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Large numbers of people have difficulties swallowing medication when it’s presented to them in the form of tablets or pills. Dysphagia or swallowing difficulties can affect people spanning various ages including children although it is most usual in older people as they tend to be more vulnerable to the causative illnesses and age related changes in the functions of the saliva glands. Up to 1/3 of residents in care homes suffer from Dysphagia which makes looking after their health and well-being a much more complicated task.

Dysphagia consequences can be quite severe as it can certainly interfere with treatments proscribed by doctors if the patient is reluctant or unable to take medicine in pill form. Furthermore there is a danger that capsules ingested orally could potentially cause choking or a blockage of the airway and there’s also a danger that capsules could become lodged in the throat which might lead to the incorrect dispersal of the medicine to the body as well as possible damage to the oesophagus.

The most prevalent and common way of dealing with Dysphagia is tablet crushing to ensure they are more palatable and a lot easier to swallow. However there are a lot of problems related to crushing tablets that could have severe implications and may have an effect on the efficacy of the medicine. Some capsules are sugar covered to make them taste better and while crushing them might not alter the way the pill works it will make them taste very unpleasant. Pills that have an enteric coating should never be crushed before they’re used as the coating is made to keep the pill together within the stomach to either; protect the stomach from the medicine, protect the medicine from the stomach or to release the medicine after it’s left the stomach.

Fortunately help is on hand for sufferers of Dysphagia and the people who care for them. There is today a larger range than ever before of liquid medicines that can be taken orally and have precisely the same effect as pills or tablets. Oral liquid medicine is created to deal with an array of ailments and diseases such as those affecting the cardio-vascular system and endocrine system and more liquid medicines are being created all the time. Liquid medicines are effortless to swallow for those with Dysphagia and are available in a variety of enjoyable flavours.