When Having Trouble Swallowing Pills
By Rhea Frazier
These days, many people are taking medication. If they're not on one or more pharmaceuticals, they probably take supplements like vitamin or mineral tablets or capsules. However, many of them have trouble swallowing pills. In fact, some doctors and researchers say that 40% or more of Americans have this problem.
Fortunately for all of us, we have the internet as a resource when we have questions. A search on this topic quickly reveals that no one need feel like the Lone Ranger in hating to take a pill. There are many, many discussions online about this, as well as many solutions and suggestions from both private persons and health professionals.
Even the position in which you hold your head can make things easier or more difficult. Throwing your head back actually narrows your throat. Tucking your chin inwards to your neck, however, relaxes the throat muscles and can help get the pill down.
Some have an over-active gag reflex and find that trying to ingest something they haven't chewed will trigger it. They may expel a pill rather than getting it down. Others find that the pill, especially if it's in tablet form, sticks half-way down. Following the tablet with a piece of bread or a mouthful of food may help. Young children and the elderly are prone to these difficulties.
Since chewing a tablet or capsule is not a good idea, because the manufacturers didn't intend them to be ingested that way, it's essential to find a way to make the process easier. One tip that sounds like fun is to wrap the pill in a gummy bear or fruit snack. Let the whole get slippery in your mouth, maybe hastening the process by a sip of warm liquid, and swallow it down.
Using a straw is another idea. The sucking action positions your mouth and throat in a proper way to allow a tablet to enter the throat, and the suction created in your mouth hastens the process. You can also pop a pill after you've chewed a mouthful of food completely and then swallow food and all. This should help prevent the pill from getting stuck half-way down, which is another problem that many people experience.
Water is the usual medium used to wash down medications, many of which are to be taken on an empty stomach. Care must be taken to read the directions; sometimes certain foods and beverages will interfere with the action of the ingredients. Those who have trouble drinking liquids, like people suffering from a condition called dysphagia, can use a thickening agent to keep from choking.
There are pill-cutters and crushers on the market, but this way of reducing the size of a tablet might not be recommended by the manufacturer. Some pills are enteric-coated to resist stomach acids or formulated as timed-release to dissolve over a long period. This kind of preparation should be taken in the original form. Check and see if you can get what you need in a liquid, spray, sub-lingual, or chewable form, or in a patch. You may be surprised to find that you never have to struggle with another tablet or capsule.
Fortunately for all of us, we have the internet as a resource when we have questions. A search on this topic quickly reveals that no one need feel like the Lone Ranger in hating to take a pill. There are many, many discussions online about this, as well as many solutions and suggestions from both private persons and health professionals.
Even the position in which you hold your head can make things easier or more difficult. Throwing your head back actually narrows your throat. Tucking your chin inwards to your neck, however, relaxes the throat muscles and can help get the pill down.
Some have an over-active gag reflex and find that trying to ingest something they haven't chewed will trigger it. They may expel a pill rather than getting it down. Others find that the pill, especially if it's in tablet form, sticks half-way down. Following the tablet with a piece of bread or a mouthful of food may help. Young children and the elderly are prone to these difficulties.
Since chewing a tablet or capsule is not a good idea, because the manufacturers didn't intend them to be ingested that way, it's essential to find a way to make the process easier. One tip that sounds like fun is to wrap the pill in a gummy bear or fruit snack. Let the whole get slippery in your mouth, maybe hastening the process by a sip of warm liquid, and swallow it down.
Using a straw is another idea. The sucking action positions your mouth and throat in a proper way to allow a tablet to enter the throat, and the suction created in your mouth hastens the process. You can also pop a pill after you've chewed a mouthful of food completely and then swallow food and all. This should help prevent the pill from getting stuck half-way down, which is another problem that many people experience.
Water is the usual medium used to wash down medications, many of which are to be taken on an empty stomach. Care must be taken to read the directions; sometimes certain foods and beverages will interfere with the action of the ingredients. Those who have trouble drinking liquids, like people suffering from a condition called dysphagia, can use a thickening agent to keep from choking.
There are pill-cutters and crushers on the market, but this way of reducing the size of a tablet might not be recommended by the manufacturer. Some pills are enteric-coated to resist stomach acids or formulated as timed-release to dissolve over a long period. This kind of preparation should be taken in the original form. Check and see if you can get what you need in a liquid, spray, sub-lingual, or chewable form, or in a patch. You may be surprised to find that you never have to struggle with another tablet or capsule.
About the Author:
If you have trouble swallowing pills, consider using a pill straw to make it easier for you. To order right now, visit the related site at http://www.healthywaymedical.net.