Hate Swallowing Tablet Medicine

Most would find it easier to drain the bitter medicine in powder form. Most children and the elderly would vote for this option. But, having crushed medicinal pills could have serious, even fatal, consequences, on your health.

Experts estimated over 80% of people would prefer to have the tablets crushed before swallowing them. According to doctors, crushing pills can alter their effect besides affecting the way the drug is released and absorbed in our digestive tract.

Most of the medicines in tablet format have special coating to prevent chemical collision coming in contact with epithelial lining of your stomach. The medicine has the distinctive purpose to deliberately pass your stomach and reach your intestine for effective absorption. Crushed medicines may come in contact with stomach wall leading to gastric injury and even bleeding if major.

Some medicines are effective only when they are released slowly into your digestive tract. One example is the anti-diabetic drug Metformin, which was meant to be released over 24 hours. Having then crushed would deteriorate their lasting period as from the absorption before the designated timing.

According to a drug expert, a tablet may have some binding agents and other chemicals which were not spread uniformly across a tablet. Breaking into half would reduce its potency as a full tablet that compliments each other. The effects might be reduced by half.

If you noticed, some would add them in juice or milk with the crushed pills. This might result undesirable interaction of drug with the liquid. With recommendation from experts, drugs that are not scored or lined from the centre must never be crushed under any circumstance. This has the meaning of taken on the whole.

Almost over 60% of elderly patients have trouble swallowing pills and estimated 75 million prescriptions a year are associated with adverse drug reactions. Crushing of Cirpoquine and Ciprofloxacin could result in nausea and vomiting. Now remember the next time you cannot swallow a pill, have it with your favorite dessert. It will be fine.