ARTICLES / General /
Tips for Swallowing Pills /
Other ArticlesBy Janie Rosman
Swallowing pills — medicine, vitamins or
supplements—is the most commonly-reported
problem for people living with dysphagia,
according to Jan C. Pryor, MA CCC-SLP, BRS-S,
Speech-Language Pathologist at University of
Washington Medical Center.
Water is a usual companion with pills, yet there
are alternative options besides the clear liquid.
“It is very important to take a full glass of water
with pills,” says Pryor, who is also a dysphagia
consultant with the
National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders.
“Without sufficient water, it (pill) can get stuck
in the esophagus and dissolve, causing erosion in
the mucosa and pain, and more trouble swallowing.”
Maggie Kuhn, MD, Fellow, Laryngology and
Bronchoesophagology, Department of
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, UC Davis
School of Medicine, says “If able, we're more
confident about the complete dosage being ingested
when taken with water; however, for many patients
with dysphagia, this is simply not an option.”
Their different consistencies make water and
pills difficult to manage together.
“One is held on the tongue, and the water needs to
take with pill with it,” Pryor says. Sometimes,
though, the water is swallowed while the pill can
stick to the tongue.
People with established dysphagia may need to be
assessed by Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) to
determine the extent of their difficulty and the
most appropriate formulations.
Check with the pharmacy or doctor to see if the
pills can be crushed. While many tablets can be
crushed or opened to release their granules, “some
medications should not be crushed—anything that is
time released—and you might not know this,” Pryor
says.
If the pill can be crushed, then either consult a
compounding pharmacy — which changes the formulation
(solid to liquid) and delivery, not the key contents
— or crush it yourself and mix it with liquid or a
soft solid, like pudding or applesauce; helpful for
those with difficulty juggling a pill and a glass of
water. The soft substance also helps mask the taste
of a bitter medication. “When the two (pill and soft
substance) stay together and move through the throat
at the same velocity — the pill in the substance
like a little raft — people can have an easier
time,” Pryor says. “(The) caveat here is, some
medications are not to be taken with milk products,
so (caregivers) need to be aware of this before
putting them into ice cream, for example.”
Printable Version
