Some people will not be able to easily take the necessary drug if it is in the form of tablets. For many, this is a big problem - they swallow water, and the pill remains in the mouth, there is a gag reflex and panic fear at the mere thought that you need to take a pill - what if it gets stuck and a throat spasm occurs?

There are different ways to swallow a pill without any effort:

But these methods are not suitable for all types of tablets. Some tablets are not recommended to be chewed or broken. Always read the instruction leaflet!

So why is this all happening? Why is it difficult for some people to take the pill?

In most cases, this is due to a psychological problem than with the structure of the sky or with tonsils not removed, dysphagia disease (swallowing disorder) - fear of choking, fear that the pill will fall into the wrong throat, get stuck halfway to the esophagus, and strangulation will occur.
When the fear of choking arises, the throat begins to contract instinctively and the pill cannot pass further.
Trying to push it by force, swallow it, you involuntarily restrain it with your tongue ...
The tablet begins to dissolve in the mouth, stick to the palate, a bitter aftertaste is felt and the body begins to reject this irritant, a gag reflex appears, which does not allow swallowing.

How to get rid of the fear of taking pills?

If you still have a problem with swallowing the pill, you may have dysphagia - a swallowing disorder (dysmotility of the esophagus and psychogenic tone disorders).

Dysphagia: With such a disease, a person experiences discomfort when swallowing (a lump in the throat). Often it is accompanied by pain in the sternum, heartburn.

For people with this disease, it is difficult to swallow any food, not to mention pills. If you have symptoms of dysphagia, and at the same time you are losing weight, be sure to consult a doctor!

25K

September 4, 2018 11:57

By Fabiosa

Modern medicine is now in full swing, so with a good doctor, you can relieve the symptoms of many troubling diseases. And so, the doctor writes out a prescription for you, you buy the necessary drug at the pharmacy and it turns out that it is difficult for you to swallow a pill or capsule. Even a tiny pill causes discomfort! What to do? We will advise several ways to deal with this trouble.

belchonock / Depositphotos.com

Why is it difficult to swallow pills

There are several reasons. Firstly, instinctively a person can independently build a barrier that prevents him from swallowing something solid, since subconsciously there is a habit of swallowing only what he has previously chewed.

SR Studio / Shutterstock.com

But this is a psychological barrier, since in everyday life you often swallow even chewed pieces, which are clearly larger than any pill. Secondly, dry mouth can also cause discomfort while swallowing the pill. Thirdly, the cause may be dysphagia - a disorder in the act of swallowing.

How to swallow round tablets

Place the tablet on your tongue and then place the water bottle on your lips. Be sure to press your lips tightly against the neck of the bottle. Slightly tilt your head back so that the water slowly "washes away" the tablet in the right direction. Swallow the tablet with water.

How to swallow capsules correctly

Place the capsule on your tongue. Fill your mouth with water, but do not swallow. Tilt your chin slightly towards your chest. Swallow the capsule and water with your head tilted forward. You need to swallow exactly when you tilt your head.

Bonus tip: drink plenty of water. First moisten your throat with it, then swallow the pill and drink it down again.

What not to do when trying to swallow a pill

terra_nova / Shutterstock.com

1. Throw the pill down your throat.
2. Tilt your head too low. This can make swallowing difficult.
3. Crush tablets, open capsules. This may interfere with the effect of the medicine.

Now you know how to swallow round tablets and capsules correctly. Consider these tips for the future, and we wish you to be healthy so that no medicines are needed at all!

Sourced from: ,

Some people have difficulty swallowing pills. The peculiarity of the structure of the palate, an anatomical formation that separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity, affects. Features of the anatomical structure, functions, the upper surface of the soft palate, the mucous membrane do not allow all people to swallow tablets the same way. Tablets come in different shapes. They are smooth and rough. Some people prefer capsules and caplets (long tablets) because they are easier to swallow than round tablets.
For those people who have difficulty swallowing tablets, chewable tablets are very convenient. Such tablets must be chewed thoroughly to avoid stomach irritation. As a rule, such tablets should not be given to young children.

