A TikTok video has received praise for raising awareness on the easiest way to take pill medication.
This method might just surprise you:
We've all been there. Faced with a mega-long capsule or two to have to gulp down our throat, crossing our fingers that our gag reflex doesn't kick in too early and end up in us spewing the liquid and medicine all the way straight back out again.
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But, fear not, because TikTok - as usual - has all the answers.
Gone are the days were you choke, splutter and dread having to knock back your medication and other users couldn't be more relieved.
Sidney Raz, who is known for sharing 'tips and tricks' he didn't know before with followers, posted the insightful video onto the social media platform to put an end to the 'decades spent struggling'.
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The TikToker explained: "Here's something I didn't know until I was in my thirties: Moving your head forward not back is better for swallowing medicine?"
Sidney then goes on to exemplify the life hack with a piece of 'cookie dough in the size of a pill' acting as the medicine.
And bingo. Sidney then reveals to his followers that he experienced 'no gagging'.
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The post has since amassed hundreds of thousands of views, many likes and floods of comments, as users have flocked to the post in appreciation of the life hack.
One said: "I should try this next time I get a pill! Holy moly! Having hard time getting down the big ones, hope this helps!"
"I take 11 pills in one go every night. And I’m only hearing about this now?!!!," another wrote.
However, some others couldn't resist the temptation to turn the hack into something dirty. "That's what she said," one wrote.
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One user took to the comments to confirm the hack, claiming to be an occupational therapist. "Occupational therapist here: Fact! This opens up the soft palate to make the pill go down better in short terms," they said.
However, another viewer claimed that the method would only work depending on the medicine: "If its a capsule you should tip backwards. if its a solid pill you should tip forward."
A third alleged: "It's better to take medicine laying on your right side."
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Indeed, Sidney's realisation has also been backed up by medical director Dr A.D. Macleod and drug utilisation review pharmacist Jane Vella-Brincat.
An article on the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority's website reads: "Many patients have difficulties, both psychologically and physically, swallowing medicines. [...] The swallowing of capsules can be particularly difficult. This is because capsules are lighter than water and float due to air trapped inside the gelatine shell.
"In comparison, tablets are heavier than water and do not float. The usual method of swallowing oral solid dose forms - placing on the tongue, filling the mouth with water, tilting the head back and swallowing - works well for tablets because they do not float and gravity, when the head is tilted back, assists swallowing.
"If this technique is used with a capsule, it will float on the water in the front of the mouth, placing it in the anatomically incorrect location for ease of swallowing."
Topics: TikTok, Viral, Social Media
Poppy Bilderbeck