Pill Swallowing Difficulty: Cause and Treatments (Pill Dysphagia)

Difficulty swallowing pills but not to foods and liquids is a very common complaint known as pill dysphagia. This condition is often due to a tighter than normal muscular valve at the top of the esophagus known as the cricopharyngeus muscle. Because the opening is tighter than normal, large pills often hang up in the throat leading to symptoms of the pill being stuck in throat sensation and even occasional choking or gagging. Further medical investigation of pill dysphagia often shows nothing physically abnormal. Rather, the muscle tightness is often due to mental factors like anxiety over pill swallowing. As such, treatment involves learning simple strategies to help swallow pills more easily. The video goes over the pop bottle, lean forward, and soft food methods to help individuals suffering from pill dysphagia be able to swallow pills more easily and comfortably.

Products mentioned in the video that can be purchased on Amazon include:

If you have trouble swallowing in general and not just to pills, watch this video instead:

Normal Pill Swallow (0:10)
Pill Dysphagia (0:32)
Pop Bottle Treatment (1:12)
Lean Forward Treatment (1:45)
Soft Food Treatment (2:10)
Swallow Aids (2:32)

This video produced by Dr. Chris Chang:

Actor: Janine Collins

#pilldysphagia #pillchoking #cantswallowpills #dysphagia #medicalanimation

[drashtishukla]

I'm so glad more people like me exist 😭 it's so tiring to have people make fun of you for not being able to swallow medicines.

[donatotusi]

I feel like a total failure lol I can swallow multiple pasta pieces all at once but I can't swallow a freaking pill fml

[Caroline-fjqh]

I’m literally in my kitchen having a full on mental breakdown because I have to swallow 2 tablets 3 times a day and this is my first time.. I’m shaking really bad and idk what to do

[ahnyudaeng]

I'm ashamed that I'm already 19 and my younger brother can do this effortlessly. I'm literally scared of swallowing medicines and injections 😭

[thewholefamily]

Who else cried their eyes out cuz they failed swallowing a pill ? :D

[thesilliestgooberofalltime]

Dont you just hate it when you're trying to swallow a pill and it melts in your mouth 😭

[kingdomnguyen]

guys...
i still can't swallow the damn pill

[contralul]

It’s like my tongue is like “no we are not swallowing this don’t care”

[mesabhetxkinarandomgames]

I would just swollow the whole pudding and leave the pill

[potatoyoutube]

I remember those moments where my mom would be mad cus I couldn’t swallow pills lmao

[marcelsande]

I am literally terrified of swallowing big pills, but to my own surprise the lean forward method worked incredibly well, I almost didn't even think about it and the pill was already down my throat. Good luck!

[GhostySweep]

when I saw treatment I thought he was gonna be like "we'll prescribe a pill for that"

[imgayfordojacat]

i can swallow full sized candy while im here at my bathroom crying cause I cant swallow this circular ass pill

[ellawalsh]

OMG I HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME SWALLOWING PILLS SO I TRIED THE LEAN FORWARD METHOD AND OMGGGG ITS WORKS!

[hannahgil]

This comment section helps me to not feel so alone, even smaller pills make me anxious but I hope to overcome that with these tips

[cut_the_check]

These comments make me feel better about not being able to swallow a pill, I thought being 15 and not being able to swallow one was wrong but some people are adults, I feel better about it now

[sp.]

All this did was make me more paranoid that I’m going to choke

[PookieSharmaa]

Appreciate the girl for swallowing dozens of pills for us 👏✌️

[kobee]

Who’s watching this while having a god dam tablet in your throat...

[Lipanj]

Why not simply smash it into powder and then swallow it ?

I once thought I was going to die because the pill stuck in my throat and I was freaking out if the epiglottis would flip up letting the pill into the airway. After I managed to finally swallow it minutes later, I could feel pain in my throat as if the pill was still inside. It was 8 years ago. I still suffer trauma, and I am in my late 20s.

Also, I have always been the one finishing the meal last because I need to chew the food much longer than other people in order to be able to swallow it smoothly. There is a special perk to it: I get to enjoy food more.