What are Liquid Medicines?

Liquid medicines are most commonly used by patients who have difficulties swallowing tablets and capsules such as children and the elderly. A liquid medicine can come in many forms which includes solutions, suspensions and syrups.^[1]

Medicines for oral administration are often complex and carefully designed to effectively treat a patient’s condition.

Liquid medicines can be the most appropriate alternative to tablets or capsules for patients who have difficulty swallowing. Most commonly prescribed medications are available in a liquid format which can make taking medication easier.^[2]

A common response to not being able to swallow tablets is to chew or crush them or to open the capsules and remove the contents. NHS advice is that you shouldn’t chew, crush and break tablets, or open and empty the powder out of capsules, unless your doctor or another healthcare professional (such as a pharmacist) has told you to do so. Do not crush pills, open capsules or alter your medicine without getting professional advice as this could stop the medicine working properly.^[3]

Rosemont Pharmaceuticals are experts in liquid medicines, with over 50 years’ experience. Our mission is to improve the health, quality of life and wellbeing of patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules by providing high quality prescription oral liquid medicines.

We are dedicated to the continual development and manufacture of liquid medicines which help patients avoid the challenge of swallowing tablets or capsules.

Rosemont seek to assist healthcare professionals to deliver the best care for their patients by providing them with relevant information regarding swallowing difficulties and produce an extensive range of liquid medication spanning the majority of medicinal categories.

Should I take Liquid Medicine?

If you or someone you care for is affected by any of the following scenarios, contact your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to discuss an alternative form of medication such as a liquid medicine, which may be a more suitable format for you:

• Finding it hard to swallow tablets or capsules
• Not taking medicine because of fear of swallowing it
• Crushing tablets or opening capsules to make them easier to swallow
• Breaking tablets into smaller pieces to enable swallowing
• Mixing medicine with food or drink to make it easier to take
• Sucking or chewing medicine before swallowing

Swallowing disorders are more common in certain groups of people. A difficulty swallowing could result from conditions affecting the nervous system or brain, such as a stroke, dementia, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s disease. It can also affect people with learning disabilities.

There are also a variety of oral conditions that can cause swallowing difficulties such as mouth and throat cancer or reflux disease.^[4]

How Do I Take Liquid Medicine?^[1]

• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water
• Carefully check the medicine’s expiry date. It’s also good practice to record the date that you open the medicine to ensure the medication is only used within its open shelf life (this refers to how long you can store and keep using the medicine once it has been opened).
• Open the bottle: Most bottles have a top that is child resistant. For a typical child resistant top, you should press down the plastic screw cap and turn in direction of the arrows. If there is a different type of top, you should follow the instructions for opening on the bottle or in the package leaflet.
• Most liquid medicines have either a measuring spoon, measuring cup or a syringe for measuring the dose to be given to the patient. Carefully measure out the prescribed dose onto the medicine spoon or cup or use the syringe to extract the right amount of medicine from the bottle. Don’t use a kitchen spoon as they come in different sizes and the measurement will be inaccurate.
• Take the medicine (or give to the patient if you are doing it for someone else) and ensure that it is taken in full and without any undue delay.
• Wash medicine spoon/cup or syringe with fresh water and let it dry before you use it again
• Close the bottle with the plastic screw cap
• There may be slightly different instructions in the package leaflet (if one is included). If the instructions are different from the above instructions, you should follow the instructions in the leaflet.
• If there are no instructions in the package or if you are unsure about any aspect of how to take your liquid medicine, you should talk to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist before using the medicine as the method of dosing is very important to how effectively and safely a medicine will work.

Important information:

• When you get a new prescription of a medicine, check the strength and your dosage, as this may have changed from your previous prescription. If you have any questions or concerns, it’s important to contact your healthcare professional.
• Some liquid medicines must be stored in the fridge, and some must not. It will state this requirement on the bottle. If you are unsure, please speak to your pharmacist.

There are some liquid medicines which are also suitable for administration via an enteral feeding tube (PEG & NG tube), if this applies to you, your doctor or pharmacist will be able to provide you with more information and detailed instructions.

If you are a healthcare professional and would like some more information regarding our liquid medicines portfolio, then please download our app or visit our product pages for more information, alternatively you can contact us.

ROS000057-002 Aug 2023