Question

What happens if a pill goes into your lungs?

Answer 1

If you swallow a pill and the pill goes into your lungs the pill in the lungs can lead to infection of the lungs.

Most times the pill in the lungs will just dissolve and you'll be fine as long as you're not choking but swallowing a pill or other things into your lungs could lead to inflammation and infection (aspiration pneumonia).

If you swallow a pill into your lungs or other food or anything else and you're experiencing symptoms such as Shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing, throat pain, chest pain or belly pain then see a doctor or go to urgent care or emergency room.

Most pills will eventually just dissolve in your  lungs and you'll be fine.

I've had a pill go into my lungs before and when I saw a doctor they said that eventually it would dissolve but if I experienced any of the above symptoms to come see the doctor again or go to urgent care or a walk in clinic.

The pill eventually dissolved and I was just fine.

Answer 2

After taking a pill it can take around 1 hour to 2 hours for the pill to be absorbed into your system.

Pills are usually absorbed into the blood through the stomach walls after it is swallowed and these can become active in a few minutes but usually take an hour or two to reach the highest concentration in the blood.

IV drugs are injected directly into the blood work much faster and sometimes in seconds or minutes.

In general, it typically takes approximately 30 minutes for most medications to dissolve.

When a medication is coated in a special coating which may help protect the drug from stomach acids often times it may take longer for the therapeutic to reach the bloodstream.

A standard gelatin hard capsule dissolves in the stomach, under normal conditions, within twenty to thirty minutes after swallowing.

Depending on the application, different gelatin types or additional process steps can influence the dissolution process.

Do not lie down immediately after taking a pill.

Doing so will result in the medicine being stuck within the insides of your throat.

If this happens, the capsule/tablet could break apart before reaching the stomach.

Matters could even get worse if the tiny pieces of medicine end up damaging the insides of your throat.