Using a Soda Bottle
Fill a plastic soda or water bottle with water. The best bottles for this method are the ones with small openings at the top, where you can create a seal with your mouth. Disposable water bottles work great. 20 ounce soda bottles are also a good option.
Put the vitamin on your tongue. Place it about 2/3 of the way back. This method works best with large tablets, but it’s okay to do it with a capsule too.
Seal your lips around the bottle opening. Try to close your mouth around the bottle in such a way that air couldn’t get through.
Take a sip. Tilt the bottle backwards, and don’t let your mouth lose contact with the bottle. You’ll need to suck on the bottle like a large straw in order to get a sip large enough to swallow the vitamin. Be careful not to let air get into the bottle.
Leaning Forward
Place the vitamin on your tongue. Put it about 2/3 of the way back. This method tends to work best with capsules, but it’s pretty good for tablets too.
Take a sip of water. DO NOT swallow the water yet. A normal sized sip of water is fine.
Lean your head forward. Place your chin on your chest and look down at the floor.
Swallow. Keep your head bent until the pill goes “down the hatch.”
Hiding the Pill in Food
Ask your pharmacist if it’s okay to grind up the vitamin you’re taking. Some pills are time-release or oil soluble, so it’s not a good idea to grind them up. NEVER crush or chew a pill without consulting with your doctor or pharmacist first. You could ingest the dosage too fast and harm yourself.
Break open or crush the vitamin. If it’s a tablet, crush it in a mortar and pestle or a pill crusher (usually available at your local health foods store or pharmacy). If it’s a capsule, break it open.
Hide the vitamin pieces in a semi-solid food. Applesauce and pudding work well. Smoothies and milkshakes with strong flavors also work. If you are working with a vitamin that you can’t crush, you can also put the whole thing in a semi-solid food.
Using a spoon, take a large bite of the food with the pill inside. Try to swallow the whole bite. Of course, don't take such a big bite that you choke. With luck, this will keep the pill from ever touching your tongue or throat.
Practicing
Roll up a small piece of bread to around the size of a tic-tac. If you’ve been having trouble swallowing vitamins, practicing with bread can help you get over your fear and give you confidence that you can do it. Practicing with bread isn’t necessarily a requirement. It’s just an alternative if you’ve been struggling with other methods.
Swallow the bread exactly like you want to try swallowing a vitamin. Bread is softer than most pills, so it won’t hurt going down.
Increase the size of the bread to the size of an M&M. Swallow each new size with water. Try various methods until you find one that works well with the bread.
Continue to increase the size of the bread until it’s about as large as the vitamin you need to swallow.
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