Swallowing a chewable medication??

[cruisnfamily]

Is that ok?

DS11 has a prescription for Singulair. He was taking the 10mg pills that you swallow. The Dr has now backed it down to the 5mg pill which is a chewable. DS would prefer not to chew it and has been swallowing it instead as he did the other ones he was on. It just occurred to me today that it might not work properly if swallowed instead of chewed. Anybody know if it makes a difference? Any pharmacists out there?

 

[nicolita3]

if he doesnt like chewing it because of the bad taste, crush it and mix it with something, ie.: applesauce, or pudding. i hated anything chewable they just never tasted good to me.

 

[cruisnfamily]

if he doesnt like chewing it because of the bad taste, crush it and mix it with something, ie.: applesauce, or pudding. i hated anything chewable they just never tasted good to me.

No, he could chew it if it's required. He'd just rather swallow it if it doesn't make any difference. Just wonderring if it makes a difference.

I actually asked the pharmacist once this exact question about Pepcid complete, whether it would be ok to swallow instead of chew and he said there was absolutely no problem in swallowing instead but that it tastes so good he'd prefer to swallow it. But the point was the med would work the same either way.

I just wondered if it's the same for singulair. Will it work the same way if you swallow a chewable?

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

He needs to chew it up... it won't work as well if swallowed.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Wife is a pharmacist and she said it's ok. She did say that if memory serves her correctly, it's a pretty big tablet for a child to swallow.

ETA: Not all chewable drugs can be swallowed. In this situation, she says it can be swallowed.

 

[The True Wilt Dasney]

Not sure if I would swallow it because, A) The chewable pills are usually a bit bigger because they *can* be chewed; and B) It probably won't work as well or as fast since it is intended to be chewed and not swallowed.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Wife is a pharmacist and she said it's ok. She did say that if memory serves her correctly, it's a pretty big tablet for a child to swallow.

Actually it's not big at all...it's way smaller than the amoxicillin horse pills he's been swallowing. It's actually smaller than a tylenol/advil type pill. DS can swallow anything.

I'm glad to hear from a pharmacist that it's ok. Will it work just as efficiently/effectively when swallowed as it would when chewed?

 

[cruisnfamily]

B) It probably won't work as well or as fast since it is intended to be chewed and not swallowed.

It's not a "fast" thing as it's more like a maintenance asthma/allergy med. Hopefully it does work as "well" though. That was my concern.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

DH is a pharmacist and he said it would not be as effective if swallowed rather than chewed.

Guess it depends on who you ask.