Difficulty Swallowing Pills: Causes & Solutions

Question
I am having difficulty swallowing pills. I never had difficulty swallowing pills with water up until now. Do you have any tips for me? Thank you very much. Al Brown

Answer
Al,

There may be several reasons why recent pill swallowing has become difficult.  They can be broken down into two categories.... 1.  Mechanical or Organic problem, and 2. Functional or Psychiatric.

Mechanical problems may be as simple as the size and or shape of the pill or they pill coating (capsule, solid tablet, etc.)  It may also have to do with how many pills you are swalling at one time and with what liquid.  It could also mean there is an esophageal issue.  Esophageal obstruction due to dysfunction of the normal peristalsis of the esophageal muscle.  Esophageal strictures or some type of esophageal cancer (Barrets esophagitis, etc.).

Functional disorders such as the fear of choking, phobia of swalling pills due to some recent traumatic event, hyperactive gag reflex, globus hystericus (feeling of an object in the throat), and anxiety disorder or panic attack.

Best type of advice about this... is go to your family doctor and have it checked out.  

Tips to swalling a pill:  Take one at a time, use plenty of water, always take standing up or sitting up (never lying down), tilt chin slightly down (throwing your head back or hyperextension of the neck, (while counterintuitive) will actually open up the trachia (wrong pipe) and close or narrow the esophagus.


JP Saleeby, MD
www.saleeby.net