Table of contents:
- Why am I still having trouble swallowing medicine?
- Dysphagia
- Fear
- How can I make it easier to swallow medicine?
- 1. Stay calm
- 2. Correct the position
- 3. Swallow with soft foods
Naturally, if young children have difficulty swallowing pills or tablets. However, what if this problem occurs when you are an adult? In fact, many adults still find it difficult to swallow this form of medicine. Actually, why are you so grown up 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 pill or tablet form. Not without causes, this condition can occur due to the following things:
Dysphagia
People who have difficulty swallowing are basically called dysphagia. Dysphagia makes it difficult for a person to swallow when swallowing pills, solid food, and even drinks.
Generally, dysphagia is the result of other health problems, such as stroke, surgery, or gastrointestinal reflux. However, the reason it is difficult to swallow drugs is mostly not because of this dysphagia condition.
Fear
If previously it was caused by the inability to swallow something, it is different from this one reason. You may find it difficult to swallow pills or tablets for fear of choking.
Come to think of it, you could swallow solid foods that are the same size or even larger than the drug. However, why can't it be your turn to take medicine?
Yes, unlike food that can be chewed, medicine must be swallowed so that it doesn't taste bitter. Well, this actually stresses your brain and causes anxiety when swallowing the drug.
According to Stephen Cassivi, a thoracic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, swallowing the drug can be a challenge for the brain in itself. How do you not chew but go straight into the esophagus.
The emergence of this doubt, makes the muscles around the esophagus even tense, which makes it more difficult for the drug to be swallowed and fails to enter. You can even reflex vomit back the drug.
How can I make it easier to swallow medicine?
1. Stay calm
Difficulty swallowing drugs due to mental conditions that block this needs to be resolved from the mind first. It may seem classic, but this is indeed the root of the problem, from the way a person thinks, it causes the body's inappropriate response.
According to Stephen Cassivi, a thoracic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, to overcome this fear, you have to try to relax and calm down first. Do not let the esophageal muscles tighten so that the drug is difficult to get inside.
Then, convince yourself that you can swallow the pill or tablet easily. Think about it so that you get used to it.
2. Correct the position
To make it easier, take the medicine while sitting upright. Do not lean back, let alone lie down. You can also turn your face to the side to make it easier for the medicine to enter the esophagus. The reason is, the valve between the mouth and esophagus can be opened wider if the head is turning to the side.
3. Swallow with soft foods
Reported on the Harvard Health Publishing page, you can also try to swallow the drug by placing it with pudding, or other soft-textured foods. The texture makes you swallow the pill whole. You can try cutting the pills smaller as well to make it easier.
However, you cannot just cut the medicine or unwrap the capsule. You must first ask the pharmacist whether it is okay or not. Because some drugs that are coated with enteric coating must not be broken.
This layer is a special layer that slows down absorption in the body. This layer is made so that the absorption of the drug in the body occurs gradually over a longer period of time, not all absorbed quickly.
Apart from pudding, some people also take medicine with fruit such as bananas. However, also check with the pharmacist beforehand whether the drug causes drug interactions with the ingredients in the fruit. Because, there are several drugs that can cause this interaction so that the effectiveness of the drug can decrease or become stronger than it should be.
