# How easily do do swallow pills? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655 "2017-01-20T18:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/21 "2017-01-20T23:15:45Z")
I can’t anymore. Esophageal cancer. I have to get medicine in liquid form, let the pills dissolve in my mouth, crush them, or do without. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/22 "2017-01-20T23:26:56Z")
If there was an Olympic event in pill swallowing, I would be at least a contender for the bronze medal. Nurses were impressed when I was in the hospital, barely functioning and had to take 30 - 40 pills a day. It was never an issue. I just load them all in my mouth and swallow them at once no matter how many there are. I can drink water or anything else faster than almost anyone as well. I also don’t have much of a gag reflex. Someday I will figure out how to make money off of this gift (no dick jokes please) but, so far, pill swallowing is the only practical use I have found for it. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/23 "2017-01-20T23:54:48Z")
I can swallow pills without liquid, but I have been told by more than one doctor, and also a couple of pharmacists, that this is not a good idea. It takes water to process pills, and in some cases to get them all the way down your esophagus. You may not be absorbing all your medicine if you are not taking them with liquid. In fact, some pill bottles say to take with a full glass of water (which my current doctor says means at a minimum, 1 cup), even if you take them with food. I can take several pills at once with water. Once, when I had strep, I was taking an antibiotic (a real horse-choker), Tylenol 3, ibuprofen, Tessalon, and a decongestant, and I could swallow them all at once with some warm tea. Warm liquids work better than cold. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/24 "2017-01-21T00:56:00Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I can swallow 5-6 at once very easily. I learned as a child because I hated peas (still do) and it was the only way to force down enough to earn dessert without having to chew or taste them. I had to look to make sure I didn’t write this. I take pills daily now. Mostly no issues, but I noticed that I had a harder time swallowing when the pills I was taking made me feel crappy, not better. Switched meds, fewer problems now. For the eight tiny pills I take once a week, putting them on a spoonful of yogurt, just like I do when I pill the dogs, helps them go down easier. ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/25 "2017-01-21T02:57:16Z")
I was in my 40’s before I could swallow pills, even very small ones. Yes, I chewed aspirin and any meds I might have been prescribed, and if it was in capsule form I pulled it apart, swallowed the contents, and discarded the shell. My parents and others gave me tips, tricks, advice, etc, but nothing anyone suggested worked. (“wrap it in a piece of bread”. What??) I eventually taught myself how to do it, and I realized it was nothing anyone else could have taught me. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/26 "2017-01-21T03:53:37Z")
I was sick this week; took both Advil & store-brand ibuprofen. Advil tasted better on the tongue & was therefore easier to get down (w/o water). ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/27 "2017-01-21T05:15:58Z")
I had issues as a teen and young adult. Eventually got pills down with enough water but somehow just didn’t get them to go down very easily. Once I was older, late 20’s to now 40’s for some reason it became much easier. I still have trouble once in a while with giant horse vitamin type pills, if I don’t get it lined up just right or something, but it’s rare. I have three smaller pills I swallow with some water every day and I can do those all together. My grandmother, when she ended up in the nursing home, could not take pills in any way except with a spoon of applesauce. Four times a day, every day, she got her applesauce treat. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/28 "2017-01-21T05:20:51Z")
Anything up to/through say three Tylenols I can handle dry to maybe saving up a little spit; a small sip of water at most. Some of the big horse-pill-sized antibiotics and others I’ve had to take are really tough for me no matter what or how much I drink to wash them down. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/29 "2017-01-21T07:09:07Z")
Small or medium size pills, no problem at all. Large pills, I can and do swallow daily, with water - but I hate the sensation and some days it’s almost painful. I’m sure this is entirely psychosomatic and it annoys me to no end that I am vulnerable to this. My conscious mind knows better. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/30 "2017-01-21T07:43:31Z")
It’s weird because I know damn well I swallow bigger chunks of food than any pill I’ve ever swallowed. I know this. But for some reason pills are different. It’s dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/31 "2017-01-21T07:58:04Z")
I have never had a problem with any size or shape of pill. I just remember to look down instead of throwing my head back like they always do on TV. I wonder if the people who have problems swallowing pills are throwing their heads back. It pulls the throat tighter, or so I was told. My mom had to take about forty a day, a big handful at a time, and this was how her doctor told her to swallow to get them all down without a fuss. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/32 "2017-01-21T12:12:45Z")
I take 4 at bedtime, but all are pretty small, the generic Lipitor being the largest, and it’s still smaller than a Tylenol caplet. I do wash them down with water to lessen the chance that one will start dissolving in my mouth, leaving a nasty taste. No problems at all. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/33 "2017-01-21T13:19:56Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > It’s weird because I know damn well I swallow bigger chunks of food than any pill I’ve ever swallowed. I know this. But for some reason pills are different. It’s dumb. But food can conform to your throat and esophagus as it goes down, a pill can’t. It’s like the difference between pushing play-doh through [looks around house for an idea…ummm] a small flexible tube, vs getting a penny through it. They’ll both go, but the play-doh will squish itself down the tube while the tube has to manipulate itself around the penny. But that’s physical. A lot of this is psychological. For my sister, it’s all totally in her head. All of a sudden she’ll show up in my office (we work together) with her chocolate milk and some tylenol and a few minutes later she’s gone. She just needs someone to talk to, to get her mind off the pills while she chews them to get them down. And it’s gone from large pills to smaller ones. She knows it’s in her head and I’ve been trying to tell her that she should figure out a way to put a stop to it or she’s not even going to be able to swallow little tiny pills soon for purely psychological reasons. BTW, it’s no big deal to see someone pop a few Tylenols in their mouth. However, it’s kind of jarring to suddenly hear them chomp down on them. If you don’t know it’s going to happen, it sounds like teeth breaking. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/34 "2017-01-21T19:54:09Z")
My usual way of swallowing pills is to pop them in my mouth and wash them down with water as I tilt my head back a bit. I recently had a sore throat I had to take antibiotics for. These things were large and light and got sticky when wet. They also floated, so if I tilted my head back as usual, they’d float up and get stuck on the roof of my mouth. Tilting my head down solved the problem. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655/35 "2017-01-21T21:37:39Z")
I have difficulty with pills, especially pressed pills, because they tend to start to dissolve before I can get it down (always tastes horrific, which makes it even harder). I recently had to do a 10-day course of Cipro and the pills were humongous. That was a real struggle. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-do-do-swallow-pills/777655.md?page=1)