Sometimes it is possible to crush a tablet and mix it with juice, but not all tablets are suitable for this. For example, those tablets that have an acid-resistant shell cannot be chewed, because they are not intended to dissolve in the stomach, but must enter the intestines, where the shell dissolves, releasing the active part of the drug. If such tablets are chewed, they can adversely affect the gastric mucosa or hydrochloric acid inactivates the active substance of the drug.
Those tablets that can be approximately crushed, as a rule, are divided into parts. They have a special transverse notch. But, just in case, it is better to consult a doctor or read the instructions about the correctness of the reception.

Why in the morning there is bitterness in the mouth - www.site/all_question/wayoflive/zdorove/2013/November/58234/175880

What is the cause of abundant salivation - www.site/all_question/wayoflive/zdorove/2014/August/63574/177100

What foods stimulate salivation - www.site/all_question/wayoflive/zdorove/2013/September/56721/157463

If the tablet cannot be crushed or divided into small pieces, you can help yourself as follows. Before taking (swallowing) a tablet, it is better to drink a sip of water, which will moisten the throat and make the tablet easier to swallow. Tablets are not drunk in a sitting position, they are drunk only while standing. If the tablet is difficult to pass in the throat, and even worse, did not pass into the stomach, but stopped on the way to it, you can eat some food. Some prefer a small piece of bread to push the pill, so to speak, and someone is content with a piece of apple.

In any case, the food should not be hard and hard, so as not to aggravate the situation.

Some people can swallow tablets and capsules in handfuls without drinking, others find even a small pill difficult. Such difficulties are not just an inconvenience. This is a common cause of non-compliance with the treatment regimen and, as a result, worsening of the course of the disease.

There are no special Russian statistics on this subject, but it is known that almost 40% of the US population experiences difficulties in taking medications. Less than a quarter of these people discuss the issue with healthcare professionals, 8% tend to skip medications, and 4% refuse to take capsules and tablets.

A Norwegian study from 1995 gives different figures: 26% of the population has difficulty swallowing. It is also noted that the biggest problem patients consider the size of the tablets, the second and third most important factors were the nature of their surface and taste. Women suffer from swallowing disorders twice as often as men, and patients over 70 experience less difficulty than younger ones.

Why is it not swallowed

The reasons why many people cannot swallow even the smallest pill are different. Dysphagia (literally - swallowing disorder) is the most severe of them, with it it is difficult for a person to swallow even chewed food. This condition always has organic prerequisites - a stroke, surgery, gastroesophageal reflux (reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus), connective tissue diseases (scleroderma) and others. Dysphagia requires serious treatment under medical supervision.

In other cases, problem swallowing is more often associated with the fear of the pill getting stuck in the throat and vomiting. Most often, this fear is associated with an unpleasant experience - it gives a feeling of the danger of taking medication, as a result of which the muscles of the pharynx reflexively tighten. To swallow a pill, such people need to overcome a psychological barrier so that the muscles relax.

"Do not chew, do not crumble, swallow whole." Photo: Ano Lobb / Flickr

A person perceives food as ready to be swallowed when it is moistened and chewed enough to move into the stomach. Usually no one chews yogurt, it is swallowed immediately - this is facilitated by its consistency. However, the inability to chew a solid substance, in this case a tablet, can "confuse" the physiological mechanisms of swallowing regulation.

There are three phases of swallowing: oral (chewing and moving food to the back of the mouth), pharyngeal (closing the larynx with the epiglottis and stopping breathing) and esophageal (rhythmic contraction of the muscles of the esophagus that promote the food bolus). People control the first phase consciously, therefore it is the one that is most easily corrected.

Isn't it easier to chew?

Many people chew, dissolve, or mix tablets with food. Very often this cannot be done, since most modern drugs have a protective shell and a special structure that are required for the correct absorption of drugs. After crushing the tablets, the active substances may simply not reach the target organs in the desired concentration, or, conversely, sharply create dangerous concentrations in the blood. Therefore, tablets should be swallowed whole, unless the instructions indicate otherwise.

Swallowing on science

Stephen Cassivy, a Mayo Clinic thoracic surgeon who specializes in diseases of the esophagus, believes that in order to correct the situation, it is necessary to practice before the fear goes too far. He taught his children to swallow normally using pieces of jelly candy.

Someone knows how to swallow pills and capsules without washing it down, while someone experiences difficulties, even armed with a glass of water.

