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Even those who are sick and suffering may not eat or drink anything on Yom Kippur unless the illness is life-threatening. Since fasting on Yom Kippur is a Torah obligation, it is overridden only in cases of danger to life. Yom Kippur is different from the other fasts in this way. On Tisha Be-Av (37:4 below), sick people are not obligated to fast. On the minor fasts, pregnant and nursing women are exempt as well (37:11 below).
Those who need medicine may take their pills on Yom Kippur, and those who need sleeping pills may take them, as long as they do not taste good. The pills should be swallowed dry without water. Those who suffer from fasting may also take a pill to alleviate the pain. For example, someone suffering from caffeine-withdrawal headaches may take a caffeine pill or a painkiller. Similarly, a migraine sufferer may take a pill to prevent the onset of a migraine. Someone who cannot dry-swallow should either chew the pill or add a little soap to the water he swallows (to ruin the taste).
