Tips for Swallowing Pills
Tips for Swallowing Tablets
Do you struggle to swallow pills? I recently asked my Kinesiology Association colleagues what their top tips are for helping clients who find swallowing pills difficult, and here’s what they came up with. There’s a whole range of practical solutions from stimulating acupressure points, to working on mental or emotional triggers. Please let me know if you find any of them useful:
Be mindful of whether the pills you are taking are OK to break open, cut into pieces or be chewed. Opening capsules or using a pill crusher (you can find these “online”) to turn chalky pills into powder means you can then add them to some water or soft food such as yogurt or a mushed banana.
Clasp the thumb of one hand into the palm of the same hand whilst swallowing the tablet.
Think ‘yes’ while swallowing - you can’t swallow if you think ‘no’.
Take a mouthful of food, chew until you’re about to swallow and then pop in the pill.
Eating prior to taking the pill helps the saliva flow and the muscles involved in swallowing to be ready. Having something nice to drink to wash it down with immediately afterwards can help in case it feels like it gets a bit stuck.
Temporal tapping - Tap the skull around the outside of your LEFT ear, repeating “I’m happy to swallow these tablets” or “I swallow these pills with ease”. Do this around 5 times; then tap the skull around the outside of your RIGHT ear, whilst repeating “I won’t gag on these tablets” or “I’m not nervous about taking these pills” around 5 times; then finish with the positive statement on the first side again 5 times and then take the pills. These statements are just examples – you can change them but ensure that you start and end with a positive statement and use a “positive/negative” statement in the middle.
By far the best suggestion is the following advice, tailoring accordingly for a person. This comes from the National Library of Medicine website, which in turn was taken from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association:
How to give a cat a pill:
1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil, and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door onto neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of Scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
13. Tie the little @!!@#@#$%'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for SPCA [RSPCA] to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
