As we age, our medical needs increase. We may find our aches and pains are more frequent and intense, and there may be more chronic illnesses to combat over time. We may find ourselves having to take more vitamins, supplements, and medications than before. It becomes more and more difficult as we age to keep track of how many pills to take and when to take them all.
Medication management is so important for our health. If you take your medicine at the wrong time or take too little or too much, it can put your health at risk. What is the best method to make sure our medication management is accurate and easy to use? Yuma Senior Living has some good suggestions for you and your senior loved ones to try.
Organize Vitamins, Supplements, OTC and Prescription Medicines
It’s best to store all of your pills in one specific spot so that you don’t lose track of each pill type. Even vitamins and supplements that are over the counter can interact with prescription medications. It’s important to make sure to dispose of any expired medications as well as review all of your current pills to make sure you aren’t duplicating medications. Choose a place that’s both cool and dry to store your pills. Moisture or heat can cause the pills to break down and not be as effective.
It’s a great idea to make a list of all of your medications so that you have every pill listed in one easy-to-read location. This list can be brought to your doctor’s visits to help ensure all your doctors know what medications and supplements you’re currently taking. Your list should contain the names of each medication, supplement, or vitamin and should have the amount taken and frequency, the reason for taking it, and the prescriber of each medicine. Keep this list up-to-date and regularly check for any negative drug interactions between all current medicines, supplements, and vitamins. RxList has a website that lets you input the drug names and see if any interact with one another.
Pill Organizers and Reminders
Having a pill organizer set up and ready to go for the week can be a huge lifesaver when it comes to taking numerous pills each day. There are several types of pill organizers to choose from. The best type of pill organizer is one that’s large enough to hold each dose required throughout the day. There are pill organizers with compartments for up to four doses a day for a whole month.
It’s also helpful to set up daily medication reminders to take your pills at the desired times. You can set that up using an alarm clock, or for those more tech-savvy seniors, there are reminder apps that can be used on a mobile phone. Some pharmacy apps even include pill reminder options.
Yuma Senior Living has many useful tips and tricks to help their residents with medication management success. When picking your medication management method, choose one that suits your living style the best so you’re more likely to follow the process.