65-year-old Mr. Liu has suffered from diabetes and has been taking antidiabetic drugs for a long time. Last week, he took antibiotics on his own due to 's upper respiratory tract infection, but he fainted during morning exercise. The doctor explained that it was because the antibiotics taken increased the hypoglycemic effect of antidiabetic drugs, and did not eat breakfast, which caused blood sugar to drop too quickly, causing hypoglycemia coma .
55-year-old Aunt Zhang suffers from many diseases such as hypertension , diabetes, coronary heart disease , osteoporosis , and other diseases. She needs to take more than 10 medicines every day. For convenience, she divided the medicines she needed to take each time and put them in the medicine box, and took them together after the meal. Obviously, this medication method is also wrong.
As we grow older, the chances of the elderly suffering from various chronic diseases are getting higher and higher. The elderly around us often coexist with multiple diseases and there are many types of medications. However, as the liver and kidney metabolic function declines, the elderly’s functions of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs are also weakened, and the risk of adverse drug reactions increases, and even brings serious consequences of death.
Today, Xiaojiu will summarize common medication misunderstandings and reasonable medication guidance for the elderly. Come and take a look. Have you been hit?
Common misunderstandings for medication for the elderly
misunderstandings 1: Take multiple drugs together
As in the above case, many elderly people will take multiple drugs together, or due to memory errors, there are repeated medications.
However, multiple medications (more than 5 types) often involve the efficacy confrontation between drugs and other side effects. Moreover, some drugs need to be taken at specific times before, after meals, on an empty stomach or before going to bed, and cannot be eaten together. For example, diabetic , eugenic should be taken half an hour before meals, metformin should be taken after meals, etc.
Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly or their families clearly record the relevant information about the medication, including the name, dosage, frequency, time, etc. of the disease corresponding to the drug. For more than 5 drugs, it is recommended to consult a doctor for an overall medication evaluation.
Misunderstanding 2: Add or reduce the dosage by yourself
Some elderly people rely on their experience of "being a doctor after a long time" to understand their condition, and there are cases where they add or reduce the dosage by yourself, stop taking the dosage by yourself, and purchase and take it by themselves.
In fact, many chronic diseases can only be controlled by taking medication for a long time. The dose will be increased or decreased by yourself or once the medication is stopped, it will inevitably lead to a rebound in various health indexes, leading to recurrence and even worsening of the disease.
Misunderstanding 3: Blindly believe in folk remedies
Many elderly people seek medical treatment in a hurry and believe in the so-called secret recipes and folk remedies passed down from generation to generation. He often abuses Chinese medicine secret recipes without the guidance of a doctor. There are also elderly people who believe in health care products advertisements and refuse to take regular medicines. In fact, secret recipes and folk remedies have not been scientifically verified, and health products are not drugs and cannot replace the therapeutic effect of drugs.
In short, due to the coexistence of multiple diseases and the specificity of medication, the elderly should be extra cautious in taking medication. The medication should be taken as prescribed by the doctor, actively monitor the medication, record the feelings or adverse reactions after the medication, and follow up and check regularly.
What are the common medicines used by the elderly? Improper use of medications will cause serious side effects?
1. Diabetes drug
Metformin is a common drug for type 2 diabetes and is used to control blood sugar, but metformin may cause lactic acidosis, mainly manifested as muscle soreness, abdominal pain, shortness of breath and fatigue. In addition, some sulfonylurea hypoglycemic drugs have the risk of severe hypoglycemia and should be avoided as much as possible.
2. Hypertensive drug
Do not use a combination of antihypertensive drugs. Although it can quickly lower blood pressure, it is extremely dangerous. Because the sudden drop in blood pressure in a short period of time, it is easy to cause arteriosclerosis, and there will be insufficient blood supply on the basis of arteriosclerosis, resulting in slow blood flow in the blood vessels in the brain, prone to symptoms of coagulation, and eventually induce ischemic cerebral edema.
3. Lipid-lowering drugs
Some people may experience muscle soreness after taking statins lipid-lowering drugs. In severe cases, it may also cause muscle cell collapse, and myoprotein causes excessive pressure in the kidneys, which can cause kidney failure and endanger life.
