Can I take pills on Yom Kippur?

Pills may be taken on Yom Kippur if they are swallowed and not chewed.

They should be taken without water. If that is not possible, the water must first be made bitter, and one should drink less than a cheekful – see the shiurim for eating and drinking.

Some ways to make the water bitter:

• Strong black tea, prepared before Yom Kippur.
• Crush the pill before Yom Kippur and add it to the water, or leave the pill in the water until it dissolves.
• If dissolving the pill is not medically advisable: You may add a small amount of baking soda to the water to make it unpleasant to drink, and use the minimal amount of this water necessary to swallow the medication. It should be sufficiently unpleasant that you would not normally drink it, but not so much that it causes nausea or discomfort.
• Small amount of soap mixed into the water, ashes prepared before Yom Kippur, quinine drops, or a few drops of tonic water, provided it is bitter.

For other fast days there is more room for leniency – see here.

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