People age 65 and older take more prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplements than any other age group though they are not the only ones who need to juggle multiple medications. While seniors as a whole may have more long-term chronic illnesses like arthritis diabetes high blood pressure and heart disease many people in their 40s and 50s are starting to face these health threats too and need to manage them effectively.
Making these health problems even more challenging is that many people simply dont take their prescribed medications regularly. This is especially true for silent&mdashsymptom free&mdashconditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Having to take many different medications at the same time or at different times throughout the day and evening add to the problem. It can be hard to remember what each drug is for when you should take it and how you should take it but medications whether prescription or over-the-counter can harm you if they arent taken the right way&mdashor not at all.
One of the simplest daily living aids to solve this dilemma is a multi-day pill dispenser that organizes all your medication by the day and even time that you should take them.
Consider keeping your pill organizer is the kitchen especially if you take pills with meals. (The bathroom is not an ideal place because the moist warm conditions can cause drugs to break down more quickly.)
There are many styles of pill organizers available so that you can choose one that best matches your dosing schedule. A pill organizer with seven compartments is good if you take all your daily medications at one time. But if you take pills throughout the day youll benefit from a system with more compartments. The 7-Day Pill Organizer from Aculife is a weekly organizer that dispenses four times daily: morning noon evening and bedtime. A pullout medication card slides inside planner and the compartments hold up to 30 small pills.
A pill organizer thats also a pill reminder is good for people who want help taking pills at the same time every day or who might be on-the-go and tend to forget doses.
The Med-Q Automatic Pill dispenser is a daily living aid that makes sure you never forget your pills or vitamins again. The alarm clock will remind you when to take your medication using both visual and audio cues and the included templates will keep them organized no matter what your pill schedule.
Other aids are helpful when pills need to be broken or crushed before taking.The Aculife Pill Pal Four-In-One Pill Box & Crusher is a handy tool for splitting crushing and storing plus the bottom serves as a drinking cup. Its stainless steel splitting blade makes for easy accurate cutting and the crushing mechanism works with just one twist. Another option is the Pill Box And Splitter which easily and effortlessly grips and splits all size tablets and pills. Its two-compartment design and compact size makes it easy to take with you.
