Today, I’m going to reverse myself a bit about the value of women’s magazines. No, I still don’t want to read another article on how to organize my closet or kitchen. I don’t want to be reminded of how to spot ovarian or breast cancer or more advice on how to diet successfully. But sometimes, hidden within the pages of these prosaic publications, there are gems of information. The April edition of Women’s Day provides an example. Next to the obligatory blurb about ovarian cancer, is a lesson on how to swallow pills.
I take a number of pills, not prescriptions, but what I call “pebbles of prevention”: omega 3, calcium, and vitamin D, for example. Each time, I wonder if one of them is going lodge in my windpipe and, a month later, someone will find my body sprawled on the kitchen floor, where I have been choked by a pill that was supposed to help me live longer. As an aside, If ever there was ever an argument against intelligent design, the positioning of the wind pipe next to the esophagus argues against it.
I know Woman’s Day has lots of readers but in case anyone missed the advice, it bears repeating.
How to swallow a pill:
Breathe Deeply before putting a tablet in the mouth to suppress a gag reflex.
Sip pill with a bubbly beverage like a seltzer. The carbonation promotes swallowing.
Lower your chin to your chest as you take the pill. This will align the pill with your esophagus.
(Courtesy of Woman’s Day, April, 2013, pg. 123)
If swallowing my words about women’s magazines helps you to swallow your pills, then I am happy.
(Courtesy of writethecompany.com)
