Enteric coating is an acid-proof shell that survives the stomach and releases the drug further down the gut, per NHS pharmacy guidance.
It either protects your stomach from an irritating drug or protects an acid-fragile drug from your stomach. The rules follow: never crush, chew, or split these tablets, since the NHS says they are unsuitable for crushing; swallow with water; and avoid same-moment antacids, which can melt the jacket early. Too big to swallow means ask the pharmacist about alternatives, never break it. EC, EN, GR, and gastro-resistant all mean swallow whole.
What to do
Common questions
What are enteric coated pills?
Enteric-coated pills are tablets wearing an acid-proof jacket. The coating, you will see EC or gastro-resistant on labels, is a polymer shell that survives the stomach's acid intact and only dissolves in the more neutral environment further down the gut, per the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service. The jacket serves one of two purposes: protecting you from the drug, when the medicine would irritate the stomach lining, as with some anti-inflammatories; or protecting the drug from you, when stomach acid would destroy the medicine before it could work, which is why some antibiotics and enzymes come coated. The practical consequences all follow from the jacket's job: never crush, chew, or split an enteric-coated tablet, because NHS guidance is explicit that enteric-coated and gastro-resistant tablets are not suitable for crushing, and breaking the shell releases the drug exactly where it was designed not to be; swallow with water, and do not take them with antacids right at the same moment, since raising stomach pH can dissolve the coat early. If the tablet is too big, the answer is asking the pharmacist about alternative forms, not breaking it. Everyday examples: enteric aspirin, some omeprazole formulations, pancreatic enzymes. The label abbreviations to respect: EC, EN, GR, and gastro-resistant all mean the same thing, swallow whole.