A budesonide slurry is a thick drink that contains the medicine budesonide (brand name Pulmicort^®). It can help treat eosinophilic esophagitis by calming the inflammation (irritation) of the esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach).

Follow these steps to make a budesonide slurry:

1. Open the budesonide plastic container by twisting off the top.
2. Pour the budesonide into a small medicine cup. Use the dose that your health care provider recommended.
3. To thicken the liquid and make it taste better, add 1 teaspoon of Neocate^® Nutra powder, honey, or applesauce; or add 5 packets of Splenda^® or stevia.
4. Mix until slightly thickened. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the esophagus on the way down.
5. Have your child swallow the slurry.
6. Right after your child swallows the slurry, they should rinse their mouth with water, spit it out, and then brush their teeth.

Your child should not eat or have anything to drink for 1 hour after taking the slurry.

• Your child can't take the medicine.
• You aren't sure how much medicine to give.
• Your child gets white spots inside their mouth. (A possible side effect of this medicine is a yeast infection in the mouth called thrush, which needs to be treated.)

What is budesonide? Budesonide is a steroid medicine. Steroid medicines calm inflammation. It is also used as an inhaled medicine to treat asthma. Budesonide is not the type of steroid that athletes take to build muscle.

Can budesonide have side effects? Kids usually don’t get side effects from the budesonide slurry. They can get thrush but rinsing after drinking the slurry can help prevent it. Higher doses of steroids, or taking steroids for a long time, can cause other side effects.