn’t work if the colour, taste or texture is too different. It didn’t occur to me to try hiding this because it’s such a strong flavour, but I think I’ll get the plain oil and try hiding it in things like mashed potato. I have the butter oil covered – I finally made some last weekend when I made another batch of butter (with low temp pasteurised cream as I can’t get raw) – thanks for your very helpful video!
So good! Will b doin this!RT @KristinaPC: Great advice! RT @realfoodmedia: How to Get Your Child To Take Cod Liver Oil http://bit.ly/otLBzS
I didn’t know it was a problem… my four year old will even take the Mediterranean flavor fermented cod liver oil, I can’t even make myself do that.
Somewhat off-topic, but it’s really sad how a small child’s will is allowed to prevail over an adult’s… resorting to bribes and begging and even monetary payment. It should be known willful, disobedient children are unique to and characteristic of modern Western culture. I understand CLO is unpleasant for many kids, but think about it: it’s what’s best for them, and they are not exactly the greatest judge of what’s best for them, you are. So train them to obey you, wise parent. Years later, they’ll thank you… for their healthy bodies and characters.
I totally agree with you Marisa that for older children (over age 3 or so), taking the daily FCLO is simply a discipline issue. My kids would never even dream of saying “no” to me when I tell them it’s time for their dose. They understand that there would be consequences for disobedience or even for whining about it.
For children that are young, however, other options are needed as consequences for a young toddler or baby are futile or even damaging to their psyche until their cognitive abilities have developed to the point of understanding the basic concept of cause and effect.
Why is the issue of parenting philosophy being brought up in a discussion about CLO? Not everyone places a high value on obedience in their children. You’re passing judgement on the decisions of other parents as if this is somehow a fault, something that comes from pure laziness, and that blind obedience and breaking the will of children is a good thing. Not everyone agrees. This doesn’t belong here.
My thinking is that once a child gets to a certain age, disobedience with regard to taking CLO has health consequences so the discussion does appear to have value.
I actually didn’t bring up parenting philosophy first–I was inspired to comment by all the folks who first professed some of their parenting philosophies. Whether that makes it an o.k. topic to talk about, I don’t really know… I’m just reacting.
I believe many parents in Western society don’t know that they can have really obedient children (not robots who blindly follow, as you seem to be implying), and I believe that most parents desire that. It makes sense. Children, with little to no experience in life, benefit from listening to and obeying their parents, who have more life experience. When untrained kids are given choices, they’re always bent towards immediate gratification in my observations, which results in ruination, if unchecked.
Therefore the resulting parental philosophy would be to capture the hearts of your children, that is, making them want to obey you, by showing them that you love them and you’re directing them in your wisdom, not just making them do whatever you feel like (which is how so many kids feel). This results in children trusting the judgment of their parents, and wanting from their hearts to please their parents.
I think most with child-raising experience would agree that this is the ideal situation for both parents and children, because it results in an unstressed parent and a happy child being raised in wisdom, security, and love–unlike the wild, screaming children and burned-out parents (with a love/hate relationship) you see in post-modern cultures today. So, my original comment was to briefly let these folks know: it’s possible.
I don’t see anything wrong with “passing judgment” as long as it’s not mean-spirited, stems from the sincere desire to be helpful, and may be of actual use to the other person. I welcome these judgments!
Oh it’s not just modern western culture, my mom grew up in a 3rd world country during a dictatorship and it was mandatory for public schools to give cod liver oil to the children everyday… I guarantee you that children then didn’t just think “oh it’s good for my health, I’ll be a good girl and have some”. Even nowadays I got capsules with lemon flavor, and asked my mom if she wanted to take some, that it didn’t taste bad… she’s a very quiet, sweet and well mannered 60 year old lady… and she screamed and ran away to the other room! 😛 Went after her and said “really, you can’t taste it in capsule!” and she just kept saying “No, no, no! No, no, no, I don’t want!”
I put a half a teaspoon of the BO/FCLO on gauze and cover that with a wound bandage and put it on my sons backside/hip area. Works great!
Thank you!! I think this will help us heaps 🙂
We mix the butter oil and FCLO together, which really cuts the taste. We put the FCLO in a tiny medicine cup, then set that into warm water until the butter oil is liquid. My girls appreciate the change as they used to have to drink it straight.
By the way, it stopped “repeating” on us after a few days of regular use. It is only when we stop taking it, then start again, that it comes back (more incentive to take it regularly!)
My favorite method of getting kids to take their FCLO was the one that the owner of Green Pastures shared. He said that if his children are fussy when it comes to taking their FCLO, then he assumes that their fussiness is a result of a vitamin-deficiency and they must have a double dose. They take their FCLO without fussing every time. Too funny!
Thank you again, Sarah, for all that you do.
Blessings,
Mary
These are some really excellent tips, Mary. Thank you for sharing!
Great advice, thank you!
Today was our first day, and I mixed the FCLO (mint) and Butter Oil together in a little medicine cup! LOL!
But, no dice. Both kids were gagging, and my six year old actually ran to the bathroom about halfway through and spit up a little (she didn’t truly “throw up”, but it was really triggering her gag reflex…).
*sigh*
I must have weird kids, because they ask me to give them CLO. lol!
By the blend with high vitamin butter oil are you talking about the emulsified or something else? I’ve talked myself into trying it (Green Pastures) and now I’m trying to decide what to buy. If you buy flavored (I’m thinking cinnamon, probably) can you still taste the CLO? Does it give people ‘the burps’ afterwards? If so, do they taste like fish or do they taste like the flavor?
I just started taking FCLO, I got cinnamon flavored, and I do taste it later, like every other day or so. It tastes like the whole FLCO flavor I initially swallowed, cinnamon included. I haven’t figured out what covers up the taste yet. Hope that helps.
It’s a little more pricey, but I buy the capsules. No fish burps or tasting it later in my mouth. It’s worth it!
I would gladly pay extra to get the capsules for me (and hubby) … but the Littles don’t swallow yet, so I’m stuck being an example for them. *sigh*