How to crush a pill | 4 tricks to try at home

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Under any circumstances, Any medicine or pill needed to be crushed then do not worry here in this article you will get the answer to your question about how to crush a pill.

Some patients needed to be tube-fed or children not able to swallow the pill through the water then it is required to crush a pill.

But before you proceed with the process of crushing a pill keep this thing in mind such as every medicine can not be crushed because it might react differently when crushed. And to ensure this follow the steps listed below.

TIPS

1. Consult with the doctor or pharmacist

Check to see if the drug may be crushed before continuing. Crushing medicine isn’t always an option; it might cause the prescription to operate incorrectly and, in some situations, be highly harmful. 

Crushing extended-release (sustained-release) drugs is never a good idea. Crushing them can disrupt their release mechanism, resulting in a big dose being delivered all at once.

Crushing delayed (enteric-coated) drugs is not recommended.

 These medications are coated with ingredients that protect them from stomach acids or prevent them from irritating your stomach. This process can be disrupted by crushing them.

Narcotics like oxycontin, codeine, and vicodin should never be crushed or snorted.

2. Read drug label

By glancing at the drug’s label, you may be able to discover prescriptions that should not be crushed. Look for particular prefixes or suffixes on the pill that may suggest it shouldn’t be crushed. 

12-hour, 24-hour, CC, CD, CR, ER, LA, Retard, SA, Slo-, SR, XL, XR, or XT are the most popular prefixes or suffixes for sustained-release, controlled-release, or controlled-delivery products.

EN- and EC- are prefixes for enteric-coated pills.

5 Techniques to crush a pill

• Crush with the spoon
• Crush with mortar and pestle
• Crush with pile crusher
• Crush with a rolling pin

While crushing the person has to be delicate because it requires attention more than the power.

Because pills are smaller in size and some have content inside there are high chances of chemicals spreading out of it in the process of crushing the pill.

Now let’s see the 5 techniques for how to crush a pill. The techniques explained here require some tools that are easily available at home and need the expertise to use them.

1. Crush with the spoon

Tools Required – Spoon, paper

This is one of the easiest methods to crush the pill properly. Here you need no expertise and zero risk is there.

Follow the steps and follow. If you want a video demonstration then click on the youtube video link below.

Step 1. Take a piece of paper and put it on a flat surface. 

Step 2. Put the pill you want to crush over that paper and get the metal spoon strong enough to hold the pressure when you push.

Step 3. Hold the spoon in one hand and place it on the top of the pill.

Step 4. Gently press the spoon over the pill and repeat this step until your pill is crushed properly.

2. Crush with Mortar and Pestle

Tools Required – mortar and Pestle

This is the safest technique to crush the pill. Here you do not need to use any external tools that might harm you if not used properly.

A mortar and pestle is a tool made of steel or stone to use in the kitchen for crushing and making things like ginger garlic paste, chili powder, oregano, etc. 

In our case, we will be using this to crush pills with it. Follow the below steps.

Step 1. Take a mortar and pestle and place it on the strong surface.

Step 2. Put the pill inside of the mortar you want crushed.

Stepp 3. Hit the pill moderately placed inside mortar by a pestle.

Step 4. Repeat this until you get your pill crushed.

3. Crush with a Pill crusher

A pill crusher is a tool available in the market which is built specifically for crushing the pill. Different types of crushers are available in the market and made of different materials like plastic, still, etc. 

 Depending on your usage you can buy it from your nearest store or amazon starting from $5. The best part about this tool is it is easy to use and safe and zero risk is there.

Step 1. Remove the cap from the tool if it is there and put your pill inside the empty container.

Step 2. Close the cap and try to press it like you are closing the cap of the bottle. Initially, you have to put pressure but once the pill is broken into pieces it will be easier.

Step 3. Take out the crushed pill into another object to use.

4. Crush with a Rolling pin

Tools required – Rolling pin, Foil paper

This technique requires bare minimum tools and expertise. You can find a rolling pin and foil paper in your kitchen area.

Step 1. Get a piece of foil paper and put the pills you want to crush at the center of the paper.

Step 2. Fold the paper exactly in the half and if necessary put plastic on it.

Step 3. Now, gently roll the rolling pin on it and add little pressure to it.

Step 4. Do this until your pills are totally crushed.

Conclusion

Hope this article helped you. We have explained 4 methods for how to crush a pill. But we recommend you to ask your doctor and pharmacist first before following any techniques. This blog is intended to guide you and we assume that you have taken permission from your doctor before crushing your pills.