Note: Somehow this post (from well over a year ago) caught fire on Pinterest the past few days and is being widely circulated. Funny how that happens. So I figured I should run it again for those who missed it.
Warning: This post is not funny, nor is it profound. It doesn’t deal with current events, or religious doctrine. This post has a little something to do with parenting, and no, I am not suffering from over-exposure to Mommy Blogs.
Some of the ladies I work with were discussing how much they hate taking pills, and how difficult it is for some of their children. I listened for a bit, and then suggested that they wrap it in American cheese and shove it into the back of their throat, because that’s what works with our dog. They weren’t too keen on that idea. So I asked them if they had ever heard of another trick I knew to make it easier. None of them had ever heard of it! I was surprised, and very happy, because it is a rare occurrence that I know something that the ladies in my office don’t already know.
So I figured that since none of them knew this trick, a few of you might not know it either. If you do, then I apologize for wasting your time. If this is new for you, no thanks are necessary – just doin’ my job.
Here is the trick – and I have no idea when or where I learned it:
There are two kinds of pills. Two. There are “Sinkers” and there are “Floaters”.
“Sinkers” are pills like vitamins, caplets, round Advil, pain pills, etc. They are solid, and often have an indentation where you can break them in half.
“Floaters” are the plastic-covered capsules. They usually come in colors, they are full of powder. Lots of antibiotics are capsules – and they taste really nasty if they start dissolving before you swallow them.
First: Determine if the pill you are taking is a sinker or a floater, then choose one of the following:
If it is a floater, take a mouthful of water, close your mouth, and tilt your head down so you are looking at the floor. Take the capsule and poke it through your lips into your mouth. The capsule will then float to the back of your throat. Then swallow. It will go down, and you won’t even feel or taste it.
If it is a Sinker, take a mouthful of water, close your mouth, and tilt your head back so you are looking at the ceiling. Take the tablet and drop it into your mouth. The pill will drop to the back of your throat. Then swallow. It will go down, and you won’t even feel or taste it.
• You can take more than one pill at a time, but be careful not to mix floaters and sinkers.
Eventually, you will get to the point where you can hand them the pill, and they will ask “Is it a floater or a sinker?” They’ll take it – no gagging, no fussing, no tears or tantrums, no bad tastes, no dissolving pills.
And after you have your spouse trained, try it with the kids.
Just found this post, but I swear, I thought I was the only one who had a ‘sinkers vs. floaters’ pill policy. I tried to explain why “floaters” are so hard to take to my friends and they all thought I was crazy. Nice to know that other people agree!!! (And I’m going to take your advice on how to swallow the ‘floaters’)
Thank you! My son’s first day of ADHD meds was today and we were having problems till I remembered this post. After a few tries it worked! Thank you.
Huzzah!
This is excellent advice. Thank you so much for sharing it. I am the 50+ year old child in our family who can not swallow pills.
For my very first pill when I was a kid, my exasperated father crushed it up and put it in fruit juice. Next time, my mom had me bury the pill in yogurt; it was much easier to swallow that way. After that, I never had problems, until I got those giant calcium pills…
Great trick! We trained our kids with Skittles while they are healthy and happy. If they can’t swallow it, there are no nasty flavor leftovers in their mouth. Teaching them to do it while they are healthy and not under stress helped, too. And it gave me a good excuse to buy Skittles 🙂 All our kids were trained to swallow by the time they were 3.
Awesome advice. My daughter now has to take several pills and she is not a pill taker. I think we will try this to see if we can make it easier for her. Currently, pudding or even vanilla ice cream has been the cure. Thanks for your help.
I tell my kids to pretend like they are swallowing their gum. It has worked with all five of them. I figure if they can swallow that, then they can swallow a pill. But I do like your technique as well and will try that in trying situations….or with nieces and nephews.
My 14yo daughter recently had to have oral surgery and had not yet mastered the art of swallowing a pill. The pills she had to take were about the size of the mini M&Ms, so we had her practice with them. She didn’t try the small pills until she could successfully swallow 10 M&Ms in a row. Once her body got the hang of it (and we definitely used the sinker method you outlined), she didn’t have a problem, even with some of the bigger pills she had to take.
Very clever and wise. I will try to remember your training technique.
Yup, I do that!