If you have such a problem, it is not necessary to crush the tablet into a spoonful of water or look for an analogue of the medicine in the form of a syrup. You can "trick" your throat by mixing the medicine with food. Of course, this is not always possible. Some pills need to be taken on an empty stomach, while others are allowed. Therefore, first of all, you need to read the annotation and consult a doctor. If your doctor gave the go-ahead, feel free to use the methods described below. Surely one of them will help you.

Tablets + bread

Remember the famous hero of the comedy student Shurik, who, seeing off the girl, found an evil dog near the entrance of her house? The unabashed student asked his friend for a piece of doctor's sausage and stuck several sleeping pills into it. True, the dog could not be deceived. But in a similar way, you can "trick" your throat and easily swallow the pill without water.

Chew a piece of bread well so that it can be swallowed. Then put a tablet in it and swallow it. Instead of bread, you can use a bun, biscuit, cracker. In order for the tablet to pass through the esophagus better, the bread should be washed down with water.

sweet pill

If you like sweets, then honey will help you take the medicine. Dial it into a spoon and completely “drown” a tablet or capsule in it. Wash down the medicine with water, as honey itself is sticky, viscous and does not swallow well.

A soft tangerine slice is easier to swallow than a pill, you just need to practice a little. When you learn to swallow it whole without chewing, you can cut it slightly and place a tablet inside. In order for the slice to pass through the throat and esophagus better, drink it with water.

Other types of “masking” tablets with soft food

Tablets and capsules can be "drowned" not only in honey. Other types of soft foods work well:

• applesauce;
• ice cream;
• yogurt;
• pudding;
• jelly;
• curds and dairy desserts.

You can just eat your favorite dessert, and put a pill in the next spoon and swallow it with food.

As you know, drugs are produced in the form of mixtures, drops, tablets, capsules, etc.
I am prescribed capsules, the instructions for use of which say "Do not chew." I can’t swallow them: many years ago, when probing, my throat was injured, and since then I have been chewing everything, even semolina. Well, I can not swallow and everything! How can I be treated then, because the chewed capsule does not “work” as it should, if at all there is at least some benefit from it?

Comments: 16 »

Gelatin capsules dissolve directly in the stomach and the medicine gets there without touching the mucous membrane of the rai and larynx. If your throat is damaged, the contents of the capsule may adversely affect it. Ask your doctor about the contents of the capsule and, if possible, take it without a shell.

You definitely need to consult a doctor. He may prescribe other medications for you. If the instructions for the medicine say that you can’t chew, then you can’t!

Talk to your doctor, it is possible that he will be able to replace the capsules with tablets.

If it is not possible to take the contents of the capsule without a shell, the doctor will prescribe you another medicine. And for the future, tell your doctor immediately about your problems so that he takes them into account when prescribing treatment.

Hello! In general, the capsules cannot be chewed, they are hard. I take open the capsule and pour the powder from the capsule into a spoonful of water, and so I drink the medicine.

Capsules do not need to be chewed or bitten. they should begin to act on the body after they resolve. There are times when biting the capsule can affect the enamel of the teeth.

The capsules must not be chewed. Without a shell, you can scratch the larynx and stomach with the contents of the capsule. Also, the contents can ruin tooth enamel. Consult a doctor, let him prescribe injections for you, each medicine is duplicated by an injection, but it is also much more effective than tablets and capsules.

To your question, I can say one thing, capsules cannot be chewed. Do not be afraid to consult a doctor, now the same drug can be produced in various forms. Moreover, it can be used in different ways. So, for example, when restoring the intestinal flora, you can ferment milk on the contents of the capsules. Thus, you do not have to swallow them, and the effect of the medicine will be effective. But in any case, you need to consult a doctor. Medicines are very expensive, it makes sense to be treated and not get a therapeutic effect.

You can not chew the capsules on your own. You need to re-contact the specialist who prescribed the medication for you. Perhaps you will be replaced with another drug.
If you chew the capsules, you will not get the desired therapeutic effect.

No, no, and again no, as already mentioned above. As for “whether there is a benefit” - it depends on the drug. Most of them are available in the form of capsules so that the contents are released directly in the stomach. In general, it is better to consult a doctor to either prescribe a drug in another form (for example, injections). Although if this is a drug for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, then this option will not work for obvious reasons.

