Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Taking the tablet with food
• Method 2 of 3: Swallowing a tablet with liquid
• Method 3 of 3: Alternative Methods
• Tips
• Warnings

Despite the fact that taking pills is quite common procedure, it causes serious difficulties for many adults and children. The fear of a gag reflex strains the throat so much that the pill stubbornly stays in the mouth until the person spits it out. To make it easier for yourself, take it with soft food or plenty of liquid.If that doesn't work, use a special technique to keep the throat open as long as necessary to allow the pill to pass through the esophagus. Ultimately, you can talk to your doctor about prescribing a different form of medication for you: liquid, patch, or suppositories.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Taking the tablet with food

1. 1 Eat a pill with bread. If you're trying to take a pill and just can't swallow it, try using a piece of bread. Break off a small piece of bread and chew until ready to swallow. Before swallowing bread, take a tablet and attach it to the chewed bread in your mouth. Close your mouth and swallow the bread along with the tablet. The tablet should pass through the esophagus without difficulty.
   • You can also use a piece of bagel, cookie, or cracker. Their texture is similar enough to bread to help you swallow a pill with them.
   • You can also wash down the bread with water to help it pass through the esophagus.
   • Some medicines should be taken on an empty stomach. Check the instructions for the drug to see if there is any indication that the drug should be taken on an empty stomach.
2. 2 Eat a gummy pill. To make the tablet easier to swallow, you can stick it in a piece of marmalade. Take a piece of marmalade and make a small incision in it. Insert a tablet into the incision. Eat the marmalade, but don't chew it. Some tablets cannot be chewed - this changes the onset of their action. Just try to swallow the marmalade, and when it is in your throat, quickly wash it down with water.
   • You may have difficulty if you find yourself unable to swallow a piece of marmalade. It may take some practice.
   • This method works very well for children. Disguising the tablet with marmalade makes it easier for parents to convince the child to take the medicine.
3. 3 Lubricate the tablet with honey or peanut butter. The tablets can be taken with honey or peanut butter as these products make it easier for them to pass down the throat. Take a spoonful of any of the foods listed and place the tablet in the very center of the spoon. Be sure to push the tablet into the honey or peanut butter. Then, swallow the prepared spoonful of honey or peanut butter along with the tablet. Wash it down with water.
   • You should drink water before and after using this method. Honey and peanut butter are quite thick foods and can be swallowed rather slowly. Moistening your throat with water before and after drinking them can help you swallow the pill spoon more easily without choking.
4. 4 Try a soft food pill. If you can't swallow a tablet with bread, try eating it with soft foods, such as applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, pudding, or jelly. This method is used in hospitals for patients who have difficulty swallowing. Prepare a small plate of food. Eat a little before swallowing a pill with food. Then eat the pill with another spoonful of food. The tablet should pass through the esophagus without difficulty with food when you take a sip.
   • Do not chew the tablet while doing this.
5. 5 Practice swallowing tablets on small candies. One of the main reasons people have difficulty swallowing pills is because the throat rejects the pill and tightens. To overcome this, you can practice swallowing small sugary pills to train your throat to swallow whole objects without choking or getting hurt. Take a small dragee like the mini M & M's. Put it in your mouth like a pill and swallow it with a sip of water. Repeat the procedure until you get used to the size of the swallowed pills.
   • Then move on to larger chocolates like Skittles, regular M & M's, or Tic Tac.Repeat the same procedure with the given size until you get used to it.
   • Practice for about 10 minutes daily until you can swallow pills that are similar in size and shape to your pills.
   • It can help teach children how to take pills. Just be sure to explain to your child that taking medication is a serious procedure and should not be confused with eating candy.
6. 6 Eat a tangerine pill. Try swallowing a whole tangerine wedge. When you get used to swallowing tangerine slices, place the tablet inside the next wedge and swallow it. The smooth texture of the tangerine wedge will make it easier for the tablet to pass through the throat and make it easy to swallow.
   • Drink a slice of tangerine with water to help it pass through the esophagus.

Method 2 of 3: Swallowing a tablet with liquid

1. 1 Take a few sips of water before and while taking the tablet. When you are taking the medicine, keep your throat as hydrated as possible so that the pill can pass through the throat easily. Take a few small sips of water before taking the tablet. Place the tablet at the base of your tongue and then continue drinking water until you have swallowed the tablet.
   • Take a few extra sips of water after swallowing the tablet to help it pass through the esophagus.
   • The water should be cool or room temperature, but not hot or icy.
2. 2 Try the two gulp method. Take a pill and place it on your tongue. Take a mouthful of water and swallow the water in a large gulp, not the tablet. Then take another large sip of water along with the tablet. After that, take one normal sip of water to help the tablet pass up the esophagus.
   • This method allows you to open your throat wider on the first sip, which helps to relax it when you subsequently swallow a tablet that is smaller in itself than the throat.
3. 3 Use a cocktail straw. Some people find it easier to swallow a tablet with water or a drink that is sucked through a straw. Place the tablet on the base of your tongue. Start drinking the water or beverage through a straw and swallow the tablet while doing so. Continue drinking after swallowing the tablet to help it pass through the esophagus.
   • The physical work of the mouth while sucking the liquid through the straw makes it easier to swallow the tablet.
4. 4 Drink plenty of water before using the tablet. Some people find that drinking plenty of water before taking the tablet makes it easier to swallow. Draw a mouthful of water. Part your lips slightly and push the pill into your mouth. Then swallow the water together with the tablet.
   • If you feel like the pill is stuck in your throat, you can drink plenty of water to swallow it completely.
   • Fill your mouth about 80% full with water. If your mouth is full, you won't be able to swallow the water in one gulp, so this may make the method less effective.
   • In this case, you may feel the pill and the water itself in your throat. This usually does not lead to a gag reflex and does not cause discomfort.
   • In this method, you can use not only water, but also other drinks.
5. 5 Help your child swallow the pill. Even three-year-olds sometimes need to take pills. At this age, it may be difficult for a child to understand the technique of swallowing a pill, or he may simply be afraid to choke on it. If you find yourself in such a situation, try to explain the whole process to your child. Ask him to take water in his mouth and hold it in his mouth while looking at the ceiling. Slip the pill into your child's mouth through the corner of the lips and wait for it to go down to the throat. After a while, ask the child to swallow the water, while the tablet should pass through the esophagus along with the water.
   • You can try any other method of swallowing tablets with food or drink with your child, unless prohibited by the instructions for the drug.

