How do you minimize dropping pills on the floor?

Question

How do you minimize dropping pills on the floor?

Follow

Share

I organize pills with 3 separate 7 day boxes and use little sample cups to serve the pills. The problem comes when she tries to take the pills in the sample cups. About every other day some of the pills wind up on the floor. She has a hard time getting really small pills out of the cups and her manual dexterity sometimes just knocks the cups over. I'm at a loss on what to try next. When she's really bad I sometimes manually feed them to her. But, me and her really don't want to do that all the time.

Activities of Daily Living Medication Management Medications

12 Answers

Most
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First

My pills are in a container that contains 14 cells, each with a lid that clicks shut. I open one lid only, turn the container upside down, tip the pills from the open cell into my hand and swallow them. The containers are easily available at the pharmacy.

Helpful Answer (0)

Reply to MargaretMcKen

Report

Winner, winner chicken dinner goes to cwillie! I tried a small bowl tonight and it worked great. We have a couple sets of glass Pyrex bowls and I used the smallest one which has an OD of about 4" and a lot more heft than a sample cup. She drank them out of the bowl and they all slid right out for her. She was initially afraid they would pour outside of her mouth. But all came out cleanly, right into her mouth. She said that's much easier than the little cheap sample cups.

I sure do appreciate this forum. Thank you all.

Helpful Answer (3)

Reply to jwellsy

Report

I don't understand why she isn't just tipping the little sample cup directly into her mouth? She doesn't even need to touch them at all and that is why pills are dispensed this way in the hospital, assisted living, etc.

This reminds me of when my in-laws were complaining about what a mess my FIL with Parkinson's was making peeing, and how hard it was becoming for my MIL to keep him steady at the toilet. I asked why he didn't just sit to pee? Blank stares. It never even crossed their mind. Sometimes we need to adjust how we do things.

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to ShirleyDot

Report

My 97-yr old Mom has a lot of arthritis in her hands, neuropathy in her fingertips and kyphosis in her back (the dramatic back curvature) so she cannot tip her head to put meds in her mouth or eyedrops in her eyes and can barely manage getting the meds into her hand,

(0)

Report

Have you tried putting applesauce, yogurt or jelly on a spoon and dropping the pill on top, then either handing it to her or putting it directly into her mouth to swallow (with maybe a water cup chaser)? Or some variation of this...

Helpful Answer (0)

Reply to Geaton777

Report

In my experience, anytime my Mom was given pills she took them directly from the cup. When she was home, we placed them in a shot glass and she took them from that. She never touched the pills.

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to JoAnn29

Report

Put the pills in glass or heavy plastic custard cups instead of tiny sample cups she's trying to fish pills out of! Done and done.

Helpful Answer (2)

Reply to lealonnie1

Report

I, too, am fond of the little plastic shot cups. But you can also find little clear condiment cups with lids on them, for preventing spilling the pills until ready to take. That way the patient can see what they are not picking up if they have enough dexterity to pick them out individually, or if they didn't get them all when knocking back the dose like a shot.

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to MTNester1

Report

If this method is working for you otherwise then just have a small bowl she can pour the pills into

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to cwillie

Report

Like daughter1930, I serve my dad his various doses of meds throughout the day, in small disposable and colorful shot glasses I get at the grocery (I’m sure the checkout people think I have a drinking problem or am an older party animal, by now HaHa!). The colors contrast to the white small pills, so he can see better if something got stuck. He knocks it back like a shot. Sometimes I dump them in his palm and he puts his mouth down over them, leaning forward. I do stay and watch that each set of pills make it into his mouth AND that they stay there (small pills can somehow escape if they get stuck on his lips, etc—and be found on the floor, in clothes, etc). This is a great opportunity to encourage hydration, and observe how much of that goes in too. Not a perfect process. Sometimes I still find the tinier ones somehow on the floor—but it is much rarer than before we started doing this. (I’ve learned the hard way that in his case, I can no longer leave them out or beside his chair to take. He will forget or knock them over.). I do give him a couple of the highly important/must never miss ones individually. Again, in the palm of his hand and he puts his mouth down over it (fine motor in fingers isn’t good anymore). And I break up some sets of meds so he isn’t trying to take a crazy number of them all at once (and some of those vitamins are huge. AND that way it is an additional opportunity for hydration.)

I will say, if you have animals or small children in the house be vigilant. Dad now only takes his meds in parts of the house our dogs are not allowed to go. That way they cannot get hurt by eating something like that if it does slip by and onto the floor.

Hope you find something that works well for ya’ll!

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to Hope21

Report

I put my mom's pills in those small pyrex ramekins/custard cups. Easy to fish them out or she can knock them back. And she takes 10 pills.

Helpful Answer (2)

Reply to Jennyjenjen

Report

Why don't you just pour the pills out of the little sample cup in front of her on the table, so she's not trying to put her big fingers in such a little cup?
Otherwise you may not have a choice but to give them to her yourself one at a time if you want her to take them properly without worrying about her dropping them on the floor.

Helpful Answer (1)

Reply to funkygrandma59

Report

My dad always took the little cups in the hospital and tossed them back like a shot. If your wife cannot do this, unfortunately you’re in the place of putting them directly into her mouth. Losing skills never stops its sad progression

Helpful Answer (4)

Reply to Daughterof1930

Report

How do you minimize dropping pills on the floor?

12 Answers

Recent Questions

Popular Questions

Related Questions