If You Take the Pill Out of Your Mouth
Medicines assistance usa live longer and healthier. But, taking them the wrong style or mixing certain drugs can exist dangerous. You need to be careful to continue track of your medicines and use them safely.
What Are Medicines? What Are Drugs?
Medicines, oftentimes referred to as drugs, tin can be:
- Prescriptions. What you can get just with a doctor's club (for example, pills to lower your cholesterol or an asthma inhaler)
- Over-the-counter pills, liquids, or creams. What you buy without a prescription (for example, pills for headaches or chew tablets for heartburn)
- Vitamins, eye drops, or dietary supplements.
Make certain your doctor knows about ALL the medicines you take. This includes those prescribed by other doctors, too as vitamins, supplements, herbal remedies, and over-the-counter drugs you use every at present and and so.
What Yous Demand to Know About Your Medicines
Talk with your doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider before starting a new medicine. Get over your allergies and any bug you lot have had with other medicines, such equally rashes, trouble animate, indigestion, dizziness, or mood changes.
You volition also want to notice out whether you'll demand to modify or stop taking any of your other prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs while using this new medicine. Mixing some drugs tin cause unpleasant and sometimes serious problems. For example, it is dangerous to employ aspirin when taking a blood-thinning medicine.
Because of this, information technology is important to keep a list of all prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies you take. Print and fill out the Tracking Your Medications: Worksheet to assistance yous keep rails of your medications.
When starting a new medication, make sure to write down the proper name of the drug and why it's being prescribed for you. Also, make notation of any special instructions for how to take the medicine.
How Can a Pharmacist Assistance?
A chemist can respond many of your questions about prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. Try to have all your prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy so your records are in i place. This will help alert the chemist if a new drug might cause a trouble with something else y'all are taking. If you're non able to use simply one pharmacy, show the pharmacist at each pharmacy your list of medicines and over-the-counter drugs when you drib off your prescription.
When yous accept a prescription filled:
- Tell the pharmacist if you accept trouble swallowing pills. There may be liquid medicine available. Do not chew, break, or crush tablets without first finding out if the drug will still work.
- Make certain y'all can read and understand the name of the medicine too as the directions on the container and on the color-coded warning stickers on the bottle. If the label is hard to read, ask your pharmacist to use larger type.
- Check that you can open up the container. If not, inquire the pharmacist to put your medicines in bottles that are easier to open.
- Inquire about special instructions on where to store a medicine. For instance, should it exist kept in the refrigerator or in a dry out place?
- Cheque the label on your medicine before leaving the pharmacy. It should accept your name on information technology and the directions given by your doc. If information technology doesn't, don't accept it, and talk with the chemist.
Check the label to ensure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients. Make certain your md and pharmacist have an up-to-engagement listing of your allergies then they don't give you a medicine that contains something y'all are allergic to.
Acquire how to read a prescription label in the free booklet Safe Employ of Medicines: Take Your Medicines the Right Style—Each Day!
Talk with your dr. or chemist if you lot have questions about the written data that comes with your prescription.
Side Furnishings
Unwanted or unexpected symptoms or feelings that occur when you take medicine are called side furnishings. Side effects can be relatively modest, such as a headache or a dry mouth. They tin can also be life-threatening, such as severe haemorrhage or irreversible impairment to the liver or kidneys. Medications' side effects also tin can affect your driving.
If you experience side effects, write them downwardly and so you can report them to your dr. accurately. Call your doctor right abroad if you have any issues with your medicines or if you are worried that the medicine might be doing more impairment than adept. He or she may be able to change your medication to another that will work merely as well.
Keeping Runway of Your Medicines
Here are some tips to help you lot keep rail of all your medicines:
- Make a list. Write down all medicines you lot have, including over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements. The list should include the proper noun of each medicine, amount you take, and time(s) you take it. If information technology's a prescription, also note the doctor who prescribed it and reason information technology was prescribed. Testify the list to all of your healthcare providers, including physical therapists and dentists. Keep one copy in a safe place at home and one in your wallet or purse.
- Create a file. Save all the written information that comes with your medicines and continue it somewhere yous can easily refer to it.
- Check expiration dates on bottles. If a medicine is past its expiration engagement, you may be able to dispose of it at your pharmacy, or, check with your doctor about how to safely discard it. Your md can as well tell y'all if y'all will demand a refill.
- Keep medicines out of accomplish of young children. Avert taking medicines in front of them, as they might effort to copy you. Besides, if your medicines are kept in bottles without child safety caps considering they are hard to open up, be extra careful most where you lot store medicines.
Taking Medicines Safely
Hither are some tips to help you have your medicines safely:
- Follow instructions. Read all medicine labels. Make sure to take your medicines the right manner. For example, don't use an over-the-counter cough and cold syrup if you simply take a runny olfactory organ and no cough.
- Employ the right amount. Don't take a larger dose of a medicine thinking information technology volition aid yous more. It tin can be very dangerous, even deadly. And, don't skip or take one-half doses of a prescription drug to salvage coin. (Talk with your doctor or chemist if you tin can't afford the medicine. There may be assist. Read Saving Money on Medicines for more information.)
- Take medicine on time. Some people utilize meals or bedtime as reminders to take their medicine. Other people use charts, calendars, or weekly pill boxes. You can also ready timers and write reminders to have your medication.
- Plow on a low-cal. Don't have medicine in the dark; otherwise, you might make a mistake.
- Report problems. Call your dr. right away if you take whatsoever problem with your prescription or over-the-counter medicine, or if you are worried that it might be doing more damage than skillful. There may be something else you tin take.
- Tell your doctor near alcohol, tobacco, and drug utilize. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can affect how well your medicines work. Be honest with your physician about how much yous utilise.
- Check before stopping. Accept prescription medicine until it'southward finished or until your doctor says information technology's all right to stop. Note that some medicines are supposed to be taken but "as needed."
- Don't share. Do not take medicines prescribed for another person or give yours to someone else.
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For More Information Well-nigh Using Medicines Safely
This content is provided past the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.
Content reviewed: June 26, 2019
Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/safe-use-medicines-older-adults