It's Big, But How come it's still hard to swallow medicine? Come on, peek at the tricks!

Naturally, if a child is having trouble swallowing drugs in the form of pills or tablets However, what if this problem occurs when you grow up? In fact, there are also many adults who still have difficulty swallowing these forms of medicine. Actually, why are you adults but still having trouble taking medicine?

Why am I still having trouble swallowing medicine?

Age is not a guarantee, there are many adults who still have difficulty swallowing drugs in the form of pills or tablets. Not without causes, this condition can occur due to the following:

Dysphagia

People who have difficulty swallowing are basically called dysphagia. Dysphagia makes it difficult for a person to swallow both when taking pills, solid food, and even drinks.


Generally dysphagia is the impact of other health problems, such as stroke, surgery, or digestive tract reflux. However, the reason for difficulty swallowing drugs is mostly not because of this dysphagia condition.

Fear

If previously it was caused by an inability to swallow something, different from this one reason. You may have difficulty swallowing drugs in the form of pills or tablets for fear of choking.

Come to think of it, you can swallow solid food in the same size or even bigger than the drug. However, why can't you take your medicine?

Yes, unlike food that can be chewed, the medicine must be swallowed so that it doesn't taste bitter. Well, this actually makes your brain depressed and causes anxiety when swallowing drugs.

According to Stephen Cassivi, a thoracic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic said that ingesting the drug could be a challenge for the brain. How do you not chew but go straight into the esophagus.


The emergence of this doubt, makes the muscles around the esophagus even more tense, making the drug more difficult to swallow and fail to enter into. Even you can reflexively regurgitate the drug.

How to make it easier to swallow medicine?

1. Stay calm

Difficulties in swallowing drugs due to mental conditions that prevent this need to be resolved starting from the mind first. This does look classic, but indeed this is the root of the problem, from the way a person thinks, raises an inappropriate body response.

According to Stephen Cassivi, a thoracic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, to overcome this fear, you should try to relax and calm down first. Do not let the esophageal muscles tighten until the drug is difficult to get inside.


Then, make sure that you can swallow the pill or tablet easily. Think about it so you are more familiar.

2. Correct the position

To make it easier, take the medication in an upright sitting position. Do not while leaning, let alone lying down. You can also turn your face to the side so that the drug is easier to get into the esophagus. Because the valve between the mouth and esophagus can open wider if the head is looking sideways.

3. Swallow with soft food

Reported on the Harvard Health Publishing page, you can also try swallowing drugs by putting them together with pudding, or other soft-textured foods. The texture makes you swallow the pill intact. You can try cutting the pills into smaller sizes to make it easier.

However, you cannot arbitrarily cut drugs or open capsules. You must ask the pharmacist in advance or not. Because some drugs coated with enteric coating should not be broken.

This layer is a special layer that slows absorption in the body. This layer is made so that the absorption of drugs in the body occurs gradually with a longer time not immediately absorbed all quickly.


Besides pudding, some people also take medicine with fruit such as bananas. However, also make sure first with the pharmacist whether the drug causes drug interactions with the content in the fruit. Because, there are some drugs that can cause these interactions so that the effectiveness of the drug can decrease or become stronger than they should.

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