As you get older, you may face more health conditions and take more medications. As your body ages, it changes physically, which can affect how medications work.
Helpful tips for taking your medications safely
- Make a list of all the medications you take.
- You should include the name, how many doses to take and how frequently, what the medication is prescribed for and who prescribed it. This information should be updated at least once every year.
- Your pharmacist also can provide a printout of your medications.
- Take your medications as directed.
- If you sometimes forget doses or take multiple medications throughout the day, consider using a medication organizer or alarms.
- Some medications work best if taken at specific times or with/without food.
- Remember to check the label or talk with your pharmacist.
- Understand the fall risk with some medications.
- Some medications (e.g., pain, depression, anxiety, muscle relaxers) can increase your chance of falling.
- Use caution with over-the-counter medications.
- Always read the labels carefully and follow all the directions to avoid unwanted or dangerous side effects.
- Discard expired medications.
- Past this date, there is no guarantee that it will be safe and effective.
- To safely dispose of expired medications near you, search these
controlled substance public disposal locations
Talk to your pharmacist
Your pharmacist is there to help. If you can’t swallow large pills, ask if they can be split in half or see if they’re available in a liquid form. Is it difficult for you to open medicine bottles, ask your pharmacist to switch you to easy-to-open containers.
You can even ask for larger print on labels to make it easier to read and understand the directions.
