Not good at swallowing pills.

[crowdpleeser]

I'm taking a lot of pills/vitamin supplements, but I've kind of stopped because I don't like swallowing them. What are the different ways I can take pills, without them losing their potency?

(One of them is calmagzinc, it's big hard and chalky. The other one is cod liver oil capsule, so it's liquid on the inside with a thin ''skin'' on the outside. The third one looks like a common medical tablet, powder on the inside and a kind of skin on the outside. I tried pouring the powder into tea once, but it didn't even dissolve!)

[joko]

i would suggest opening or piercing the capsules and mixing it into a smoothie or milkshake or mashed banana or similar.

crush the chalky one between two spoons (you can also buy tablet crushers from chemists)

the 'skins' of tablets dissolve and have no vitamins - they are just a vehicle to get the vitamin inside you, so can be discarded.

heat may destroy them so tea or hot food may not be good

[pega]

Mary Poppns a spoonful of sugar, a good way of taking tablets is with a spoonful of Jam !

[nfn]

almost ALL medications are available as either suspension or soluble alternatives. ask your gp to simply change the way they are prescribed. But remember, is said ALMOST ALL! Some simply have to be taken as a pill. You should never empty a capsule and swallow the contents even in a drink, the coating is there to protect your throat etc. The contents could be too caustic before they reach your stomach or they could be a medication which is slow release (SR) which won't be half as effective because it's absorbed not only too quickly in your stomach but also en route there

[Kay]

A tried and tested way is....Dont go with gravity,put the tab or capsule in your mouth with some liquid or a small piece of fruit,biscuit and as you swallow tuck your chin into your chest. Much easier:-))

[hannah333]

Put the pill on your tongue, then imagine it is not there, and have a large drink and gulp it own like you are really thirsty, and the tablet will be swallowed without you even noticing! The trick is to focus on the drink, not on the pill.

[PhilBy]

You could always go continental and pop 'em up ya bum!