spring | 2008
Medicine Safety: Splitting Pills
You may save money at the pharmacy by splitting pills. But how safe is it? Do you get a true half dose when you cut a pill in two?
Check Before You Split
In general, the best types of pills to split are scored tablets. This helps ensure that each split tablet dose has the same strength.Split tablets of some medicines, such as statins for high cholesterol and lisinopril for high blood pressure, can be just as safe and effective as whole tablets. But cutting pills may not work for everybody or every type of medicine. Some medicines have special coatings to protect the stomach. These shouldn’t be cut in half. Long-acting medicines also shouldn’t be split, because they could be absorbed too quickly.
The bottom line: Ask your doctor before you split pills.
Pill Cutting Know-How
Once you get your doctor’s OK, you can buy a pill cutter at the pharmacy. Or you can ask the pharmacist to cut your tablets for you.Find more medication safety tips on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Web site. Visit www.fda.gov, and click on “Drugs.”