When not to chew medicine
Note: it is impossible for me to swallow something as big as a tablet without chewing it properly. So I asked on the then-active Google Answers for an answer, and this is what I got for my $5.
Subject: Chewable vs. capsules and tablets medicine.
Question:
Why are some medicines/vitamins labeled chewable? Does that imply that
others cannot be chewed? Can I chew regular medicine (tablets and
capsules)? Is there anything bad done to the mouth? I cannot make
myself swallow the thing.
Are regular tablets assumed to be chewed or swallowed?
Answer:
This answer is not intended to substitute for the opinion of a
qualified health professional that you trust. If you have any specific
concerns or questions you should discuss them with him or her.
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WHY CHEWABLE?
Medications and vitamins labeled ?chewable? have a couple of
properties that are important. First, they supposedly taste good. That
is, of course, a matter of personal opinion. Another thing is that
chewable medications must either be able to survive the saliva in the
mouth and the acids in the stomach in order to be absorbed further
down the digestive tract, or they must be substances that are absorbed
in the mouth or stomach primarily. If a medication is not specifically
labeled as ?chewable? then it is intended to be swallowed whole.
Liquids can, of course, be swallowed as they are. :)
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WHY NOT CHEWABLE?
As was mentioned by pinkfreud-ga, there are medications that cannot be
chewed without having potentially bad outcomes. There are two classes
of medications in particular that should not be chewed. Time-release
and enteric-coated medications.
Time-release medications are those designed to be released slowly
rather than all at once. This is usually done to reduce the number of
times a day a particular medication must be taken. With pain
medications it is done to create a more stable amount of narcotic in
the blood stream so that pain is controlled on a long-term basis. For
example, Oxycontin is a sustained-release form of oxycodone, taken
twice a day. Most immediate-release narcotics are taken anywhere from
every 1 to 6 hours. If one were to chew an Oxycontin tablet he or she
would receive a dose that was equal to anywhere from 2 to 12 doses of
a shorter acting pain pill! Too much for one person to handle.
Many blood pressure medications and anti-depressants are made in
time-release forms, as well as a number of other medications.
Medications labeled as ?XR,? ?CR,? ?XL,? and the like are often
time-release forms, but you would need to call your pharmacist to
confirm this.
Enteric-coated (EC) medications are designed to resist digestion in
the stomach to prevent adverse effects. Aspirin and ibuprofen are two
medications that are commonly used in an enteric form. While you could
chew these, you would be opening yourself up to side effects that the
EC tablets were trying to avoid in the first place, namely stomach
irritation, ulceration, and bleeding. Also, aspirin and similar
medications can cause ulceration of the mucous membranes in the mouth,
so the less time it spends in your mouth, the better.
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I CAN'T SWALLOW THIS HORSE PILL! HELP!
There are many, many medications that can be chewed or crushed before
swallowing, without affecting how well the particular drug works. A
common practice is to crush a pill and mix it with something like
applesauce to improve the palatability and make it easier to swallow.
Again, if you ask your pharmacist, he or she can tell you which of
your medications can be taken this way. Some are even soluble enough
that you can mix them with water or juice and take them that way.
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OTHER FORMS
There are more and more medications being reformulated as ?solu-tabs?
or ?readi-tabs? or some other dissolving form. These are placed under
the tongue or simply in the mouth, and then the tablet ?melts.? Along
with being a great way to extend a patent, it can also make the
medicine easier to take.
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Also,
Many tablets that are not described as "chewable" will have an
unpleasant taste if you chew them. If a time-release drug is chewed,
too much of the active ingredient may be released at once, which can
be dangerous.
Chewing aspirin or other highly acidic medications can be bad for your
teeth and can cause mouth ulcers:
Why did I bring this over here? Because large companies so often seem ok with hitting the delete button on your data (YouTube videos anyone?). So it is here because it's personally mine.
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Page last modified 12-Apr-12 23:35:57 EDT
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