Just like to say thanks for this information! :) I found this page off of a Google search and I've succeeded in swallowing pills (something I haven't been able to do for my first seventeen-and-a-half years on earth). Thanks a lot!

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(2)
Alice,

I used to be unable to swallow pills. They just would not go down. Then I discovered that if I put water in my mouth before the pill and keep it suspended in the liquid (not letting the pill touch my tongue), I can get it down. But glad to know there were others like me.

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(3)
Dear Alice,

In response to your answer to HELP! I CAN'T SWALLOW PILLS:

I TOTALLY understand what that person was going through, and I'd like to tell you I used your suggestion about using Jello. Finally! I did it! I slip my capsules inside a 'blob' of Jello, and swallow it all in one shot! Yay!

Thanks a million!!!

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(4)
Dear Alice,

Thank you so much for your techniques. I never thought of doing some of these things. I always had a fear of choking on pills. Thanks to you, I can swallow pills now as an adult.

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(5)
Hey Alice,

Thanks for the article, Help! I can't swallow pills! I've been able to get them down perfectly fine before, but now I can't get down even an itty bitty 20-mg Celexa pill! I've tasted that stupid pill so many times it makes me gag just to put it in my mouth. I will try those methods you listed, they should help. Thanks!

> :) 15-yr-old choker

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(6)
Dear Alice,

In regards to Help! I Can't Swallow Pills, I discovered another way to take pills that may be of assistance to other people who have trouble. I chew up about two crackers, and before I swallow, I pop the pill into the middle of my mouth. I can't feel the pill when it goes down, and I've found this very easy to do.

-Meike- :)

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(7)
Hey Alice,

RE: Pill Swallowing

I would just like to say that to swallow a pill, it always helps to have water in your mouth before you put the pill in. Everyone will have their own sort of routine. What I do is I take a good amount of water, swallow some, just to get used to swallowing, then I tilt my head back, open my mouth, drop the pill in, and try not to let it touch my tongue, and then with my head still tilted back, I swallow. You have to relax and tell yourself it`s fine, and that you won`t choke or gag. I find that the closer it is to the back of my throat, the more unaware I am that it is there, so I am psychologically just swallowing the water.

Good luck. I am 16 and I could never do this before, but I learned this trick from my aunt and it really helps. Tilting my head forward will just make it fall down to the tip of my tongue again, so I avoid that.

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(8)
Hey Alice,

In response to the last advice, I've just tried it out and the pill went down pretty fine.

The only problem I had really is that the pill disolves very fast in the water and by the time I got to swallow it, it was all over the place. But down it went.

Thank you very much.

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(9)
Dear Alice,

The cracker method just worked for me. After having loads of trouble swallowing penicillin for the past few days (even after cutting them in half), I chewed a couple of crackers and it went down fine. Problem solved, thanks =)

— Adam, 18

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(10)
Dear Alice,

Thanks so much for sharing pill swallowing tips.

Here's what worked for me: I chewed on 2 crackers then put the capsule in the mush. Then I gulped it down with a shot of orange juice. I inadvertently bit into the capsule & got a nasty taste in my mouth, but I got the medicine down for the first time ever! I feel confident I will be able to use this method next time without getting the yicky taste. Thanks so much.

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(11)

Dear Alice,

Thanks so much for this article. My boyfriend can't swallow pills, and it's caused multiple arguments between us. (Odd, I know). Anyway, it's nice to know that other adults have problems with this. Hopefully some of these techniques will work for him.

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(12)
Thanks Alice — these hints should help a lot of people. Every few years I get put in the hospital for kidney stone pain, and up until just a few months ago, I could never take the oral pain meds for it. That was really inconvenient. I think it's important to be able to take pills to make your life (and the doctors' lives, in this case) easier.

To those of you who still can't swallow a pill even with something like yogurt or a mouthful of water, I would recommend this method, which was effective right away. It's fine to take a swallow of water ahead of time to moisten your mouth, but you should put the pill in and THEN put the water in your mouth, swallowing right away. Usually within one to two sips, you can get it down. I tried the opposite order, and it never worked for me. But anyway, if you do it like this and start out by using a water bottle (way easier to get it down), I think you'll be surprised — it works for me, someone who was a life-long "gagger" until recently.

Also, don't be afraid of pill sizes — when I was learning, my first pills were birth control pills, which are very small. But a while ago, I needed to take an Advil, which is much larger, and with a quick cup of water it went down just as easily. Learning to swallow pills is like learning to ride a bike, swim, or put in contacts — it's only scary at the first hurdle, and then it's laughably easy afterward. Good luck to all of you. :)

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(13)

Thank you so much for this article. I was so frustrated because I would always gag whenever I had to take a pill. I just had to take some medication that only came in pills and I found your advice. I didn't have any crackers with me so I used bread. Cinnamon bread is my favorite, so I ate a few slices and practiced swallowing after only a few chews. After awhile, I threw the pill in with it. I could even continue chewing the outside of the bread without breaking the pill. Then, I swallowed it! Easy!

Thanks a bunch!!!

Choker