Medication Safety

Seniors take more medication now than ever before. Studies show that people over 65 years old take between two and seven prescription medications each day. Almost 40 percent of all adverse drug reactions each year involve people 60 years of age and older.

Because of the special challenges seniors face when it comes to taking prescription medications, here are some tips to help you avoid the problems and mistakes that could pose a danger to you or your loved ones.

• Make sure your doctor/pharmacist knows of all your allergies and adverse drug reactions.
• When your doctor writes the prescription, make sure you can read it.
• Tell your doctor/pharmacist about ALL the medications you are taking, including prescription, over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements such as vitamins and herbs.
• Ask your doctor/pharmacist for information about your new medication.
• If you don't understand why you are taking a medication, ask your doctor to explain more about it.
• Look at the label carefully when you get a new medication. If there is information on the label of your medication that you do not understand, ask your pharmacist.
• Look at your medication label and contents if it is a refill. If the medication looks different from the pills you were taking, call your pharmacist immediately.
• Tell your doctor/pharmacist as soon as possible if you are experiencing any side effects or changes in the way you feel when taking a new medication.
• Go to your appointments for scheduled laboratory tests or follow-up visits. Monitoring helps doctors know if your medication is working.
• Use a pillbox or several pillboxes that hold medications for a week and label your boxes. Be sure to keep this out of reach of children.
• Use a calendar ormedication record to help you remember whether you have taken your medications each day and on time.
• Take medications at the proper time. In some cases, medications should be taken either beore, after or during meals. Check with your doctor/pharmacist.
• Ask your doctor/pharmacist what to do if you miss a dose of your medication.
• Never take more medication than is prescribed.
• Taking twice as much never means that you will get better twice as fast. Too high a dose may make the medication ineffective. It might even be dangerous.
• Ask your doctor/pharmacist what to do if you accidentally take more medicine than is recommended.
• Never take any medication that has been prescribed for a friend or relative.
• Take your medications for the entire duration they are prescribed.
• Askyour doctor/pharmacist to review the medications you are taking at least once a year.
• Never take medicaitons in the dark. Turn on the light to ensure you have the right medications and take the correct dose. If you need glasses to read, be sure to wear them when taking medications.
• Throw away medications that are outdated. Medications are considered outdated if they are one year from the date the prescription is filled, unless otherwise noted. Do not discard medications where small children or pets can find them. Flush them down the toilet.

Over-The-Counter Medications

• Start by always reading the label. Reading the label will tell you what the medication is for, how to take the medication, active and inactive ingredients, what are unusual reactions and precautions for use.
• Know what types of over-the-counter medications to avoid taking with your prescription medications. Ask your doctor&$047;pharmacist.
• Select over the coutner products to treat only the symptoms you have. Multi ingredient products, such as combination cold remedies, may contain medication for problems you don't have.
• Take the medication EXACTLY as stated on the label.
• When it come to over-the-counter medications, more is not better! Taking too much of a nonprecription medication can be harmful. Never guess the amount of medication that should be taken.
• Use extra caution when taking more than one over-the-counter drug product at a time.
• Don't use over-the-counter medications after their expiration date.

Always think safety first. A study conducted by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission states that 36 percent of childhood ingestion accidents related to prescriptions involve a grandparent's medication.

The Northwest Florida Area Agency on Aging, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private, not-for-profit charitable organization funded under the Older Americans Act and the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs.

Page was last updated on 1/10/2005.
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