Many patients complain of the difficulty swallowing some pills, especially larger ones. Consequently, many have delayed taking a dose of medication and/or have skipped doses completely, which can increase the risk of illness and even death.
Pills should not be taken in a dry mouth. A small drink of water should be taken first along with several deep breaths. This relaxes tense muscles and allows the pills to go down a wet, lubricated throat. Sucking on an ice cube, popsicle or frozen treat numbs the area and suppresses the gag reflex before swallowing the medication. Another method is to swallow a mouthful of water, then take another mouthful of water, place the pill on the tip of the tongue and tilt the head back slightly, swallowing both the water and the pill. Pills can also be cut in half with a pill cutter/crusher. But first the pharmacist should be consulted to see that a particular pill is safe to cut. Check with the pharmacist to see if the medicaiton is available in liquid form, skin patch or topical cream. Some tablets may be crushed or capsules opened and mixed into food, like apple sauce or stirred into a beverage, such as juice. Here again the pharmacist should be consulted first because some drugs may be time-released and must be swallowed whole or they will enter the system too quickly. Crushing the drug Procardia can cause dizziness or headache and increase the risk for stroke or heart attack. Crushing morphine can lead to a fatal overdose.