As adults, many of us take or swallow pills out of necessity to manage or prevent a chronic health condition. From a vitamin to even a life-sustaining medicine, you probably don’t hesitate or panic when swallowing the pill, even the biggies.
But knowing how to swallow medicine isn’t something that just happens, often it’s a learned skill that may vary widely in regards to timing and can be a time of high anxiety for children and teens. A 2008 survey found that more than 50% of children were unable to swallow a standard size pill.
New findings in the medical journal Pediatrics has cited research that learning how to swallow a pill may be easier to master by young children before they have to face the anxious moment of swallowing something whole.
The bottom line in the research? Although many children struggle with swallowing pills, five studies reviewed find various techniques to support children with pills really do work. Unease about pill taking can be a real barrier in medical treatment both for children and teens with chronic health conditions.
Interventions help
Five interventions were reviewed in the research and all of them proved beneficial for children including:
- teaching and coaching children on how to swallow a pill, including different ways to hold their head;
- starting them as young as 2-years-old in teaching them how to swallow a pill;
- placing instructions on the cup they use to take the pill with;
- flavoured throat spray to help the pill go down; and
- keeping the experience positive. A negative experience or ‘throwing-off’ at a young person because they find it difficult may stick with them and will do little to improve their confidence.
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