Eldercare - Medication

While it is important for seniors to take their prescribed medication, it is equally important for them to have confidence in what they are taking. Moreover, they should know and understand why they are taking their medication and what effects it has upon their bodies. The doctor should explain all of this in a clear and concise manner to any senior patient.

The patient will also need to know how to take the medication; how to store the medication, where to get more medication should they run out and how to dispose of any medication that is no longer needed.

No patient, especially a senior, should feel pressured into taking any medication of which they have no information, nor should they be pressured into leaving the doctor's office until they have all their questions answered.

For any younger friends or relatives, there are steps you can take to assist your elderly relative with taking his or her medication at the prescribed times and with the correct dosages: Advise that if only taking medication a couple of times during a day, that they could coincide the taking of the medicine with an everyday activity e.g., cleaning one's teeth or walking the dog.

Alternatively, if the elderly relative has to take numerous types of medication, it might be a good idea to visit the pharmacist and get a plastic container that has individual compartments for storing pills. The compartments are either divided into times of the day (e.g. morning, lunch, afternoon, night) and/or divided into separate days so that a week's worth of pills can be prepared in advance and it will be easy to tell if a dose has been inadvertently skipped.

In What Way Can Alcohol Affect
My Medication?

It is vital to remember that alcohol is not only found in recreational drinks such as liquor, beer and wine, but also in certain cold and cough medicines; it is found in most mouthwashes. Always check with your physician and/or pharmacist to see if there are any adverse side affects to consuming alcohol with any prescribed medication or over-the-counter medication (like runny nose, cold and flu relievers or sleeping aids). In some cases alcohol may simply minimize the effectiveness of the medication and this could be detrimental to your treatment.

If you do consume alcohol while taking medication, it is probable that you may experience some or all of the following:

• Confusion

• Dizziness / Headaches

• Faintness

• Fatigue / Drowsiness

• Sickness / Nausea

It would be unwise to operate any vehicles or machinery if you are taking medication and consume alcohol. The above symptoms could put you at risk.

Food And Medication

At the time that the doctor prescribes medication for you it is important to ask any questions regarding alcohol and food. Some medications need to be taken with food, others need to be taken with nothing but water. Certain foods can react negatively with certain medications.

Don't make any assumptions about your medication; don't be afraid to ask any questions of the doctor or the pharmacist.

Adapted from: How you can help seniors use medication safely. Health Canada 1999.