4. Over-the-counter pain relief medication
For example, if you take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in a long-term or short-term large doses, it can increase the risk of gastric ulcer , which may also lead to increased blood pressure, affect kidney function, and worsen heart failure ; taking acetaminophen at an extra dose will also damage the liver and lead to liver failure.
5..Sleeping pills
Traditional benzodiazepine sleeping pills often have problems such as gastrointestinal side effects, increased drug resistance, and strong dependence. This type of drug may cause headaches and dizziness, increasing the risk of falls in the elderly. Moreover, the drug metabolism lasts for a long time, and the efficacy of the drug will lead to poor mental health, burnout and drowsiness after getting up the next day. Long-term use may cause neurological dysfunction.
: The elderly and their families should pay attention to the adverse reactions of the drug in a timely manner, and stop the use, reduce the dosage or continue treatment under the guidance of the doctor. However, any drug has certain adverse reactions, so there is no need to panic too much.
In fact, most adverse reactions to drugs can be tolerated quickly, and discomfort symptoms will disappear after being tolerated. Before choosing drugs, doctors will fully evaluate the patient's condition and weigh the benefits and risks. Therefore, patients only need to take the medication as prescribed by the doctor and do not have to worry too much about adverse reactions.
How to improve the safety of medication for middle-aged and elderly people?
Our country has entered an aging society, and the elderly have become an important group of concerns about medical and health. We should pay special attention to the safety of medication for the elderly.
1. Taking the special medicine for middle-aged and elderly people
In addition to children, the elderly are also a special group. Their physical characteristics are essentially different from those of young and middle-aged people. Therefore, we should further transform the medicines into age-friendly and advocate that middle-aged and elderly people use special medicines for middle-aged and elderly people.
Special medicines for middle-aged and elderly people are studied and designed from the characteristics of the elderly's physiological, psychological, and living habits, giving special physical needs more targeted treatment, smaller adverse reactions, and more convenient use functions. For example, Sunshine Elderly·Lailiao Bao has unique therapeutic functions for many typical diseases and symptoms of the elderly, including sleep problems, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems, and memory loss. It improves a variety of common medicines, doubles the single tablet dosage, and halves the dosage, which can reduce the burden on the liver and kidneys and the occurrence of adverse reactions.
In addition, unlike ordinary drugs, it also adopts the unique design patent of "one litter at a time". One litter is the amount at a time, and marks the prompts for taking medication in the morning, middle and evening. There is no need to remember the number of times you take medication, which improves the safety of medication.
2. Enhance the medication compliance of the elderly
The elderly take medicine as prescribed by the doctor. Improving compliance is an important factor in ensuring the treatment effect. In addition to the elderly, the patients' families should also care more about the elderly and assist in supervision.
As we age, the mental and psychological self-adjustment function of the elderly gradually weakens, which is prone to various negative emotions, which greatly affects the development of the disease. Therefore, society and families should give the elderly more enthusiastic care and careful care to help them improve their awareness of medication safety.
At present, the "Hello, Sunshine Elderly" national calligraphy, painting and photography exhibition event for middle-aged and elderly people, sponsored by People's Daily ·People's Health, co-organized by Hebei Baishen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and supported by the Drug Safety Cooperation Alliance, is in full swing. While enriching the cultural life of the elderly, the calligraphy and painting and photography activities spread the concept of reasonable and safe use of medicine for the elderly, and give more humanistic care to the elderly's health. Middle-aged and elderly friends are welcome to actively participate.
Click the blue font below to register for the competition:
Reference materials:
1. Pharmaceutical case review Analyze the era personality of the safety of medication in the elderly. Medical Economic News .2014-07-16
2.5 Class of commonly used medicines for the elderly. Improper use of medicines will cause serious side effects! Not only blood pressure medicine. Family doctors and famous doctors online. 2020-04-07
3. Wang Min. Issues that should be paid attention to when taking medicine in the elderly [J]. Chinese Community Doctor, 2014:10-11.