Method 3 of 3: Alternative Methods

1. 1 Try using a plastic bottle. Fill a plastic bottle with water. Place the pill on your tongue. Then put your lips around the neck of the bottle. Throw back your head and drink some water. Keep your lips on the neck of the bottle and suck the water out of it. The water along with the tablet should easily pass through the throat.
   • When drinking, make sure that no air seeps into the bottle.
   • This method is best for large tablets.
   • The sucking motion when you swallow the water will open your throat and make it easier to swallow the tablet.
   • This method is not suitable for children.
2. 2 Use the head tilt technique. When using this method, you need to put the tablet on your tongue. Then you need to take water in your mouth, but do not rush to swallow it. You will first need to tilt your head forward, pressing your chin to your chest. When the capsule slides closer to your throat, swallow it.
   • This method works best for tablets in capsule form.
   • This method can be applied to children as well. After the initial intake of water in your mouth, ask your child to look at the floor while you slide the capsule into his mouth. The capsule will float up to the throat and the child will be able to swallow it with water.
3. 3 Relax. Anxiety can have a significant impact on your ability to swallow a pill. It is very important to relax while doing this. When we are nervous, our body becomes tense and it becomes more difficult to swallow the pill. To prevent this from happening, you need to relax. Sit down with a glass of water and do something that will help you reduce your anxiety. Find a quiet place to do this, listen to soothing music, or meditate.
   • This will calm your nerves and break the association between pills and stress, making your body less prone to gagging from the pill.
   • If all else fails, you can see a psychologist to help you cope with the anxiety that occurs before taking the pills.
   • If you need to help your child swallow a pill, it will be effective to distract the baby from the act itself before taking it. Read a book to your child, play a game with him, do something with him that will allow him to relax before taking the pill. The more calm the child is, the more successfully he will be able to swallow the pill.
4. 4 Conquer your fears. You may be worried that the pill won't go down your throat, especially if it's large. To deal with this fear, stand in front of a mirror. Open your mouth and say "Aaaaa". This will allow you to see the size of your throat and understand that the pill can easily pass through it.
   • The mirror can be additionally used when placing the tablet on the tongue. The deeper the pill lies, the less distance it will need to travel to the throat when swallowed.
   • Also, this method is applicable to a child who is afraid to choke on a pill. Do this with your child to demonstrate that you understand your child's fears, but reassure him that he has nothing to fear.
5. 5 Find alternatives to pills. Many drugs are available in various dosage forms. You can buy the medicine in liquid form, in the form of a patch, cream, inhalation solution, in the form of rectal suppositories or aerosols, which are tablets dissolved in water. Talk to your doctor about your options, especially if you find it difficult to swallow pills regardless of the method used.
   • Do not try to take the pill in any other way than the one recommended by your doctor. Do not crush a tablet or try to dissolve it, do not try to use a tablet instead of a rectal suppository if it is not intended for this. Always check with your doctor before changing the method of taking a pill.

Tips

• Try coated tablets.They are easier to swallow and do not have an unpleasant taste if they stay on the tongue for a little longer than the prescribed time.
• Try iced water or some other tasty liquid on the tablet. The taste of the drink will mask the taste of the tablet. However, some tablets cannot be taken with drinks or juices. If in doubt, ask your doctor for advice.
• All of these methods can be used to help the child swallow the pill, unless otherwise indicated in the instructions for the particular drug. However, you need to figure out the size of the food or the amount of water that the child can absorb at one time.
• Minimize the time the tablet is on your tongue. Get into the habit of putting the pill on your tongue and drinking it in one swift motion.
• A slightly chewed banana can serve as a substitute for water if the tablet is swallowed.
• Purchase medicines in liquid or gel form for easy swallowing.
• Do not crush tablets unless recommended by your doctor or pharmacist. Some tablets may lose their potency if crushed or dissolved too quickly.
• Don't think about it, just take it and swallow it. Perhaps you have a friend who also takes pills - in this case, you can arrange a competition who swallows the pill faster with a glass of water.
• Imagine that there is no tablet and that you are just drinking water. Convince yourself that there is only water. Have a drink and voila!

Warnings

• Don't swallow real pills for practice or fun.
• Keep tablets out of the reach of children. Some formulations include flavorings to make them taste better. Children may like the taste of the pills, which can accidentally lead to overdose. Never tell children that pills are candy.
• Always ask your doctor or pharmacist about taking a tablet with anything other than water. A lot of drugs lose their effectiveness and even contribute to the occurrence of side effects when in contact with certain drinks or food. For example, some antibiotics should never be mixed with dairy products.
• If you still have severe difficulty swallowing the tablets, you may have dysphagia (difficulty or discomfort when swallowing). Ask your therapist about this. It is important to remember that people with dysphagia generally have difficulty swallowing, not just swallowing pills.
• Do not take pills while lying down. To do this, you have to sit down or stand up.