Medication may be essential for your health and well-being, but your pills may be causing you trouble. If you struggle to get your medication down, try these tips.
Tips for Swallowing Pills
- Take a deep breath before attempting to swallow a pill. This suppresses your gag reflex.
- Place the pill lengthwise on your tongue to help it slide down easier.
- Hold a small amount of water in your mouth before inserting the pill. The extra moisture helps prevent the pill from sticking to your tongue.
- Drink water through a straw to create suction that may help the pill go down.
- Chew up a small bite of food, place the pill in your mouth, and swallow the pill with the food.
- Wrap the pill in bread or cheese to make it feel more natural to swallow.
- After swallowing, follow the pill with a few bites of food to help it go all the way down.
Ask Your Doctor About Alternatives
If these tips for swallowing pills don’t help enough, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Many times, medicines come in various forms. In addition to the traditional pill, your prescription may come in one of these other forms:
- Liquid – Accurate measurement ensures the correct dose
- Dispersible – This tablet dissolves in water
- Buccal – A tablet that dissolves in your mouth
- Suppository – This is an absorbable pill through the rectum, vagina or urethra
- Patch or cream – This allows for slow, regular absorption through the skin
- Inhalable version – This type of medicine enters the bloodstream through the lungs
Crushing or Opening Pills
You may also have the option of crushing tablets or opening capsules and dispersing the medication in water. However, only certain medications are safe to crush or open. Those designed with a delayed, sustained, controlled or long-acting release should be taken whole. Crushing or opening these types of pills could cause the medication to take effect more quickly than intended, resulting in an overdose, even when taken in the prescribed amount.
With these tips for swallowing pills, you’re better equipped to get the medication into your system. For more tips, contact MAR-J Medical Supply.
Image via Shutterstock.com
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