General Practice Questions Geriatrician

A nurse crushes 7 prescription tablets and puts it in applesauce. Is water not necessary?

My 77 year old friend is in a nursing home in Chicago and has COPD, an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and constipation. Two weeks ago he had cataract surgery on his right eye. The nurses in this nursing home crush his 7 prescription tablets and put them in a dish of applesauce. Should he not be drinking glasses of water with these medications? I'm concerned he is going to be dehydrated, or
have stomach issues on top of all his other medical issues.

Male | 77 years old
Complaint duration: 3 years
Medications: Atorvastatin, Lisinopril, Montelukast, Furosenide, Senna-Docusate, Amiodarone.
Conditions: COPD, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, constipation and irregular heartbeat.

2 Answers

Not necessarily.
No, you should not be worried at this particular point in time. That is a transition from solids semi solid to liquid. You don’t want to start somebody up with liquid medication and cause aspiration. So the purée formula of it is perfectly OK.
Thank you for asking and I appreciate that, but they’re doing the right thing.

Be well,

Brent Reinheimer, MD