Elderly adults who move into assisted living homes may be perfectly healthy, but just looking for a lifestyle that no longer involves cooking, cleaning, and other daily tasks that may seem arduous. If you've recently helped your parent move into such a facility, it's valuable to lend assistance when it's needed, and this may include helping your parent manage his or her medications. As people age, they often need to take multiple forms of medication, which may feel a little daunting — and you don't want your parent getting sick as a result of being confused over which pill to take. Here are some ways that you can help your parent manage his or her medications.
Attend Doctor's Appointments Together
When you attend doctor's appointments with your elderly parent, you'll be able to get a first-hand account of the prescription medication he or she is being prescribed. Armed with this knowledge, you can talk to your parent about the medication and ensure that he or she isn't confused. Even though dosage instructions are printed on bottle labels, some people may get confused about which medication to take at which time — especially if poor eyesight is a factor. Even though you won't be there when your parent takes his or her medication, you can feel confident that the process of doing so is clearly understood.
Check His Or Her Medicine Cabinet
When you visit your parent in the assisted living facility, get into the habit of checking his or her medicine cabinet. Doing so will help you to see whether pills are being taken at the correct pace — for example, if a pill bottle is still largely full when its date and dosage information suggests that it should be now empty, this can indicate that your parent is struggling with remembering to take the medication. Safely disposing of any old medication will also be a good idea, as it will reduce the number of pill bottles in your parent's medicine cabinet, thus making the process of taking medication feel less daunting.
Get Help From A Staff Member
You might not be able to visit your parent each day, so speak to an assisted living facility staff member to express your concerns about your parent's ability to manage his or her medication. This way, the staff will know to check your parent's medication daily — they may even ask that he or she begins to use a pill holder that breaks down which medication is needed to be taken each day.
For more information, contact companies like Wellspring Meadows Assisted Living.