You can’t chew the capsules, the capsule should dissolve in a certain place in the gastrointestinal tract not earlier, ask your doctor to prescribe you a similar drug in a different dosage form.

I once tried the contents of the capsule - you can get either a terrible bitterness or a burn, but I didn’t get to that. If for some reason you can’t take the capsules, then I think you need to dissolve it in about a glass of water and drink

In no case should the capsule be chewed, it should dissolve in your gastrointestinal tract after a certain time after swallowing. If you chew it, then the gastric juice will neutralize the healing properties of the capsule. And of course, I advise you to contact your doctor.

You can use the capsule in other ways. It is necessary to open the capsule, dissolve the contents in a tablespoon of water and drink. Then the medicine will work.

Chewing capsules containing a drug is not allowed, since some substances placed in the capsule shell look like granules of prolonged action, that is, action with a gradual release of the main substance. A sharp increase in the amount of the drug in the blood plasma as a result of the deformation of the capsule and its contents can lead to adverse consequences. However, the very desire to crack the capsule that arose on the basis of fear of deformation of the larynx can be regarded as a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive syndrome and requires the assessment of a specialist psychotherapist.

Placing the drug in a capsule suggests that it must dissolve strictly in the stomach. However, if swallowing is difficult (as in your case), you can carefully open the capsule and add the contents to an acidic drink or food that does not require chewing (for example, fruit juice or applesauce). We gave the child medicine for the pancreas. Good luck!

1. Many people often find it difficult to swallow pills. This is justified by the structure of our sky - an anatomical formation. It is this that separates our oral cavity from the nasal cavity. Often, the functions of our oral cavity, as well as the mucous membrane, are not allowed to swallow tablets due to their structure. And people with a similar structure of the oral cavity are not recommended to swallow pills. We ask you to take this into account.

2. Tablets come in various shapes - smooth and rough. Some of us prefer capsules to pills - the same pills, but only with an elongated shape. We recommend drinking them for those people who do not fit the description in the first step. These tablets are actually easier to swallow due to their shape. In addition, these capsules are smooth and easy to swallow without getting stuck in the mouth.

3. Those people who are afraid, or for some reason cannot swallow tablets in the form of capsules, we recommend “consuming” chewable tablets. Such medicines should be chewed as best as possible in order to avoid heartburn and stomach irritation. Usually, these tablets are not recommended for small and infant children. 4. Sometimes there is such an opportunity when you can crush the pill and drink it with something sweet, for example, juice or compote. However, not all tablets can be used in this way. For example, you can not drink those capsules that have an acid-resistant shell. They should not be chewed as they are not intended to dissolve directly in the stomach. They must enter the intestines, and there already dissolve the shell, and at the same time release the contents of the tablet or capsule. If such tablets are chewed, they will negatively affect the mucous membrane of our stomach.

5. There are tablets that can be crushed into n-th number of parts. As a rule, tablets are divided into ten equal pieces. Usually these medicines have a special notch across their base. But, just in case, it is better for you to ask your doctor about the correctness of taking these pills, or read the instructions on the medicine package.

6. If it is already impossible to crush the tablet into many small parts, then in this case you can proceed as follows. Drink a large sip of water before swallowing the medicine. She will moisten the throat, and the tablet in this case will pass unhindered into the esophagus. Keep in mind that these tablets are not drunk while sitting, and even more so in a prone position. They only drink standing up.

7. If the tablet is stuck in the throat, or does not pass into the stomach, then you can eat some food to help the tablet reach its destination. Many suggest that you can take a piece of bread and drink it with water. This way you will push the tablet and move it from the place where it is stuck.

Despite the fact that taking pills is quite a common procedure, it causes serious difficulties for many adults and children. The fear of a gag reflex tightens the throat so much that the pill stubbornly remains in the mouth until the person spit it out. To make it easier on yourself, take it with soft food or plenty of fluids. If that doesn't help, use special techniques to keep the throat open for as long as it takes to get the pill through the esophagus. Ultimately, you can talk to your doctor so that he can prescribe you a medicine in a different form: in liquid form, in the form of a patch or suppositories.

