Swallowing pills can be challenging when dealing with nerves and muscles of your mouth and throat. This condition, called dysphagia, can lead to difficulty swallowing pills as well as to food or liquid entering the lungs and potentially leading to pneumonia-like conditions.
If you’re having difficulty swallowing pills, try tilting your head forward slightly and drinking through a straw. Or crush and add them to applesauce or pudding (in consultation with your physician first).
Medications
Medication are oral tablets or capsules used to treat diseases and illnesses, available both as prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) products. Many chewable or orally dissolving tablets are also available; their absorption begins in the stomach before moving through bloodstream distribution systems to where they’re needed in the body – crushing a pill can change how your medicine is absorbed, leading to side effects and possibly changing how quickly its effectiveness takes hold in your system. It may help to use pill organisers or weekly reminders to stay on top of taking your medications correctly!
Some medicines are manufactured by multiple companies and bear different imprint codes for easier identification. Furthermore, one drug may come in various strengths and formulations from each supplier.
Hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers that transmit signals throughout the body. They regulate growth, appetite, puberty and sexual reproduction as well as metabolism pathways and metabolic regulation. Hormones are produced in glands of the endocrine system such as hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid, thymus and pancreas; some prohormone precursors may even be converted into active hormones through chemical processes called proteolysis.
As opposed to brain chemicals, molecules in blood don’t know exactly which cells or receptors they should target; they float along in their current and are subject to influences from cells or chemicals around them that could alter or intensify their effects.
Pain relievers
Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers may help ease many different aches and pains, as well as fever. If an OTC medicine does not relieve your symptoms, speak to your physician; stronger prescription medicines may be needed.
NSAID medications like ibuprofen and naproxen can effectively relieve both pain and swelling. Acetaminophen, commonly marketed under the brand name Tylenol, can provide fast relief from headaches, muscle aches and fever, without causing stomach upset in comparison with other painkillers.
Opioids are powerful narcotic medications used to treat moderate to severe short-term pain. They work by blocking pathways in your brain that transmit pain signals; available as pills, liquids and topical applications on skin (ointments or gels). Due to potential addiction risks and serious side effects, opioids should only be prescribed by a qualified healthcare provider.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are powerful medicines used to kill or slow the growth of bacteria and save lives and cure illnesses that once claimed them all. But overusing or misusing antibiotics may lead to side effects ranging from digestive upset and bone damage to making bacteria resistant against them altogether.
As it’s essential that antibiotics be taken as instructed by healthcare providers, it’s vital that patients follow their healthcare provider’s instructions regarding when, how much, and for how long. They may be taken orally or via injection. Antibiotics shouldn’t be taken to treat viral infections like colds or flus, and should never be saved or shared between individuals; any leftover antibiotics should be thrown away with your regular trash or dropped off at pharmacies for recycling as doing so helps decrease drug resistance.
