Easy-to-take forms of common medications are becoming the modern spoonful of sugar

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Forget about gagging on pills that seem as big as footballs or swallowing liquids that smell like cod liver oil.

Today, everything from cough medicine to multiple vitamins has been turned into pellets that melt, powders that dissolve and gum balls that can be gobbled up like candy.

In most cases, the drugs are not new, but the way they are delivered often is. Over the past 40 years, inventors have been coming up with improved ways to deliver medicine, from time-released pills and skin patches to sprays and strips, said William Soller, executive director of the Center for Consumer Self Care at the University of California at San Francisco.

Often the new products that hit the market are just updates on old ones. The straws that deliver a dose of probiotics today are much like the chocolate straws of the 1950s that made milk more appetizing, Soller said.

Still, there is a good reason to make medications more appealing, as any parent who has tried to get a spoonful of pink syrup down a moving target knows. Children are more willing to take cough medicine if it is cherry-flavored and melts in their mouth.

The only problem: The medicine might taste a little too good to children, said Dan Hooper, chief pharmacist at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

"If kids like it, parents need to take special caution to keep it out of the reach of their children because they won't know that it is not candy," Hooper said.

While many of the easy-to-take medications are marketed for children, they're not the only ones using powders, pops and chews. An estimated 40 percent of adults have trouble swallowing capsules. As a result, a growing number of companies are making medications and vitamins that are easy for adults to take.

The makers of Viactiv calcium soft chews were onto something when they came up with a product designed especially for women that was a whole lot easier to take than big capsules. Powders that can be mixed with warm water have made cold medications almost as soothing as a cup of chamomile tea. And those little medicine-coated strips have changed the way many adults and children treat a nagging cough.

On the downside, consumers are paying for convenience, and most of the products do cost more per dose than conventional pills and liquids, Hooper said. On the plus side, the products work as effectively as conventional methods.

Speaking from experience, Hooper said that when a cold strikes, drinking a mug filled with warm medicine just feels soothing.

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POPULAR PILL ALTERNATIVES

Airborne Power Pixies

What it does: Airborne products are advertised to boost the immune system and help it fight germs.

What's new: The cherry-flavored powder quickly dissolves on the tongue, making it far more enticing to take than a liquid or tablet.

Key ingredients: Vitamins A, C, E, magnesium, zinc, selenium, manganese, herbal extract blend and amino acids blend

Cost: About $8, at Walgreens

Airborne Soft Chews

What it does: Airborne products are advertised to boost the immune system.

What's new: Caramel-apple flavored chews are the latest alternative to tablets or water-dissolving ingredients.

Key ingredients: Vitamins A, C and E; magnesium; zinc; selenium; manganese; sodium; herbal extract blend; and amino acids blend

Cost: About $7.50, at Walgreens

Glowelle sticks

What it does: Protects and hydrates the inner and outer layers of the skin.

What's new: Unlike beauty products that go on the skin, Glowelle goes inside the body via a powder or liquid. Glowelle comes in a seven-day powder pack kit and in a ready-to-drink glass bottle.

Key ingredients: Proprietary blend of antioxidants from vitamins, phlyo-nutrients and botanical extracts.

Cost: About $40 for a kit of Glowelle sticks, at Neiman Marcus

Commit cappuccino-flavored stop-smoking lozenge

What it does: Reduces withdrawal symptoms, including nicotine craving

What's new: The trendy cappuccino flavor

Key ingredients: Nicotine polacrilex, sodium, Xanthan gum and inactive ingredients

Cost: About $35, at Target

Children's Benadryl Perfect Measure

What it does: Relieves sneezing; runny nose; itchy, watery eyes; and sore throat

What's new: The pre-filled single-use spoon makes it easy to dispense on the run.

Key ingredients: Diphenhydramine HCl

Cost: About $5, widely available

Viactiv Multi-Vitamin

What it does: Delivers 12 vitamins and calcium

What's new: The folks that made calcium easy to swallow have done the same thing for multivitamins. Like the calcium product, the soft chocolate chew is designed for women.

Key ingredients: Vitamins C, E, B6, B12, A and D, plus calcium

Cost: About $7, widely available

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© 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.