Dr's best advice

[grower]

Handy tip from my doctor that I wish I'd learned long ago. In case you haven't heard it, when taking a pill, put in your mouth, add water and tip head back, swallow. When taking a capsule, put in mouth, add water, and look DOWN and swallow. Easy as! No more feeling it go down catching on the sides.

Funny how you can get happiness out of the silliest little improvement.

[lempa_nik]

Grower, May I assume the "pill" you are referring to is what we call a "tablet" in the USA?

I have misgivings about your statement that "when taking a pill, put (it) in your mouth, add water and tip head back, swallow." Anyone who has taken a course in CPR (First Aid) has heard that tilting the head back opens up the wind pipe. Therefore tipping the head back when swallowing a pill seems to be asking for trouble.

I've often noticed that the greater density of a tablet (compared to a capsule) means it will not float in the water in my mouth. so getting it to the throat takes more of a conscious effort. Is your doctor recommending tilting the head back inorder to get a gravity assist, and help solve this transport problem? Yet I am still concerned that you will thereby be opening up your trachea. Once you've moved the pill toward the throat, wouldn't you still want to lower your head just before swallowing?

P.S. "Looking down" by itself would seem to be useful only because it induces you to TIP YOUR HEAD DOWN. No?

[grower in reply to lempa_nik]

Ok clearly I was too short in words but the main idea is that when capsule swallowing (the long oval things) if you put your chin down towards your neck as you swallow, they go down waaaay easier than whatever way you use to swallow the pill/tablet.

I'm always used to tilting head back when swallowing the pills and have yet to choke but perhaps you just look straight ahead? No matter, I was just trying to pass on a small thing I found very helpful.

[laglag in reply to grower]

A speech therapist that works with PwP's that gave a seminar, as well as my neurologist, both have told me to tilt my head forward rather than backward when taking pills. Believe it or not it works better.

[ezgolf]

I've been swallowing pills, tablets, capsules for the last 10 years, these days mostly a variety of 2 to 8 different medications in one go every two and half to three hours. Even through the night halve asleep.

What works for me regardless weather I'm standing or in any other body position is

"Hold your head still , your chin pointing slightly up, looking either at 5 minutes to or 5 minutes past the top of a clock. My theory is trying to miss the Uvula."

Try it good luck.