For some people, swallowing tablets or capsules is a challenge, especially for children and older adults. This difficulty, known as dysphagia, occurs when swallowing becomes uncomfortable or stressful. Unlike food, which is chewed before swallowing, tablets must be swallowed whole, a task not everyone can manage easily.
What is Dysphagia?
What is Dysphagia? Dysphagia refers to difficulty swallowing and can result from various causes such as neurological disorders, dry mouth, muscle weakness, fear, anxiety, or age-related changes. Swallowing may feel slow, strained, or painful, increasing the risk of choking or aspiration. It can also interfere with eating and drinking, leading to poor nutrition or dehydration. In some cases, dysphagia causes people to skip doses or avoid medication altogether.
Children and Older Adults Often Struggle
Young children may not yet have the coordination to swallow a tablet, while older adults might face physical or medical limitations that make swallowing harder. In both cases, there’s often hesitation or resistance to taking pills. And while some people try to work around this by crushing tablets or mixing them with food, this can affect how the medicine works or cause unwanted side effects.
Stepwise Approach
First step is to try and use a medicine that’s already available in a form that’s easy to take—like a liquid, a soluble tablet, a patch, a suppository, a powder or granules for suspension. You might need to switch to a similar type of medicine or take it in a different form instead of a regular pill.
If that’s not available, use a regular tablet or capsule in a different way, such as crushing the tablet or opening the capsule and mixing it with food or water—but only if it’s safe to do so. It is important to check with your prescriber or pharmacist beforehand.
If neither of the above options works, use a specially made version of the medicine. In rare cases where no approved or ready-made medicine works, a pharmacist can customize the medicine to suit the person’s needs. These customized medicines can be quite expensive and aren’t officially registered. They should only be used when there’s no other suitable option available.
This three-step approach helps make sure the medicine is given in the safest and most effective way possible.
At Twenty Script Compounding Pharmacy, we understand that swallowing difficulties can make taking medicine challenging. That’s why we offer customized medication solutions tailored to each patient’s needs. Whether it’s turning a tablet into a liquid, creating a dissolvable lozenge, or formulating an alternative dosage form, our team is here to help make medications easier and safer to take. Your comfort and health are our priority.