Doctors say they have identified the best techniques for swallowing pills which could help tablets and capsules slip down patients’ throats more easily.

Following tests with 143 patients taking 283 pills, they advise using at least 20ml of water – around a tablespoonful – with each pill and one of two approaches. For ordinary tablets they recommend using a technique they have called the “pop bottle method”. This involves filling a plastic bottle with water, placing the tablet on the tongue and clamping the lips tightly around the opening of the bottle before drinking. The researchers say this improved swallowing of tablets by up to 60% compared with standard techniques such as using a sip of water from a glass. In the case of capsules the scientists recommend a “lean-forward” technique where the capsule is again placed on the tongue before taking a sip of water.

The researchers asked volunteers to tilt their chins towards their chests and swallow with the head bent forward. This, they claim, was 88% more effective at helping patients swallow capsules than more common approaches.

Dr Walter Haefeli, a clinical pharmacologist who led the research at the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, said the work could help ensure patients who struggle to take medicines to complete the full course of prescriptions.

He said: “Almost 10% of patients with swallowing difficulties report that this is a reason for not taking the drugs at all. Both the techniques we describe were remarkably effective in participants with and without reported difficulties in swallowing pills and should be recommended regularly.”

It is believed that one in three people have difficulty swallowing oral medication.

The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine, asked volunteers to swallow pills of 16 different shapes and sizes in their normal way.

They were asked to compare swallowing these against swallowing a tablespoon full of water. They were then asked to swallow the most difficult pills using either the pop bottle or lean forward techniques and rate this against just water. Both techniques resulted in more pills being swallowed and were rated as being easier.

Haefeli said deciding which technique to use depended on the type of pill being taken. He said: “Capsules, with a density lower than water, will swim in the mouth and so head position matters.

“In contrast, to swallow tablets, which have almost always higher densities than water, it is necessary to focus on flushing the medicines into the pharynx. The shape of the tablets did not critically matter but in most of our experiments the classical round tablet appeared to perform worst.”

How to swallow capsules with the pop bottle method

1. Fill a flexible plastic water bottle or pop bottle with water.

2. Put the tablet on your tongue and close your lips tightly around the opening of the bottle.

3. Take a drink from the bottle, keeping contact between the bottle and your lips by pursing your lips and using a sucking motion. Swallow the water and the pill right away.

4. Don’t let air get into the bottle as you swallow. You should feel the bottle squeeze in on itself as you swallow.

How to swallow tablets with the lean forward method

1. Put the capsule on your tongue.

2. Take a medium sip of water, but do not swallow yet.

3. Bend the head forward by tilting your chin slightly toward your chest.

4. Swallow the capsule and the water with the head bent forward.