Steps

Taking the tablet with food

Eat a tablet with bread. If you're trying to take a pill and just can't swallow it, try using a piece of bread. Break off a small piece of bread and chew it until it is ready to be swallowed. Before swallowing bread, take a tablet and attach it to the chewed bread in your mouth. Close your mouth and swallow the bread along with the tablet. The tablet should pass through the esophagus without difficulty.

• You can also use a bagel slice, cookie or cracker. Their texture is similar enough to bread that it will help you swallow a pill with them.
• You can also drink water with bread to help it pass through the esophagus.
• Some medicines should be taken on an empty stomach. Check the package leaflet for any instructions to take the medicine on an empty stomach.

1. Eat a pill with marmalade. To make the tablet easier to swallow, you can stick it into a piece of marmalade. Take a piece of marmalade and make a small incision in it. Insert a tablet into the incision. Eat marmalade, but do not chew it. Some tablets cannot be chewed - this changes the time of onset of their action. Just try to swallow the marmalade, and when it is in your throat, quickly wash it down with water.

   • You may have difficulty if you find yourself unable to swallow a piece of marmalade. It might take some practice.
   • This method is very suitable for children. Disguising the pill with marmalade makes it easier for parents to convince their child to take the medicine.

2. Lubricate the tablet with honey or peanut butter. The tablets can be taken along with honey or peanut butter, as these foods make it easier for them to pass through the throat. Take a full spoonful of any of these products and place the tablet in the very center of the spoon. Be sure to push the tablet deep into the honey or peanut butter. Then swallow the prepared spoonful of honey or peanut butter along with the tablet. Wash it down with water.

   • You should drink water before and after using this method. Honey and peanut butter are quite thick foods and can be swallowed rather slowly. Moistening your throat with water before and after taking them can help you swallow the pill more easily and not choke.

3. Try eating the tablet with a soft meal. If you cannot swallow a tablet with bread, try eating it with soft foods such as applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, pudding, or jelly. This method is used in hospitals for patients who have difficulty swallowing. Prepare a small plate of food. Eat a little before you are about to swallow the tablet with food. Then eat the tablet with another spoonful of food. The tablet should pass through the esophagus without difficulty with food when you take a sip.

   • Do not chew the tablet while doing this.

4. Practice swallowing tablets on small candies. One of the main reasons that people have difficulty swallowing pills is that the throat rejects the pill and becomes tense. To overcome this, one can practice swallowing small sugary pills to train the throat to swallow whole objects without the risk of choking or injury. Take a small dragee, such as mini M&M's. Put it in your mouth like a tablet and swallow it with a sip of water. Repeat the procedure until you get used to the size of the swallowed tablets.

   Eat a tangerine tablet. Try swallowing a whole slice of tangerine. When you get used to swallowing the tangerine slices, place the tablet inside the next slice and swallow it. The smooth texture of the surface of the tangerine slice will facilitate the passage of the tablet through the throat and allow it to be swallowed without difficulty.

   • Drink a slice of tangerine with water so that it passes through the esophagus better.

   Swallowing the tablet with liquid

   1. Take a few sips of water before and while taking the pill. When you take medicine, you need to keep your throat as well moistened as possible so that the pill can easily pass through your throat. Take a few small sips of water before taking the pill. Place the tablet at the base of the tongue and then continue to drink water until the tablet is swallowed.

      Try the two big sips method. Take a tablet and put it on your tongue. Take a mouthful of water and take a long gulp of the water, but not the pill. Then take another large sip of water along with the tablet. After that, take one normal sip of water to help the pill pass through the esophagus.

      Use a cocktail straw. Some people find it easier to swallow a tablet with water or a drink sucked through a straw. Place the tablet on the base of the tongue. Start drinking water or a drink through a straw and swallow the tablet as you do so. Continue drinking after swallowing the tablet to help it pass through the esophagus.

      Drink plenty of water before taking the tablet. Some people find that drinking plenty of water before taking the pill makes it easier to swallow. Take a mouthful of water. Open your lips slightly and push the tablet into your mouth. Then swallow the water along with the tablet.

