Hints From Heloise

Dear Heloise: Taking pills is a chore - sticking in your throat! Here’s my remedy: Put pills (not capsules) in a plastic sandwich bag. Using a hard surface, crush them with a hammer (I use a wooden meat tenderizer) and pound until thoroughly crushed. Cut the tip off the corner of the plastic bag and pour the crushed pills into a medicine glass. Place bits on applesauce to swallow. A Heloise Reader

Many people do this, and although this sounds like a good hint at first, you need to use caution when crushing pills.

Always ask your doctor or pharmacist before crushing any of your medicines. Many times medicines will have a warning label on the pill container that the pills should not crushed. Please be sure to check with your pharmacist before you do so.

One reason our experts recommend not crushing medicines is that the pills could be a time-release formula and crushing could alter the effect of the medication.

Hint: They also said to see if the medicine comes in a chewable or liquid form. Sounds like good health advice to me! - Heloise