Does anyone know?

Question

I cannot swallow large pills and was prescribed an antibiotic called Doxycycline (100mg) for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. The pharmacist said that they only had Doxycycline in pill form. Will the antibiotics still be effective if I crush and mix them with food? I've tried to swallow them whole but I cannot.

They look exactly like this:
http://www.indiamart.com/myonlinechemist/pcat-gifs/products-small/doxycycline.jpg

Answer 1

I didn't see anyone else's answer, but here is mine:

To be sure, you should call your doctor or the pharmacy to ask. They will definitely know the answer. Most capsules with powder inside will work. If they have liquid inside, it might not be safe to be in your mouth, open. But if you call a doctor or pharmacy, they'll be able to tell you. :-)

Like I said, crushing the pill(with powder inside) will definitely work. Crushing the pill may allow the medication to take effect more quickly, due to it being in smaller pieces, allowing it to dissolve faster in your system.
My sister, older brother, and many of my friends have trouble swallowing pills and great solutions would be:
1 Crush the pill with a spoon or chop it up with a knife.
2 Mix it into some ice cream (the best ice cream to use would be soft ice cream) or apple sauce. Any food, especially foods that you don't particularly chew, will work. Spaghetti could possibly work too. Try pudding, jell-o, ice cream, applesauce, or mashed potatoes. Of course other food will work too, as I've mentioned.
3 Drink some water or other beverage to make sure all of the tiny pieces of the pill made it down to your stomach.

I hope it works :-)

Answer 2

You should ask your Pharmacist to be entirely sure... Some capsules you can break open and sprinkle the contents onto some food such as applesauce, which is not so heavy that it will block the absorption of the medication.

Some capsules should not be broken open because the medication may irritate the mouth and esophagus, and time release capsules should NEVER be broken open or you risk an overdose.

Just give your Pharmacist a call, and perhaps next time ask the doctor if they can prescribe something that's available as a chewable tablet or as a liquid suspension.

Answer 3

My question would be, do the pills say you can take with food, or on an empty stomach? Second, most medicine tastes horrible, and you probably wouldn't be able to eat the food if you did as you describe. Can you cut a pill once or twice to make it smaller and then swallow that?

Answer 4

Are they in Capsul form? If not get a pill splitter and make them smaller. Also have you tried filling your mouth with water and then dropping the pill in and swallowing?

Answer 5

Since they are antibiotics, they should still be effective. Some pills, such as time released anti-histimines, are more touchy, but with antibiotics it doesn't matter. Just remember to keep them in a cool, dry place.

Answer 6

food will slow the absorption of this medication. However according to Pfizer taking this directly with a food or liquid does not influence its effects. Tetracycline's absorb significantly slower with calcium so I would suggest if you do need to take it with food it should not be a problem just avoid high calcium foods like milk products.

Answer 7

Yes for antibiotic pills its okay !!! it will still work, but some capsules are not advised t break as their coating it to protect their release at some places and are aimed to target at specific places.so breaking some capsules are not advisable....

Answer 8

Here's a crazy idea. Break them in half and swallow one at a time.

Answer 9

Yes. most can make you nauseas if you dont eat them with food or atleast drink some milk with them. their just as effective crushed up as they are whole.

Answer 10

They will still work, but you need to take them for two weeks at least.