Liquid Medicines - A UK Blog About Dysphagia And Swallowing Difficulties » Swallowing difficulties http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog Swallowing Difficulties Affect Thousands And We Unravel Some Of The Mysteries Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:53:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0-beta1 How common are medication-related swallowing difficulties in the community? http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/2010/10/how-common-are-medication-related-swallowing-difficulties-in-the-community/ http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/2010/10/how-common-are-medication-related-swallowing-difficulties-in-the-community/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:51:26 +0000 Mark Greener http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/?p=85 Swallowing difficulties are common in older people and can complicate medicines management, but there is little data to show the extent of this problem in the community. So five years ago, I conducted a survey working with pharmacists to try and ascertain how common medication-related swallowing problems are in the community.


17 pharmacies took part and in total 792 questionnaires were collected from customers aged over 60. The survey showed that 60% had experienced difficulties swallowing their tablets or capsules at some time. Worryingly 69% had missed taking their medication completely because it proved too difficult to swallow and 68% had resorted to tablet crushing (a potentially hazardous practice). Yet only 40% told their doctor or pharmacist about their swallowing difficulties. 


Since the results were published in 2005, there seems to be more understanding of the need to ensure patients are willing and able to swallow their prescribed solid medication. However, I believe the time is right to see if things have changed and would like to set up another survey.


Any pharmacy interested in participating should email me at blog2@rosemontpharma.com [Note from administrator: the personal email address for Mark Greener has been withheld for data protection reasons. We have set up this email address for you to send any correspondance to him]

]]> http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/2010/10/how-common-are-medication-related-swallowing-difficulties-in-the-community/feed/ 0 How can I take my medication if I can’t swallow? http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/2009/10/how-can-i-take-my-medication-if-i-can%e2%80%99t-swallow/ http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/2009/10/how-can-i-take-my-medication-if-i-can%e2%80%99t-swallow/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:11:03 +0000 Chris Palmer http://www.rosemontpharma.com/blog/?p=57 Although swallowing difficulties can affect anyone, almost 60% of people over the age of 65 experience difficulties in swallowing capsules or tablets. If many of these people are not taking their medication then they can become seriously ill and may require hospitalisation.   It is important to remember that the most expensive drugs for the NHS are those not being taken as they have no chance of improving the patients’ condition!  This is a terrible drain on resources which could so easily have been prevented if a liquid medicine had been prescribed


Here at Rosemont we make a range of liquid alternatives for people who suffer with Dysphagia or just have difficulty in swallowing tablets and capsules. So if you are a patient, or are caring for a patient, don’t be afraid to tell your GP that you can’t swallow the tablets they have prescribed. You won’t get better if you don’t take your medicines and in so doing you could cost the NHS a great deal of money through unnecessary additional treatment.  Ask your GP if there is a liquid version of your tablets or capsules available to take. Then you can carry on with your life, and on the road to recovery. 


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