More and more people have difficulties swallowing medicine when it is given to them as tablets or capsules. Dysphagia is most common in the old and the young. When we get older the characteristics of the saliva glands transform which can make it more difficult to swallow pills and tablets. Dysphagia is a particularly acute issue in care homes for the elderly where up to 1/3 of residents may well suffer from it which makes looking after them a more challenging and time consuming process. Dysphagia consequences can be very severe as it can clearly interfere with medicine management and medication management proscribed by medical professionals if the patient is not willing or not able to take medication in pill form. Furthermore there is a danger that capsules ingested orally could potentially cause choking or a obstruction of the airway. There is also a risk that tablets could become lodged in the throat which may result in the incorrect dispersal of the medication to the body as well as possible damage to the oesophagus. The most widespread and common method of coping with Dysphagia is tablet crushing to ensure they are more palatable and less difficult to swallow. However crushing tablets is not the straightforward answer it appears to be and it can effect how the medicine works within the body. Quite a few tablets have a sugar coating on them to make them taste more pleasant and although crushing them will not have any effect on the efficiacy of the pill it could make them taste very unpleasant. Many of the pills and tablets made today have an enteric layer that is intended to keep the pill together in the stomach. Pills with an enteric covering must not be crushed because the coating is there either to guard the stomach from the medicine or to guard the medicine from the effects of the stomach . Fortunately help is on hand for people with Dysphagia and the people that care for them. These days there is a wide selection of medicines that can be taken orally and have the same effects as tablets or pills. There are many of drugs which oral liquid medicine can be used to replace and the number is growing all the time. Liquid medicines possess a number of advantages over other kinds of medicines not least of which is the fact they are much easier to take for men and women struggling with Dysphagia .