A LITTLE FLAVOR GOES A LONG WAY

FLAVORx produces 42 flavors, from bubble gum to watermelon, to make the medicine go down more easily.

Mary Poppins was right. A spoonful of sugar -- or at least some flavoring -- helps the medicine go down.

Bill Brewer knows that's the case. A pharmacist, Brewer operates Beauton Drug Store in East Prairie.

For the last two years, he has been flavoring liquid medications to cover up the bad taste and make it easier for children to take.

Brewer uses flavoring created by a company called FLAVORx. The firm manufactures 42 concentrated flavors -- everything from bubble gum to butterscotch, chocolate to cherry.

There's even coffee and pina colada flavors.

Brewer offers the flavoring as a service to his customers.

"We have never really charged for it," he said. "If they want it done, we flavor it for them."

Brewer said FLAVORx provides a list of flavors that work well with particular medications.

"The kids all like it," he said.

Cape Girardeau pharmacist Becky Maintz also has found the flavors popular with young children.

Maintz manages Southeast Pharmacy at Doctors' Park. The pharmacy is affiliated with Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Maintz said the pharmacy started offering the flavorings in December.

Southeast Pharmacy charges $3 to flavor a bottle of medicine. But Maintz said it is worth it to parents who find it difficult to get their children to take bad-tasting medicines.

Many antibiotics children have to take are bitter tasting. Children either won't take the medicine or they can't keep it down.

Both Maintz and Brewer said children are more likely to take their medicine if it tastes good.

It isn't uncommon for an antibiotic to be prescribed for 10 days.

If it tastes bad, children often won't take all the medicine prescribed.

They end up with a continued infection, which then must be treated with more medicine, Maintz and Brewer said.

Maintz said her 2-year-old son is testimony to the fact that the flavoring system works when it comes to taking medicine.

"I know the cherry must be good because my son likes it," Maintz said.

"They smell real good," Maintz said of the concentrated flavors.

It takes only a few drops to flavor a bottle of liquid medicine.

Maintz said she usually lets the children taste the medicine before they leave to make sure it suits them.

In addition to flavoring, Maintz adds coloring at times to make the medicine look good.

A medicine with bubble gum flavoring added to it needs to look pink, she said.

"A lot of kids like the bubble gum," she said. Grape and cherry are favorite flavors too.

"The fruit flavors go over real good," said Maintz.

The flavors are designed so they won't interfere with the medicine.

The flavoring system also includes a sweetener and a bitterness suppressor, which can be added to the mix to improve the taste.

Kenneth Kramm started FLAVORx Inc. in Washington, D.C., in July 1995.

He started the business because his daughter couldn't stomach foul-tasting medicine that she had to take for a seizure disorder. She threw up every dose.

In the end, Kramm and his father, who owned a family pharmacy, came up with various flavorings by trial and error.

The flavorings currently are being used in over 800 pharmacies nationwide.

The flavorings are distributed under a licensing arrangement.

Maintz said the flavors aren't restricted just to children's medications. They can be added to over-the-counter medicines too.

She said she flavored cough medicine for one adult customer.

But it's the children that benefit most when it comes to taking medicine.

Said Maintz, "I think they are going to be more likely to take it and get better quicker."