Administering Capsules, Tablets, and Oral Powders

Buccal Tablets
A few drugs, including some forms of nitroglycerin, are prepared as tablets that must be placed between the lip and gum or in the cheek. These products are designed to release a dose of the drug over a period of time. To take a buccal tablet properly, place it between the upper lip and gum (above the front teeth) or between the cheek and gum. If you eat or drink during the three to five hours it takes for the tablet to dissolve, place the tablet between the upper lip and gum. Do not go to sleep with a tablet in your mouth because it could slip down your throat and cause choking.

Many people find it hard to swallow a tablet or capsule. If tablets or capsules tend to catch in your throat, rinse your mouth with water, or at least wet your mouth, before attempting to swallow them. Then place the tablet or capsule on the back of your tongue, take a drink, and gulp it down.

If it seems too large to swallow or tends to stick in your throat, there is another possible option: Empty the capsule or crush the tablet in a spoon and mix it with applesauce, soup, or even chocolate syrup. But BE SURE TO CHECK WITH YOUR PHARMACIST BEFOREHAND, since some tablets and capsules must be swallowed whole and should not be crushed or opened. Your pharmacist can tell you which ones can and cannot be taken this way.

If it cannot be crushed or chewed and you prefer to not mix it with food, ask your doctor if the drug can be prescribed in a liquid or chewable tablet form instead.

Occasionally medications come in oral powder form (for example, cholestyramine and colestipol). Such preparations should be carefully mixed with liquids, then swallowed; they are not meant to be swallowed dry.

Another option is to find out if the medication can be applied through your eyes or ears. In the next section, learn how to correctly administer eardrops, eyedrops, and eye ointments, and avoid contaminating the dropper.

Sublingual Tablets
Some drugs, such as nitroglycerin, are prepared as tablets that must be placed under the tongue. Such drugs are more rapidly or completely absorbed into the bloodstream from the lining of the mouth than they are from the stomach and intestinal tract.

To take a sublingual tablet properly, place it under your tongue, close your mouth, and hold the saliva under your tongue for as long as you can before swallowing to allow the tablet to dissolve. A bitter taste in your mouth five minutes after taking a nitroglycerin tablet indicates that the drug has not yet been completely absorbed. Wait at least five minutes longer before drinking liquids. Drinking too soon may wash the medication into the stomach before it has been completely absorbed. Do not smoke, eat, or chew gum while the medication is dissolving.