Questions & answers

MEDCOAT® is used to coat tablets with a coating that makes them easier to swallow and better tasting. People with difficulty swallowing tablets and patients taking bad-tasting tablets can benefit from the product.

The MEDCOAT® coating becomes very slippery in contact with water or saliva, making the tablet easier to swallow. It also contains saliva-stimulating ingredients that further improve swallowing. The coating also camouflages the taste of the tablet and gives it a new, good taste of citrus, strawberry or cola.

MEDCOAT® can be used when you have difficulty swallowing a tablet or a capsule, or when you have to take a tablet with a bad taste.

The MEDCOAT® coating technique is only suitable for manual coating just before a tablet is swallowed.

See the step-by-step guide and video on the How to use page. For best results, use MEDCOAT® at room temperature. Swallow each coated tablet with water separately from other tablets so that the tablets do not stick together. For those who have difficulty swallowing tablets, it can be easier if the coated tablet is placed far back on the tongue before swallowing with water. Used applicators can be detached from the card.

Divided round or oblong tablets should be pushed through according to the illustration on the How to use page. Please note that some tablets should not be divided.

There are different package sizes of MEDCOAT®: 10-, 20- and 30-packs are currently sold. Each applicator can be used to coat two small or one big tablet, so a 20-pack can be used for 20–40 tablets depending on tablet size. When an applicator is used for two tablets, you first push one tablet through and twist it off. After that you can push a second tablet through, as long as the tablets are not too big. Swallow the coated tablets one at a time with water, since otherwise they can stick to each other.

Use a dry tissue to remove the MEDCOAT® coating from a tablet or capsule.

MEDCOAT® can be used for tablets and capsules of different shape and size that should be swallowed whole or divided. Round tablets bigger than 12 mm in diameter can result in the coating missing on the edges. Do not use MEDCOAT® with tablets and capsules that must be taken alone with plain water only.

MEDCOAT® can be used by adults, and also by children from the time they learn to swallow whole or divided tablets. Children can often learn to swallow small tablets from the age of 3–4 years. Please note that some tablets should not be divided. Consult your doctor or your pharmacist if you are uncertain.

Children often have difficulty swallowing tablets, especially bad-tasting tablets such as antibiotics. The elderly often have difficulty swallowing tablets due to dry mouth or dysphagia (swallowing disorders). Many healthy adults also have difficulty swallowing tablets. In a large Norwegian study, about 25 % of people aged 20–69 said they had difficulty swallowing tablets. Temporary difficulties can also occur, for example as a result of a throat infection.

Norwegian study

Big, uncoated and bad-tasting tablets are usually considered difficult to swallow.

Do not use MEDCOAT® if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in MEDCOAT®. Do not use MEDCOAT® with chewable tablets, tablets that should melt in the mouth, tablets that should be dissolved in water, or tablets and capsules that must be taken alone with plain water only.

The MEDCOAT® coating dissolves quickly after the tablet has been swallowed (about 45 seconds), and it only contains food-classified ingredients that are not known to interact with drugs. Each coating is only about 0.2 grams.

Read the supporting documentation

In a clinical study on adults with difficulty swallowing tablets, 98 % of the subjects stated that it was easier to swallow tablets coated with MEDCOAT® compared to identical uncoated tablets. The study also showed that MEDCOAT® could completely camouflage the taste of a bitter-flavoured tablet for 100 % of the subjects. The study has been published in Pharmacy World & Science / International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (Pharm World Sci 2010;32:420–423). In another clinical study at Karolinska University Hospital on sick children aged 2–17 years with difficulties taking their medication, MEDCOAT® made it easier to swallow tablets for 87 % of the children and improved palatability for 85 %. The study has been published in Acta Paediatrica (2015;104:956–961).

Adult studyChildren’s study

• Citrus (original): Sweetening agent (maltitol syrup), vegetable fat, acidity regulator (citric acid), emulsifier (sugar esters of fatty acids), gelatine, natural colour (curcumin), natural flavours.
• Strawberry : Sweetening agent (maltitol syrup), vegetable fat (coconut, palm*), acidity regulator (citric acid), emulsifier (sucrose esters of fatty acids), gelatine, colour (anthocyanins), natural flavours.
• Cola : Sweetening agent (maltitol syrup), vegetable fat (coconut, palm*), acidity regulator (citric acid), emulsifier (sucrose esters of fatty acids), gelatine, colour (caramel), flavourings.

*RSPO-certified palm oil.

No, MEDCOAT® does not contain gluten, lactose or soy.

Yes, MEDCOAT® is sugar free and is instead sweetened with maltitol syrup. Excessive consumption of maltitol may have a laxative effect.

No, MEDCOAT® only contains natural flavours and colours.

The coating is only there to make the tablet easier to take and swallow. It dissolves in the stomach in about 47 seconds and is digested like ordinary food.

Read the supporting documentation

Store MEDCOAT® at room temperature in the closed original package (pouch). Protect from sunlight. Keep out of reach of children.

The best-before date is printed on the back of the package. The shelf life is 30 months after manufacture. Use MEDCOAT® within two months after the package has been opened.

The pouch and applicators are recycled as plastic. The foil is recycled as metal.