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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!
I recently bought the chocolate creme FCLO/BO combo, & it is really nasty. 🙁 My kids are 2 yrs., 4 yrs. & 5 yrs., are the capsules an o.k. dosage for them? They are really excited to try to swallow them without chewing, so I think they can do it. The older 2 have developed some significant tooth decay in the past few months, so they definitely need it, but I want to be cautious. My son seriously almost threw up when he ate the spoonful (willingly) & was crying & gagging. I really didn’t blame him. I also put it in a smoothie, & it was terrible. I am perfectly willing to use the capsules. I just was curious about the kids.
Thanks!
Angie, I bought the same. I bought after getting a recommendation from a WAP food seminar that included this recipe for getting kids to eat the FCLO/BO. My 3-year-old won’t eat it, but I think it is tasty. Try it.
Mix oil/butter dose with a tablespoon (roughly) of coconut oil, a bit of honey and a dash of cinnamon. I think it makes a tasty little pudding although my small one disagrees.
Maybe yours will like it. We have just discovered my son has a small cavity on his front tooth so we are on a mission to get some in him.
What an interesting discussion! Kids have so many different personalities. I feel fortunate that both of my kids have always likes fish oil, CLO, and now FCLO which we just started taking recently. I have always taken regular CLO myself, even when I was a kid. I don’t know if my taking it during pregnancy and lactation helped them like it…or maybe that they had tastes of it early on in life. Personally I don’t believe in rewarding my kids; it doesn’t feel right to me. To get them to try new foods, I model and do it myself, while explaining to them why I am doing it. I don’t put any pressure on them; I just act like it doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s their personalities–I am not sure–but eventually they want to try, too. My oldest daughter seems to have an interest in her health and likes the idea of doing healthy things for herself! I love seeing that, and I do hope it lasts.
Lisa
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What about putting it on the bottom of their feet? Is the butt or the stomach somehow a better way to absorb it? I always thought that the feet had the largest pores of the body and absorbed the best. I have one daughter that actually loves CLO she even happily takes the FCLO/BO but my other refuses. I have rubbed on her bottom but just thought maybe the feet would work better…. please advise 🙂
I sometimes drizzle a bit over their salad along with homemade lemon juice/olive oil salad dressing.. They never notice. Works great for picky teens/tweens.
Now that it’s summer, I tell my kids that they can’t play outside or go swimming until they take their FCLO. And I’ve been upping the dose a bit as it helps with protection from sunburn.
My 2 year old daughter used to ask for a second round of the stuff. I thought it was strange, but gave it to her anyway… figured that if she wanted more, she probably needed it.
Yep, we have a super cute tee that is forever stained from my 3 y.o. spitting out the FCLO. 🙂
I tried this and the fishy smell did not go away! My son smelled terrible until he finally took a shower, several hours later. I had to wash it off my daughter within 10 minutes b/c she couldn’t stand the smell. Going to try some of the other suggestions of taking it by mouth!
Great article and I very much enjoy when I learn something absolutely new! As for our family of five, we began serving around 6mos of age. Now you may all laugh, but we were inspired by Mary Poppins “spoonful of sugar” and now give fermented cod liver oil with some homemade ice cream in the same spoon!
When I lived with the grandkids, age 2 & 4, I gave them CLO every day. They previously took “fishy oils”, but the sweetened kind. I think it helped that they were used to the idea of “fishy oils”. At first, they resisted b/c of the taste, so I made a big deal out of it, but in a fun way. One boy each day got to help with the preparation. This meant he got to sit high up on the kitchen counter which helped him feel special. First we put warm/hot water into a small cup. A capuccino cup or a shot glass works great. Even a wine glass would feel impressive. Add the butter oil till melted. Then a small amount of juice, then the CLO. They loved being able to pull the CLO out with the syringe and squirt it into the juice. For a while, we also made a contest out of it. On the count of 1-2-3, we would see who could down it fastest. Then, for a while, the youngest decided he wouldn’t take it. I didn’t fight with him, but whenever his big brother took it, I would tell him, “Wow, you’re getting taller…must be that CLO!” or “Wow, let me check your muscles! That CLO really makes you strong!” Before too long, the young one was back taking CLO and showing me his muscles! I don’t live with them any more, but whenever I visit, the first thing they tell me is whether they did or did not take their “fishy oil”!