      Help your child swallow the tablet. Even three-year-olds sometimes need to take pills. At this age, it may be difficult for a child to understand the technique of swallowing a pill, or he may simply be afraid of choking on it. If you find yourself in this situation, try to explain the whole process to your baby. Ask him to fill his mouth with water and hold it in his mouth, looking at the ceiling. Slip the tablet into the child's mouth through the corner of the lips and wait for it to go down to the throat. After a while, ask the child to swallow water, while the tablet should pass through the esophagus along with the water.

      • You can try with your child any other method of swallowing the tablets with food or drink, unless it is prohibited by the instructions for the drug.

   Alternative Methods

   1. Try using a plastic bottle. Fill a plastic bottle with water. Put the tablet on your tongue. Then wrap your lips around the neck of the bottle. Tilt your head back and drink some water. Keep your lips on the neck of the bottle and suck the water out of it. Water along with the tablet should easily pass through the throat.

      Use the head tilt method. When using this method, you need to put a tablet on the tongue. Then you need to take water in your mouth, but do not rush to swallow it. First you need to tilt your head forward, pressing your chin to your chest. When the capsule slips closer to your throat, swallow it.

      Relax. Anxiety can have a significant impact on the ability to swallow a tablet. It is very important to relax while doing this. When we are nervous, our body tenses up and it becomes more difficult to swallow a pill. To prevent this effect, you need to relax. Sit down with a glass of water and do something that will help you reduce your anxiety. Find a quiet place to do this, listen to soothing music, or meditate.

   2. Conquer your fears. You may be worried that the pill won't go down your throat, especially if it's large. To deal with this fear, stand in front of a mirror. Open your mouth and say: "Aaaah." This will allow you to see the size of your throat and understand that the pill can easily pass through it.

      • The mirror can be additionally used when putting the tablet on the tongue. The deeper the tablet lies, the shorter the way it will need to go to the throat when swallowed.
      • This method is also applicable to a child who is afraid of choking on a pill. Do this procedure with your child to demonstrate that you understand the baby's fears, but reassure him that he has nothing to fear.

During a child's illness, therapy problems are added to the excitement about his well-being.

Children are not always ready to take medication, and it often takes a lot of effort and time to persuade them to do so.

There are some tips for parents on how to teach a child to swallow pills. After all, it is on the parents that the pediatrician lays responsibility for the implementation of a successful therapeutic regimen prescribed by the doctor.

This is a complex physiological process, because the pharynx is involved not only in swallowing, but also in breathing.

It is a complex reflex muscular act in which food is transferred through the pharynx into the esophagus.

This is done by alternating contraction and relaxation of the muscles.

This process is divided into three phases:

1. Oral- controlled by consciousness, being arbitrary. Chewed and saliva-moistened food is a slippery food lump - a bolus. In the process of movement of the tongue and cheeks, it moves to the back of the tongue, during the contraction of which the food is pressed against the hard palate and moves to its root, beyond the palate-lingual arches.
2. Pharyngeal- fast and involuntary, it is not controlled by consciousness. Irritation of the receptors of the root of the tongue leads to a contraction of the muscles that lift the soft palate. It closes the communication of the pharynx with the nasal cavity in order to avoid throwing food into it. The food bolus is pushed into the pharynx by the movements of the tongue. In this case, there is a contraction of the muscles that displace the hyoid bone and raise the larynx. Food does not enter the respiratory tract due to the fact that they are blocked by the epiglottis. Increased pressure in the oral cavity and reduced in the pharynx - promotes the movement of the lump into the pharynx. The raised root of the tongue and the palate-lingual arches tightly attached to the palate do not allow food to be thrown back into the oral cavity.

When the food bolus enters the pharynx, the longitudinal muscles - lifters raise the pharynx to the top.

Muscles - constrictors alternately, from the top to the bottom, contract and push the lump to the esophagus.

The upper esophageal sphincter remains closed when there is no act of swallowing.

As a result of the increase in pressure during swallowing, it opens, and the food bolus enters the beginning of the esophagus.

The first two phases of swallowing are short - about one second.

1. Esophageal- long and is involuntary. It lasts 1-2 seconds when liquid enters the esophagus and 8-9 when solid food enters.

At the moment when a swallow occurs, the esophagus is pulled up to the pharynx and the upper esophageal sphincter expands, accepting the bolus. The contracting annular muscles of the esophagus contract and move the food bolus towards the stomach.

