“A tough pill to swallow” is more than just a metaphor.
Four in ten adults have difficulty swallowing pills, preventing them from getting much-needed medication.
Many patients have difficulty swallowing larger pills, but even smaller capsules and tablets can cause people to gag, vomit, or choke.
Now speech and language pathologist Leanne Goldberg has revealed the ‘right’ way to take pills, which she claims is safer than conventional methods.
She said it would be enough to place the pill in the center of a spoonful of applesauce, yogurt, or a similar texture so that the pill would absorb smoothly with the consistency of the puree.
“To combat the hypersensitive plug, one can take a deep breath, place the pill in the center of the tongue, take a sip of liquid and swallow firmly – all while maintaining breath,” says Goldberg. said: ‘
Many patients have difficulty swallowing larger pills, but it is also common for them to have difficulty swallowing smaller capsules, causing people to gag, vomit, or choke
Most people who have difficulty swallowing pills do not have the same difficulty swallowing liquids or food, known as pill dysphagia.
The discomfort can be so great that it prevents a person from taking the prescribed medications.
One study found that of the 40 percent of people who have difficulty swallowing pills, 14 percent have been delayed while taking doses of their medication, 8 percent have missed a dose and 4 percent have stopped taking their medication.
Dr. Goldberg said that while most patients have difficulty swallowing larger pills, struggling with smaller capsules is also common.
Several factors can contribute to this problem, including an oversensitive gag reflex, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), anxiety, an aversion to the taste of pills, scleroderma (a condition that causes scar-like tissue to form in the esophagus), and long-term problems resulting from radiation after treatment of head and neck cancer.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany suggest two techniques to help people improve their ability to take medications.
One of these is the pop-bottle method. First, fill a plastic water or soda bottle with water, place the tablet on your tongue and close your lips tightly around the bottle opening.
Then take a drink while holding the bottle to your lips and use a sucking motion to swallow both the water and the pill. Make sure no air gets into the bottle.
Researchers asked about 140 individuals who had difficulty swallowing pills to try this method with their eyes closed while swallowing large and very large pills.
They showed a 60 percent improvement in swallowing compared to the previous method of taking a sip of water from a cup and attempting to swallow.
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The bent-over method of swallowing pills involves placing a capsule on your tongue, taking a sip of water without swallowing, and then tilting your chin toward your chest. While keeping your head bowed, swallow both the capsule and the water.
This technique improved 89 percent over the old method, which involved taking a sip of water from a cup and attempting to swallow.
Their report was published in the Annals of Family Medicine.
Experts warned against grinding medications into a fine powder to mix with a drink or syrupy food.
Crushing a pill can alter its effectiveness by damaging the coating or controlled-release mechanism, which can lead to an overdose or underdose, depending on the drug.