“Experts have cautioned against crushing pills for easier swallowing. The pill's special coating controls how they are released into the body and crushing them could lead to serious side effects. David Wright, who led a group of pharmacists and lawyers, said people could opt to take drugs in patch, liquid or inhaler form. An estimated 60% of older people have difficulty in swallowing medication. Research shows that 80% of nurses in care homes crush tablets to make it easier for residents to take medicine. Annually, about 75 million prescriptions are related with adverse drug reactions. Breast cancer drugs tamoxifen and morphine are just one of the drugs that must not be crushed. A pill's special coating works by releasing the drug over a long period of time, so that patient only has to take a tablet instead of many. Wright told the BBC: "Crushing pills increases the risk of side-effects, of the patient getting a large dose of a drug which should be released slowly, or a drug being cleared from the body too early before it can do anything." "Fatalities can happen, although they are not that common."”
---Taken from News Report at http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005299197
I found this article interesting becaue I take painkilling pills daily. I am currently on a dose of painkillers that come in 10mg, but have been advised to take only 5mg. So I cut my pills in two. I always have stomach problems that come with taking any medications, but this one especially. I wonder If this could be the reason. I also wonder how it affects how it is absorbed and if this medication is meant to be slow release. My doctor never talked to me about that.
If your doctor never actually mentioned anything about this, then you should definately ask him. It's very important that you are well informed about the medication that you are taking, especially when prescribed.
On another note, refrain from using Tylenol if possible. My grandmother was a nurse, and she told me that Tylenol is the only pain killer that, if overdosed, cannot be pumped from the stomach to save the life of the victim. That isn't to say that you're going to overdose, or even that Tylenol is bad to take, but just be very cautious if you are going to take it.
- Sophia
My sister ODed on Tylenol when she was little. They had no issues pumping her stomach.
~C
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ODing on Tylenol is so bad because it is so toxic to your liver and first it starts to shut down you liver and if enough it is taken it shuts down you kidneys which leads to toxic subtances not getting filtered and they get built up around your brain. It is also the most painful, excrusiating, long, brutal way to OD. It doesn't just knock you out and then you're gone. It shuts your organs down one by one.
The process, atleast now, is to give you activated charcoal to bind to any tylenol left in your system. Then depending to the level of tylenol in you system the given you a certain ammount of Mucomist to help fight the effects the tylenol and maybe reverse some effects.
I not only know because of my profession but because I went through a horrible time in my life and almost died from a tylenol OD.
-Lisa
I am in the medical field and the only time that crushing pills becomes dangerous and can cause deadly doses or severe side effects is when they are extended release (XR) and sustained release (SR).
The reason why is yes, as state in the origional thread the coating is such that it only releases a little ammount into your body at a time. Other medications that are NOT XR or SR are designed for you to get the total ammount of the medication at once. So for crushing the pills and putting them in lets say applesause as many hospitals do for their elderly patients who can't swallow pills it is completely safe.