Reasons Why Seniors Don’t Take Their Medication

Loved ones may forget to take medication due to:

1. They take more than the prescribed dosage to increase the impact of the medication.
   
   
2. The belief that the medication is not helping or working.
   
   
3. They discontinue taking the medication due to bothersome side effects.
   
   
4. They don’t believe that they need to take medication.
   
   
5. The cost becomes a burden to them and they cannot justify paying for their medication or decide to take it less often to cut back on the cost.
   
   
6. They simply forget to take their medication due to memory loss or other dementia related issues.

Key ways to improve take medication:



1. Explain the reason for taking the medication. Allow them to understand the importance of each medication.
   
   
2. Organize medication boxes (recommend the 7 day, four additional slots to apply multiple doses).
   
   
3. Medication reminder gadgets. This can be extremely helpful if family members can be forgetful or there is no one to monitor medication intake.
   
   
4. Eat! Eating can help avoid uncomfortable side effects. Our parents or grandparents can have difficulty eating due to loss of taste or overall well-being, but it is always important for them to eat.
   
   
5. Family members reminding loved ones or reminding in-home health aide the trigger points, or common problems with their loved ones. We know our parents, or loved ones well, and understanding how their moods can be affected is critical. make sure to communicate this to those around them.