We're all familiar with medication or nutritional supplements in pill form. The shelves of pharmacies, drug stores, health food stores, and even groceries are crowded with them. However, many people have trouble swallowing pills. Research suggests that as much as 40% of the population may have this difficulty.
Checking on the internet will quickly let you know that you're not alone, if you're one of those who has this problem. The web is a great resource, in fact; there are lots of tips and information on this problem. Private individuals and medical professionals have advice and ideas that could help.
One tip concerns the position of your head during the process. People may think that throwing the head back will make things easier, but this is apparently the wrong approach. Doing this actually makes your throat narrower. Experts suggest tucking your head into your chest, which relaxes the throat and should help a tablet or capsule go down.
People who know that a pill is going to stick half-way down, or who gag when they try to take something without chewing, often make matters worse by tensing up when it's time to swallow. Even though they know this is happening, they can't help themselves. The very young and the very old are most prone to this difficulty, but some suffer with it all their lives.
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.
Other tips include using a straw to get a mouthful of liquid or chewing a mouthful of food, popping in the tablet you need to take, and swallowing the whole deal. Sucking on a straw creates suction in your mouth, which makes swallowing easier. A mouthful of already chewed food can take the pill with it and keep it from getting stuck halfway down.
Water is the safest liquid to use when taking medication, since it doesn't interfere with the ingredients or the efficacy of the pharmaceutical. You can check and see if there are any warnings about food or beverages which should be avoided. If not, many find that carbonated beverages work well. If you have trouble with liquid or regular food, you may have dysphagia, a condition which may require a special diet and medical supervision.
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.
Checking on the internet will quickly let you know that you're not alone, if you're one of those who has this problem. The web is a great resource, in fact; there are lots of tips and information on this problem. Private individuals and medical professionals have advice and ideas that could help.
One tip concerns the position of your head during the process. People may think that throwing the head back will make things easier, but this is apparently the wrong approach. Doing this actually makes your throat narrower. Experts suggest tucking your head into your chest, which relaxes the throat and should help a tablet or capsule go down.
People who know that a pill is going to stick half-way down, or who gag when they try to take something without chewing, often make matters worse by tensing up when it's time to swallow. Even though they know this is happening, they can't help themselves. The very young and the very old are most prone to this difficulty, but some suffer with it all their lives.
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.
Other tips include using a straw to get a mouthful of liquid or chewing a mouthful of food, popping in the tablet you need to take, and swallowing the whole deal. Sucking on a straw creates suction in your mouth, which makes swallowing easier. A mouthful of already chewed food can take the pill with it and keep it from getting stuck halfway down.
Water is the safest liquid to use when taking medication, since it doesn't interfere with the ingredients or the efficacy of the pharmaceutical. You can check and see if there are any warnings about food or beverages which should be avoided. If not, many find that carbonated beverages work well. If you have trouble with liquid or regular food, you may have dysphagia, a condition which may require a special diet and medical supervision.
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.
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