Living at home for as long as possible, safely and independently, is at the top of most seniors’ priority lists. Seniors who are able to stay at home can be more comfortable and confident in their familiar surroundings. However, if your senior loved one is living at home alone or with a partner, you already know that a little extra help can go a long way. For example, a friend popping over with a home-cooked dinner can mean not only a lovely visit for your aging loved one, but also a nutritious meal.
When you stop by to visit your loved one or when you send another family member to check in with them, be sure to take a look at the pillbox. Medication management is a major challenge for most older adults, especially those living with complex medical conditions that require them to take multiple medications throughout the day.
Successful medication management can be challenging for anyone who is taking multiple medicines at different times throughout the day. Seniors living with decreased vision can have difficulty distinguishing between pills that look similar or have problems reading prescription instructions. Older adults with fine motor challenges caused by arthritis or other joint pain can struggle to open even the friendliest of pillboxes or prescription bottles. Add these complications to even the earliest stages of cognitive decline, and medication management can become dangerous.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that seniors visit an emergency room for adverse drug events (ADE) almost 450,000 times each year. In addition, older adults are nearly seven times as likely to be admitted to the hospital after an ADE, especially if the drugs causing the complications are blood thinners, seizure medications, or opioids.
Seniors can experience emergency situations when drugs interact poorly with one another, when they take incorrect doses of medications, when they take medications at incorrect times, or when they choose to stop taking medications without speaking to their doctor. Medication management can be frustrating for seniors, and without proper support or resources, they can end up in a health crisis.
While you may not be able to tell if your loved one is compliant with all their medications, you can get a good idea if they are struggling. Here are a few signs that could point to a potentially dangerous situation:
Though your loved one may not exhibit every potential warning sign, you should start looking for a solution to provide support even if you only notice one worrisome red flag. Medication mismanagement is dangerous, but support and resources are readily available for seniors and for you.
There are medication management tools and resources for nearly every situation. Though some family caregivers choose to become more involved with medication distribution, this is not always realistic for most. Fortunately, other support ranges from simple to advanced, thanks to technology.
Pillboxes are a simple way of helping your loved one get a handle on their medication schedule. Ideal for seniors who can effectively open the small containers and who are oriented to time throughout the day, pillboxes can eliminate the task of opening multiple bottles during each dose. Instead, seniors just take the pills in the “morning” or “afternoon” section of their daily pillbox.
Unfortunately, pillboxes are not always safe for older adults, especially those living with fine motor challenges or memory loss. Automated pill dispensers marry the traditional pillbox with technological advances, giving seniors visual and audio cues when it is time to take their medicines. Be sure a pill dispenser has ample storage and suits the needs of your loved one before purchasing it.
If you want even more peace of mind, consider Livi, an automated pill dispenser that not only gives cues to the senior, but also provides real-time alerts to family caregivers in case of missed doses. Even better, thanks to a large storage area, Livi can hold up to 90 days of medications, eliminating the need to refill medications every week or month.
Medication management can be a chore, and a frustrating one at that. Choose to support your aging loved one by carefully watching for signs of mismanagement and finding the resources to help them avoid the emergency room.
