Not Medical Advice: Avoid lying down right after you take any pill. Laying down makes it easier for the medication to get stuck to the inside of your throat.
When this happens, the capsule or tablet can start to break apart before it reaches your stomach. This might mean you are not getting as much of your medicine as you should. Or even worse, the medicine might damage the inside of your throat.
Some persons have difficulty swallowing medicines in capsule or tablet form. Capsules or tablets that stay in the esophagus might release chemicals that irritate the lining of the esophagus. The irritation might cause bleeding, ulcers, perforation (a hole or tear), and strictures (narrowing) of the esophagus.
The risk of pill-induced injuries to the esophagus rises in persons with conditions involving the esophagus, such as scleroderma (hardening of the skin), strictures, achalasia (irregular muscle activity of the esophagus, which delays the passage of food), and stroke.
Some drugs can cause ulcers when they become lodged in the esophagus. These drugs include aspirin, several antibiotics such as tetracycline, potassium chloride, quinidine, vitamin C, and iron.
Older people as a group tend to have more long-term, chronic illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease than any other age group. Because they may have a number of health problems or issues at the same time, it is common for older people to take many different drugs. Here are some tips on how to take medicines safely and get the best results from them at Nihseniorhealth.gov.