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:

1) 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.

2) 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,

3) Use a dosset box,

4) 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