What kind of pill crushers are you using?

piper_for_hire · Dec 12, 2006

We leave the pills in their wrappers and bash them with a coffee cup. Not only do you get bonus points for being loud, you also get extra points for being obnoxious. Just love giving someone an ambien and then smashing pills will the cup an hour later.

-S

Chicklet2 · Dec 12, 2006

At my LTC place of work we also use the silent knight pill crusher... no complaints with it

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2006

OK - you are going to think we are nuts, but this is what our floor uses.

Rocks. Yes, rocks - the type you find on the ground. We have one or two moderate sized rocks that fit in your hand comfortly. We crush the pills while they are still in their unit dose package, or between two paper towels. Works great and you don't have to clean the rock or worry about left overs from one person's meds getting mixed in with someone elses.

And its is also cheap!

twotrees2 · Dec 18, 2006

Ours is loud and at times messy and I am not crazy about breathing the powder dust that it creates. I am short and practically at eye level with my cart. Tried masks for a while but it got too hot and uncomfortable. I also tried to use a pair of plyers(long time ago) but end up tearing up the little souffle cups. There has got to be something better. I wouldn't even mind buying it out of my own pocket and taking it home at the end of the night so it does not disappear.

CALLED SILENT NIGHT - oops sorry bout caps - its great and best so far- bought my own an facility now has bought 3 others plus they now furnish the bagies - research shows it also losses less meds in the crushing process then other methods.

twotrees2 · Dec 18, 2006

Silent Knight is definitely the winner. I priced them at $89.95 plus tax and you have to buy the individual pouches (1000 for $41). It looks like I'm going to be pounding for a little while...

try ebay - got mine for less than 30 bucks incl shipping - of course i had to buy pouches to for a while but once facility noted it works so well they got the puches and eventually more punchers :)

RoxanRN · Dec 18, 2006

I work in an ICU and have to deal with several PEGs and dobhoffs. After several frustrating sessions of crushed meds clogging my tomey (pill powder can settle to the bottom rather quickly when dumped straight into water and I could never get it all out of the plastic cup when I mixed it in the cup), I came up with another way.

My method......... crush the pills by your preferred method (coorifice is fine for PEGs and but has to be fine for DHs) and dump into a plastic medicine cup; pull the plunger out of a 10 or 20 ml syringe (replace the cap) and fill it about 2/3 full with water; pour the crushed meds into the syringe and replace plunger (loosen the cap slightly to release the pressure - do this carefully or you'll take a bath!); shake until desolved (or suspended in the case of Nexium). Then is real easy to put down a PEG or DH and you don't have all the meds clumping up in the tomey. I've even taken to pulling up liquid meds into a syringe as it's easier (and not near as messy I think).