Hard pills to swallow

Forget the spoonful of sugar--some medicines won't go down no matter what you do.

From good supplements to bad drugs, some of these things look more like horse pills than anything meant for a human throat... and they can fill you with dread before you even pop one into your mouth for that painful journey down to your stomach.

It's not just you--up to 40 percent of Americans have trouble swallowing their meds. And some people who get them down fine most of the time have occasional problems right when they need those pills the most--like when a sore throat keeps you from swallowing your vitamin C.

If you have a pill that looks like it might want to swallow you, there's an easy way to turn the tables--a flavored spray called Pill Glide. It does just what the name implies: It coats your throat so the pill glides down to your tummy, with no lumps and bumps along the way.

Despite the lubricating effect, it contains no oils. And despite the five flavors, it has no sugar--so I feel great about recommending it to all my friends. Those flavors can also help make bad-testing pills a little easier on the palate--so there are no more bitter pills to swallow.

Best of all, Pill Glide is inexpensive, won't interact with your meds and is safe for kids and adults alike.

It's a much better solution than splitting or chewing your meds--two things you shouldn't do in any case. Splitting can cause the pill to crumble, and you could lose some of your dose. And chewing will destroy any coatings that are there to help make sure the pill isn't dissolved too quickly in your stomach.

If you're interested in trying Pill Glide for yourself, I've seen it at CVS, Walgreen's and Publix--but you can take a look at the company's Web site for a full list of stores that carry it.

You won't need that spoonful of sugar after all.

On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls