Medicine Cabinet Organization Tips
It is important that your elderly loved one is only taking the medications they are currently prescribed. They also need to make sure to take those correctly. If your elderly loved one has many medications they take or used to take, their medicine cabinet might be a mess. You or an elder care provider can help to ensure your elderly loved one’s medicine is organized. By doing so, you can help your loved one to stay safe when it comes to their medications.
Home Health Care in Deerfield IL: Medicine Cabinet Organization
Deal with the Medications That Have Expired
Does your elderly loved one have any medications in their medicine cabinet that are expired? If any of their medications expired 1 year ago or more, you should take those out of the medicine cabinet. You can ask your elderly loved one’s doctor what should be done with these medications. Sometimes they can be tossed out and other times they can be given to the pharmacy. There might be a medication take-back event in the area at some point, too.
Get the Necessities
Your elderly loved one should have the necessities in their medicine cabinet. The necessities will vary from one person to the next. However, some of the things that your elderly loved one might need to have include OTC pain medications, creams for burns and cuts, stomach ache medication, bandaids, and heartburn relief medications. Be sure that any medications your elderly loved one has in their medicine cabinet are safe for them to take.
Prescription Medications Upfront
It is important that your elderly loved one can easily access their prescription medications. This is especially true if they are the ones managing their own medications. If this is the case, you should ensure that your loved one’s prescription medications are upfront in the medicine cabinet. However, if you or their elder care provider are managing the medications, these prescriptions might need to be in a lockbox.
Speak with Their Doctor
You should also spend some time speaking to your elderly loved one’s doctor. You can ask them what medications your elderly loved one should not take. Even some OTC medications might negatively interact with prescription medications that your elderly loved one is taking. Knowing more about any dangerous interactions could help to save your loved one’s life.
Conclusion
These are some of the medicine cabinet organization tips for your elderly loved one. Remember, your elderly loved one might need some help managing their medications. Keep an eye out for signs that they are misusing or not taking their medications properly. If you notice anything suspicious, talk with them about having someone else take over.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Health Care in Deerfield, IL, call the caring staff at LifeCare Home Health & In-Home Services. Call (888) 606-4199 LifeCare serves all of the Chicago Metro Area.
Sources
https://health.gov/
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