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Administration: Mixing Powdered Medication into Suspensions

Medication Information Leaflet

This leaflet explains how to reconstitute a bottle of medication, which means to mix cool boiled water with a powdered medication to produce a suspension.

1. Gently shake the bottle to loosen the powder Open the cap.
2. If the bottle has markings to indicate the final volume: a) Carefully add cool boiled water to about HALF the height of the final marking on the bottle. b) Close the cap. c) Shake the bottle until all the powder is thoroughly mixed. d) Allow the suspension to stand for 2-5 minutes to remove the air bubbles in the bottle. e) Open the cap. f) Carefully add cool boiled water until the level of the marking is reached
OR 2. If the bottle does not have any markings: a) Using the cup or syringe provided, carefully measure or syringe out the instructed amount (in mL) of cool boiled water and add it into the bottle.
3. Close the cap. Invert the bottle and shake the bottle vigorously for at least 5 seconds to get an even suspension. The suspension is then ready to be taken.
4. Shake well before giving each dose. 5. Follow the instructions on the label to ensure that you take the correct amount of the medication.
6. Once you have added water into the bottle, the expiry date is usually shortened. Check the label on the bottle to know how to store the medication after it is reconstituted to a suspension and when to throw away the suspension.
7. If you have more than one bottle of the same medication, finish one bottle first before adding water into the next bottle.

Disclaimer

If you take more than the recommended dose, please seek medical advice immediately. The information provided on this page does not replace information from your healthcare professional. Please consult your healthcare professional for more information.

This article is jointly developed by members of the National Medication Information workgroup. The workgroup consists of cluster partners (National Healthcare Group, National University Health System and SingHealth), community pharmacies (Guardian, Unity and Watsons) and Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore. The content does not reflect drug availability and supply information in pharmacies and healthcare institutions. You are advised to check with the respective institutions for such information.

Last updated in January 2021

This article was last reviewed on Thursday, May 20, 2021