Can You Crush Ibuprofen?

Answer

Yes, most formulations of ibuprofen can be crushed. This is commonly needed for those who have trouble swallowing pills or need to have drugs administered via a feeding tube. However, only ibuprofen products that are in caplet or tablet form should be crushed. You should not crush gel caps or liquid gel dosage forms.

In terms of administration, ibuprofen can be crushed and then placed into a few ounces of milk or water to drink. Additionally, it could be added to certain foods such as pudding or applesauce.

Lastly, it should be noted that some ibuprofen products, such as the brand name Advil, are coated tablets, which make them easier to swallow than non-coated tablets. Crushing these will destroy this coating, but not otherwise affect the medication.

If you don't want to risk this, an option is simply to take children's liquid ibuprofen. It contains the same drug (ibuprofen), just in liquid form. The most common concentration is 100 mg/5 ml so 10 ml (two teaspoonfuls) would equal one 200 mg tablet of adult ibuprofen dose.

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