Don’t crush it

Malone stresses that even though pills are sometimes hard to swallow, they should never, ever be crushed up without your doctor’s OK. This is because some medications are time-released and are designed to slowly enter your bloodstream. Crushing them up eliminates their ability to work as they should and may even be dangerous. If you are having trouble swallowing your pills, do not stop taking your medication. Talk to your doctor about alternative drugs, such as those in liquid form, which will be easier for you to tolerate. Now that you know all these pharmacist secrets, learn about the things pharmacists keep in their own medicine cabinets.

Sources: Dr. Daniel Zlott, oncology pharmacist, National Institutes of Health; Cindy Coffey, PharmD; Greg Collins, pharmacy supervisor, CVS/pharmacy, California; Stuart Feldman, owner, Cross River Pharmacy, New York. Lisa Gill, deputy content editor at Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs project; David Zgarrick, acting dean and professor for the Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems Sciences at Northeastern University; an anonymous pharmacist at Rite-Aid and an anonymous pharmacist at Walgreens; Jesse Pike Jr., owner of Pike’s Pharmacy in Charlotte, North Carolina; Lajaynees Ingram, a former drugstore cashier and pharmacy technician; and Fernando Gonzalez, RPhI, assistant professor pharmaceutical sciences division at Long Island University’s Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences