Help Your Loved One With Medication

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matthew_G_Young]Matthew G Young
Taking medications is inconvenient and difficult for even the healthiest of us. For the elderly, this is even harder. There are a few little things that you can do to make your elderly relative's life a little bit easier. While these things can't change their condition or disability, they can make the process just a touch easier. Perhaps these things can even help them to avoid the frustration that is completely normal and justified.
If there are no children around the house, ask your pharmacist for easy open bottles. When you suffer from arthritis in your hands and fingers, opening medicine bottles is a very difficult task. Easy open bottles can eliminate the pain and anger that will stem from them simply trying to take their medicine.
Another thing you can do to help out your loved one regarding their medications is to arrange them so that they are taken at the optimal time each day. Some meds require that they are taken with food. Others make the person taking the medicine to become drowsy. If you take these at the wrong times, they can certainly make life harder. Have your pharmacist record the side effects of the meds for you and then have them organized in the most optimal way; the meds that make them sleepy should be taken at night. Be aware of how the medications are affecting your loved one. If unpleasant side effects are displayed beyond what is normal, don't hesitate to contact your relative's doctor on their behalf.
Try color coding the bottles once the meds are arranged correctly. Putting different colors on the meds in order to group which should be taken together can help eliminate the confusion that taking multiple medications might stir up. Put a red sticker on the tops of the pills to be taken in the morning, Yellow stickers for lunch time, and blue stickers for those meds that should be taken before bed. Using the rainbows colors also gives you room for taking medications in between these three times. If you have a med that is being taken multiple times throughout the day, arrange this so that the morning dosage is in a different color-coded bottle than the evening dosage. You want one bottle for each time the medication is ingested. While this results in more bottles of medications, it makes taking them at the right time much simpler.
Medications can be confusing, but with these tips, you can make finding and taking the right meds at the right times a touch easier for your loved one. The less stress associated with this, the more likely your elderly relative is to be happy. Make this aspect of their life easier and it will inevitably translate into other areas too.
Matthew G. Young is a freelance writer who specializes in financial, sports, and health-related topics. To learn more about in home health care visit [http://Paradiseinhomecare.com]Paradise In Home Care
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Help-Your-Loved-One-With-Medication&id=6653639] Help Your Loved One With Medication