Monday, March 3, 2008

Weekly Factoid: Oral Contraceptives

Did you know that they make chewable birth control pills?

I don't know about you, but I really have to wonder about whether or not people who can't swallow tablets should be having sex.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

That might be because you've never had one of the pesky little tablets stick to a swollen tonsil and cause a ten minute fit of coughing.

Of course, most people don't have the Tonsils of Doom (tm) that I have either...

MDS said...

I think the chewable birth control is more about compliance than the resemblence to a pediatric dose form. There are so many women today that have busy lifestyles. The idea of a chewable BC means that they can carry it in their purse, and don't have to have a glass of water to take it. This increases the likelyhood that they will be able to take it at the same time every day.

Personally I wish that most IR meds came either as a chewable or ODT form. The only problem is that those dose forms seem to be a little less stable (more prone to moisture, etc).

Pharmer Jane said...

the package insert on the chewable bc (Femcon, I believe it's called), still advises taking the tablet with several ounces of liquid. There has to be adequate fluid volume in the stomach for the tablet to dissolve. There's really no point to the chewtab, then, because you still need to have water or some other liquid.