KEEPING SENIORS SAFE FROM THEIR MEDS!

Gananoque, Ontario

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an 82 year old Mother who shares our home in a separate apartment.  She, for the most part, does extremely well on her own, with assistance from us.  We all love the fact that she still has her independence and her dignity intact.

However, in saying that, she is also a woman with a number of things slowing her down a bit:  Congestive heart failure, a number of strokes and heart attacks, diabetes and Parkinsons.  She doesn't let the small things like arthritis, aches and pains affect her as she feels they are earned with age :)

Fortunately, in this day and age, there are many many medications that keep her comfortable and well, more importantly, ALIVE!   That is the point of this blog;  Seniors and their Meds

Seniors are either forgetting to take the pills or they are taking far too many!  

Many years ago we purchased 2 hard plastic pill cases;  one for my Father's meds and one for my Mother's.  We needed to fill ourselves each week.  As meds were added or changed, we were finding ourselves getting more and more confused, not to mention worried, and decided we should leave this to the experts;

 the Pharmacist!

Today, many pharmacies will package up the weekly medications and insert them in a Blister Pack so that the Senior needs only look at the day and the time to know when they need to take their pills.  It also reminds them if they ALREADY took them earlier.This is what the inside of the Blister Pack looks like for my Mother.

It opens like a book and on the inside left side is a list of all the prescriptions, drug names, and instructions as to dosage, etc.

When we have to take an ambulance ride to the hospital or for specialist appointments, this makes it so much easier for them to record what meds she's on. 

I've listened to some patients, or their family member trying to remember what they take and what dosage - far too easy to make a mistake.

You can see that her week begins on Friday afternoon and that she has taken her 4pm and her 8pm meds and then again, this morning and her noontime meds.

At a glance, we can tell that her next meds are due at 4pm Sat.   No worries about what pills are required or at what time.

If you yourself, or someone you know, needs to take a good number of meds and you're worried about some confusion, call your local pharmacy and ask if they have this available.  It is a simple thing to do and can save a life  . . .  Medicine is not candy and needs to be taken seriously (and on time!)