Friday, February 17, 2012

Managing Medications for Seniors



The average 65 - 69 year-old fills 13.6 prescriptions per year, while those 80 - 84 years old have 18.2 prescriptions filled annually. Taking multiple medications and seeing different doctors can be a prescription for a serious medication problem.

 
Serious Problems
The most serious medication problems involving seniors tend to focus around these scenarios:
  • Not taking medicine correctly -- either forgetting to take it or failing to follow instructions
  • Allergic reactions
  • Drug side effects
  • Drug interactions
  • Wrong Dosage
  • Duplication
  • Unnecessary or inappropriate uses

Recommended Steps
Here are some protocals seniors and their family caregivers should follow when it comes to managing their medications:
  • Toss out any expired or discontinued prescription medications
  • Only use medication that has been prescribed for you
  • Drink a full glass of water and do not lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking medications
  • Have prescriptions filled in the same pharmacy
  • Check the label of your prescription to verify that it is the correct medication
  • When possible, keep all medications in the original container
  • Know what to do if you miss a dose
  • Do not share or take anyone else's medications
  • Tell your health care provider if you are taking any dietarty supplements or over-the-counter medications
  • Perpare a list of medications and give copies to family members and bring them to all health care appointments
Perpetual Home Care is an in-home care agency that hires only the best Certified Nursing Assistants.  The caregiver goes into Seniors homes to provide companion and personal care.  One of duties of companion care is providing medicaton reminders for the client.  This helps to ensure that the serious problems listed above will not occur.
We also provide medication cards that can be kept in Seniors wallets and taken to all health care appiontments.  Please contact us at Brian or Blair@perpetualhomecare.com if you need more information or go to our website at www.perpetualhomecare.com

*All of the pictures included in this blog are members of the Perpetual Home Care family








     
     
     
     


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