Tips To Ensure That Medication Use Remains Safe And Effective For Older Adults
Be careful when taking prescription and
over-the-counter medicines, supplements, etc. whether you are settling into
your sixties or entering your ninth decade. As you age, the more likely you are
to use additional medicines, which can be risky if not taken safely since there
are higher chances of harmful drug effects, including interactions. With
advancing age, people are more likely to develop one or more chronic illnesses,
and appropriate medication can help older adults live longer and more active
lives. At the same time, physical changes with age can affect the way medicines
are handled by your body, leading to potential complications.
Medication Safety In Older Adults:
The potential for medication safety problems is
increasing with each passing day due to increase in the availability of
prescription medicine and increase in population of older adults, which
invariably increases the risk for drug interactions, mix-ups, and the potential
for side effects. Moreover, older adults are more vulnerable to overdose and
side effects in comparison to younger people which can be attributed to
age-related changes in the kidneys, liver, central nervous system and heart.
Additionally, age-related challenges, such as poor eyesight or memory loss can
make it difficult to follow instructions for taking medication. Another issue
is financial issues that may keep older adults from filling some prescriptions.
Two kinds of interactions may occur when taking
medicines- drug-drug interactions and food-drug interactions. Both can be
harmful.
Complete medication management and administration
is one of Anthem Senior Living's senior-friendly services. Anthem Senior Living
is an award-winning Anthem assisted living facility in Phoenix designed
for imparting care to older adults suffering from memory or mobility problems.
We are rounding up some tips following which can
ensure you or your loved one's prescription medication use remains safe and
effective:
1. Gather up all prescription drugs, vitamins, over-the-counter medications,
and other supplements, and place them in a single plastic container, which will
enable you to easily maintain a complex schedule of medication.
2. It's wrong to use the bathroom medicine cabinet to store medication, as
steam and moisture from showers can render the medicines less effective.
3. You should have a proper list of all your medications in one place, which
should include name of the medication, dosage per pill, how often the medicine
is taken, name of the condition that the medication is meant to address, etc.
Carry this list every time you visit your doctor.
4. Don't wait until the pill bottle is nearly empty, schedule a calendar
reminder on your phone for about 2-3 weeks before you are expected to run out,
which will leave you with ample time for refilling prescriptions.
5. Schedule reminders to avoid missing doses. You can either consider mobile
phone calendar reminders or verbal prompts by phone calls. Moreover, there are
so many medication reminder apps out there that remind you to take your pills
at the allotted time.
6. Rummage through your medicine box and discard expired medication or
medication prescribed for conditions you no longer experience safely, or else
finding the right medication will become even more difficult.
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