I assume that the reader knows the difference between a pill/tablet and a capsule.
Capsules usually float because it is a powder encased in a cellulose shell
and there is a lot of air in there. Pills usually sink.
I had some large capsules that I needed to swallow,
they would get caught on a shelf in my throat,
and no amount of water would wash them down.
So I had to cough them up,
and by that time the outer capsule was dissolving,
so I had to either try again quickly or throw it away,
or try something else.
Traditional wisdom in taking pills/tablets or capsules is:
if it sinks in water then tilt your head back
so that the pill sinks down to your throat area;
and if the capsule floats then you tilt your head forward
so that the capsule floats up against your throat.
However, the capsule bobs around in the water and can turn sideways,
and large capsules need to line up with your throat
in order to go down properly; and because it moves around freely,
lining it up to slide down 'longways' becomes hit-or-miss.
With capsules, you can open them and put them in tea,
or mix them with applesauce or other food,
in order to get the contents down into your stomach.
However, the purpose of the pill/tablet or capsule is to get something
past your tongue to your stomach without tasting it.
Some medicines or supplements taste terrible,
or may burn your throat, in which case opening them
is out of the question.
I mentioned the large capsules getting caught on the 'shelf'
in my throat to a clerk at a pharmacy, and she said that
the same thing happens to her with small capsules.
Gedenken experiment:
Put a capsule in a cup and pour water on it, it floats.
Now put a capsule in a cup and pour applesause on it !
It stays on the bottom, at least short term,
depending upon the thickness of the applesauce;
after that the cellulose shell will dissolve.
So, take your capsule with applesauce instead of water !
It does not seem to matter which you put in your mouth first.
The capsule does not float or move around in your mouth,
and you can use your tongue to line it up perfectly;
and the applesauce really forces the capsule to move along with it.
Sometimes I can even use my tongue to push the capsule
partially down my throat before swallowing.
Follow that with a second spoon of applesauce or food and drink.
You can eat the 2nd spoonful of applesauce normally.
I use WhiteHouse All Natural Cinnamon applesauce.
I have included a photo to show the size of the spoon that I use,
with a quarter and penny included for scale; it is not a large spoon.
August 2025
I had a bad experience swallowing a large creatine tablet.
The exterior coating immediately began to dissolve in the applesauce
which caused it to stick in my throat no matter how much water or
applesauce I followed it with.
I first tried cutting it in 4 pieces but they had ragged edges
which scratched my throat and still got stuck in my throat.
So I crushed them with a mortar and pestle and put them in water;
they did not dissolve well in the water,
but the powder was relatively tasteless so
I then mixed the powder with applesauce;
there were still undissolved tiny pieces,
but it went down OK and did not taste too bad.
Some pills taste so bad that they cannot be taken this way.
September 2025
I had some very large fish-oil pills,
these are not tablets and not capsules.
I guess that the category would be gel pills.
The manufacturer suggested opening them and mixing them with something,
but they taste terrible, which is why they are in pills in the first place.
There is something called 'gel-caps'
but I think that gel-caps are small, like Vitamin D3 pills.
The fish-oil pills were not only large, but soft and sticky.
I could quickly feel that they were stuck on the ledge in my throat,
and no amount of anything would push them down.
What a terrifying feeling, even though I could still breath in.
While standing up I lowered my head toward the floor
and coughed hard until I managed to cough it up.
I, of course, will never buy these again,
but I did not want to throw the pills away,
so I stored them in the refrigerator,
which made them harder and less sticky,
and therefore slightly easier to get down,
but even doing that, one of them still got stuck in my throat;
possibly because I did not line it up properly before swallowing.
I encourage you to contact the manufacturers and tell them that
several small pills are much easier to swallow than one large one.
I have also noticed that round pills go down easier than oblong pills.
I am guessing that round and small are more expensive to manufacture;
hence the horse pills;
so the only pressure we can apply to the manufacturer is complain,
and then do not buy the large pills anymore.
