Sublingual vitamin B12 pills are placed under your tongue and allowed to dissolve. Sublingual vitamin B12 lozenges are shaped differently than the pills, but you also place them under your tongue and allow them to dissolve. Sublingual vitamin B12 drops are a liquid, and you place a specific number of drops under your tongue and hold them there until they disappear. Finally, sublingual vitamin B12 capsules are punctured with a needle or pin and you squirt the contents under your tongue. You hold it there until it disappears, like with the drops.
Sublingual vitamin B12 was developed as an alternative to vitamin B12 injections. Even though we get most of our vitamin B12 in the food we eat, some people have difficulty absorbing it. They may ingest enough vitamin B12, but it doesn't reach their bloodstream. Before sublingual vitamin B12, the only option if you couldn't absorb vitamin B12 was to take vitamin B12 shots. Sublingual vitamin B12 is definitely preferable to shots because it is absorbed from under your tongue.
Some medications are taken under the tongue because that area is rich in blood vessels that are close to the surface. Medications that can pass through the mucosa under your tongue get into your bloodstream rapidly. It is the quickest way to get medication into your bloodstream other than through an IV. Nitroglycerine is given sublingually to get it into circulation rapidly when someone is having heart pains.
Sublingual vitamin B12 is one way to get vitamin B12, but it is not the best method. There are some problems with sublingual vitamin B12. Sublingual vitamin B12 pills and lozenges are uncomfortable and even sometimes painful when placed under the tongue. Sublingual vitamin B12 drops and capsules may burn or have an unpleasant taste. It is difficult for some people to put drops under their tongue or to hold liquids or pills there. If sublingual vitamin B12 isn't held under the tongue long enough for it to be absorbed, it is usually swallowed, making it no more effective than vitamin B12 pills.
Now there is a better alternative to shots than sublingual vitamin B12. You can now use the B12 Patch. You place the B12 Patch on your skin, usually out of sight behind your ear, and vitamin B12 is absorbed through your skin. You get the vitamin B12 you need - delivered reliably into your bloodstream - without taking painful shots.
