When it comes to dealing with your elderly loved one’s medications, there are numerous things that you should know. The first thing to note is that senior citizens often have a range of health issues. Some of the most common health issues with senior citizens include kidney issues, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, high blood pressure, sleep issues, and chronic pain. If your elderly loved one has any of these health issues, it is likely they are on some medications. Some of the top things that you need to know about managing your elderly loved one’s medications are talked about below.
More Medications Means More Management
Whether your elderly loved one has one health issue or multiple, if they have many medications, it can be even more difficult to manage those medications. If you have a difficult time managing a couple of medications or more, you can turn to elder care providers for help. Elder care providers are able to set up a medication management plan with your elderly loved one. This might include medication reminders, pillboxes, app reminders, and more.
Side Effects of Medications
Unfortunately, just about every medication can lead to side effects. If your elderly loved one is on medications for any of the above-mentioned health issues, they are likely to have at least one side effect. For that side effect, they may need another medication to help. This can spiral out of control. Some senior citizens are on 10 or more medications – their normal medications and the medications to help manage the side effects. If you feel that your elderly loved one is experiencing too many medication side effects, you or their elder care provider should take them to their doctor. You can discuss other possible medications with fewer possible side effects with their doctor.
Regular Medication Reviews
You should also regularly review your elderly loved one’s medications. This will help to ensure that they are taking their medications as they should be. It will also help to ensure that your elderly loved one isn’t having any difficulties with their medications. For instance, when reviewing your elderly loved one’s medications, you might come to find that they are getting nauseous from a medication. If this is the case and it is severe, you may want to see if their doctor can do something about it.
Conclusion
These are some of the top things that you may need to know about managing your elderly loved one’s medications. Now that you know these things, you can create a medication management plan with your elderly loved one. This might include medication changes, doctor’s appointments, regular reviews of the medications, and getting help from elder care providers.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Medford, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660
Sources
https://www.pharmacytoday.org/article/S1042-0991(17)31502-5/fulltext