Medication management
If you require assistance with remembering to take pills there are a variety of products available.
- 'Dosett' type boxes that you fill yourself, or with assistance from family and carers. These have seperate compartments for days of the week and / or times of day such as morning, afternoon and evening.
- Medication storage boxes with alarms, this range of pill boxes use flashing lights, alarms or vibration to prompt you to take your medication.
- Dispensing pill boxes that use a mechanism that will physically move the pill compartments so that you are offered the correct pills at the correct time.
- You could use a watch or clock that allows you to set multiple daily alarms to remind you when your medication is due. You may wish to use this in combination with a dosett box to help organise your pills.
- Telecare enabled pill dispensers
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Help and advice
If you take a variety of medications in different forms and at different times, it is possible to become confused about what to take and when. This can lead to potentially dangerous situations such as skipping doses or taking too much medication which could cause an exacerbation of your medical conditions or cause other potential problems such as falling.
If you think you might be at risk of making mistakes with your medication you may wish to consider the following suggestions:
- keeping a daily chart to mark off when you have taken each medication. You could put it in a clear plastic wallet and use a chinagraph pencil on the plastic which could be wiped off at the beginning on each day. Your GP or Practice Nurse may be able to help you to set this up.
- Label your medication containers with the time you should take them, or separate your medication and keep it where appropriate, for example, put breakfast pills in the kitchen; night time pills in your bedroom or bathroom,
- Use a dosset box,
- Ask your chemist if it is possible to set up your prescriptions in unit doses. This may help with difficulty in deciding which medications to take and when. If you rely solely on your memory, consider carefully whether or not yours is good enough to manage your medication without any other reminders.
For guided advice on medication management, such as using dosett boxes, pill crushers or removers try AskSARAs medication management section. You may also like to read Ricability's test of medication memory aids
