3 Helpful Tips And Tricks For Managing Your Medication
As our body grows old, it loses its natural ability to fight various diseases and becomes prone to infections. To combat those, doctors prescribe many complex medications to keep the situation from worsening. Out of all other demographics, older adults are the biggest consumers of prescription medications. More often than not, they are usually taking multiple medications, several times a day, which can become pretty overwhelming, and they often forget to take them altogether, nullifying the effects of the medicines. Moreover, taking various medicines at once poses a fatal health threat- the possibility of reaction to different drugs by missing doses or accidentally doubling them.
That is why senior citizens must develop and maintain a safe and efficient medication management plan to keep these problems from occurring and to prevent any adversity from happening. Some tips for medication management will assist them in the efficient management of their medicines. So, here are some tips for medication management:
Use A Good Quality Pill Box
You would be surprised to know how many people generally ignore this common solution thinking they will not need a pillbox for their medical regimen. However, using a pill box is one of the most effective ways to track your daily medications. These boxes have a compartment marked for each day of the week (M for Monday, for instance). Some advanced dispensers may have 30 or 31 boxes to cover the entire month.
One crucial tip for medication management is to ensure that you never run off medicines by planning well ahead in advance. Restock as soon as you see a pillbox getting empty. In addition to helping you keep your medications organized, pill boxes also help to remind you to refill prescriptions.
Automatic Reminders
A pillbox is useless if you forget to take your medications on time. So, as an added step, you should put a reminder to stay on track with your medicines. However, most older adults are not very good with technology, and some even do not possess a smartphone. In that case, conventional alarm clocks and other simple reminders can work the same way. There are many products in the market devised specifically for older adults and can be customised according to their requirements.
Use A Single Pharmacy
Now, this may sound like an inconvenience but popping to your nearest drugstore after every doctor appointment will have your information getting mixed up due to multiple transfers. If possible, prefer getting your prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy every time. This way, there won’t be any mix-ups or delays in your prescription. Moreover, pharmacies these days are now beginning to take electronic records of all the prescriptions of every patient, and consistency in pharmacy will help them and you spot any red flag combinations of drugs.
The Bottom Line
Managing medication can become an overwhelming task for older people already suffering from a disease. That is why they should follow a few tricks to help them successfully organize their medication. As part of our routine at Save & Deliver Pharmacy, we regularly remind you of your routine and check your progress rate after a regular interval. For elderly patients and fertility clinics, we offer special tips for medication management. As a result of our tips, you will be able to manage your medications independently.