Please think before you crush tablets...

[2pumpkin2pumpkin1]

I am not sure if this link has been posted \link{http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6085192.stm yet}. I appologise if you have been discussing this all day. I have only just got in from work.

yet .

i heard this on the news this morning and was shocked! i hadn't a clue that you shouldn't crush them

thanks for the link, I would have crushed without a second thought if I hadn't known.

in the instruction leaflet you get with each medication - it will usually specify if they need to be swallowed whole & not chewed....

but does everyone read the leaflet....?

one of the drugs mentioned is tamoxifen...which is not likely to be a common drug to have at home, unlike, say , paracetomal

i knew that. dh reads every leaflet. if its tablet it should be swallowed.

we have loads of morphine here

many tablets come in liquid form (suspension)

gp's dont tell you this cos its more expensive

but its worth asking if you find it hard to swallow tabs

The ones to watch out for may well be called Something SR

the patient info leaflet will refer to the fact that the drug is slow release or long acting in some way. they are not very common in most children's preparations (with the exception of things to treat juvenile arthritis)

If you are unsure you should check with your pharmacist.

For non slow realese pills this is not a major issue

eneteric coated tablets need to be swallowed whole & not chewed

think sustained release the same...

guess we all need to read the leaflets with all our tablets...

Blimey, never knew that.

Had a friend who used to split open antibiotic capsules and just swallow the powder.

most 'ordinary' capsules and tablets would be ok.

The two types that shouldn't be are

1.enteric coated....these are treated so they pass to a specific point in your digestive tract before they act

1. Slow release tablets or capsules. these give a days does of drugs in one, but they break down slowly in the gut and 'drip feed' the dtug into your system. These are the most dangerous ones to break up, because you effectivly get a sudden rush of srugs in one go....and overdose.

'Ordinary' preparations will not have much of an effect if they are crushed....although they may taste a little nasty. So squashing an ordinary antibiotic isn't going to kill you.

But if in doubt check with your pharmacist

Interesting case study .

One of the articles also raises the option of suppositaries if a suspension isn't available.

You may say yuck but in the drug industry it is widely regarded as the standard method of administration in some cultures, Japanese being the main one.

But a suspension/ suppository will not give you a slow release of the drug.

To re-iterate, this is only a major issue if you are on a slow release preparation or the drugs you take are enteric coated

Slow release drugs often have the words SR after them,

So Froben SR.

ordinary froben would not be dangerous to crush, just the SR preparation

And Spain Pumkin-I remember being a teenager and being mortified at having to shove something up my bum just because I had an ear infection

Liquids are often available but invariably taste vile suppositries really do work brilliantly if you can face it.

Actually you can get slow release suppositories & suspensions for some drugs (inc. morphine I think).

I just wanted to warn everyone of the dangers of crushing without thinking about it. It appears that even some professionals are happy to make sweeping statements about crushing - so you really do have to be careful.

Read the patient information leaflet, ask a pharmacists & if in doubt don't do it.

Bumping for awareness

.

Wow. Thanks for posting that, had no idea

I had no idea!! As a child I couldn't swallow pills and my mum used to crush them and I would swallow a mouthful of pillpowder and sugar!!!! I'm still here