The lower esophageal sphincter is located at the border of the esophagus with the stomach. It limits the entry of aggressive stomach contents into the esophagus. The food bolus, having reached this border, enters the stomach, due to the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter.

The pharyngeal phase cannot be performed if there is no food or liquid in the oral cavity. You can not stop swallowing, which began due to irritation of the receptors of the root of the tongue.

Reasons for the lack of somatic swallowing

Somatic swallowing replaces infantile swallowing, which is normally observed in children under 2 years of age. Teething leads to a change in the type of swallowing.

With the infantile type, the tongue is laid between the toothless jaws until it stops on the lips at the time of swallowing. In this case, the tongue does not rest against the hard palate.

There are a number of reasons that cause the absence of somatic swallowing:

1. Lack of solid food in the baby's diet. If a child does not stop eating exclusively liquid food with the advent of teeth, the function of swallowing does not become the main one. This will cause a lack of somatic swallowing.
2. A short frenulum of the tongue, which interferes with its adherence to the hard palate.
3. In chronic otolaryngological processes, oral breathing predominates. It promotes the anterior location of the tongue and the transition to the somatic type of swallowing.
4. , the sucking function fades into the background. It is replaced by the chewing function. When using the pacifier for more than one year, the chewing function is inhibited, which can also lead to a lack of somatic swallowing.
5. : too long or with a large hole.
6. When teething milk teeth 3 months later than the physiological norm.

Infantile swallowing leads to bite problems. To correct the situation, it is necessary to exclude all factors that interfere with the development of somatic swallowing. If the situation does not change, you should contact a speech therapist who will select an individual set of exercises.

How to teach a child to swallow pills

Before starting training, you should create a favorable environment for the child.

Explain all the benefits of swallowing tablets and capsules without chewing.

You should start learning from the age of 3.5 years, when you can agree with the child, listen to his concerns and fears.

Training is carried out when the child is not sick. From a healthy baby in a good mood and without a sore throat, it will be easier to achieve results. For example, you can use vitamins, but do not give more than 1-2 pieces per session, otherwise the child will have the idea that you can drink vitamin pills as much as you want.

1. You should show the baby by example how to take pills.
2. Explain that the tablets are washed down only with water.
3. Tell that it is correct to put the pill not close to the root of the tongue, so as not to provoke a gag reflex. It is better to use simple and short phrases: “Take a pill, and with the other hand a glass of water. Put the pill on your tongue, take it and swallow it."
4. Explain that it is better to swallow the tablets without chewing: “This way you will not feel the taste, and the tablet will dissolve in the stomach, fighting the disease.”
5. Give the child the opportunity to choose when to take the medicine, if the instructions do not clearly indicate this.
6. The opportunity to hug your favorite toy will give your child peace and comfort.
7. No need to worry, this is transmitted to the baby, which will not contribute to successful learning.
8. To prevent uncontrolled use of drugs and poisoning, it is necessary to explain to the child that only those pills that are given by parents or a doctor can be taken. Convey to the baby that it is impossible to take and swallow medicines without permission.
9. Tell the child what the pills are, from which they recover, but there are also those that can make you sick if taken incorrectly or without permission.
10. Do not try to force the child to drink medicine. This is inefficient and dangerous. The child may choke on the tablet or water. He can be torn out. This approach will give the medication a negative connotation, which in the future will lead to the child's reluctance to take medication.
11. You need to talk to the child and explain to him that this was necessary for his health. Offer sweetness for taking an unpalatable pill. Parents should be smart, but not deceive the baby. If he loses confidence, you will never be able to convince him that the pill is not bitter, even if you say it sincerely.
12. If successful, reward the child with a small toy or sweets and verbal praise.

You need to watch the child. If he cannot swallow a pill, it is easy to notice. The reason for this may be an overactive gag reflex or chronic vomiting. Previous negative drug experiences can also hinder learning.

Summing up, I would like to note that the most important thing is to create a favorable environment in the learning process. You have to be patient. All children are individual and take a different amount of time to learn to swallow pills.

It is enough to devote 10-20 minutes a day to classes with the child, talk to him, listen to his feelings about taking medications. If you follow these simple rules, success will not keep you waiting.