Medication in old age

and Ingrid Müller, chemist, medical journalist

Ingrid Müller is a chemist and medical journalist. She was editor-in-chief of for twelve years. Since March 2014 she has been working as a freelance journalist and author for, among others, Focus Gesundheit, the health portal ellviva.de, the publishing house living crossmedia and the health channel of rtv.de.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

People over the age of 60 take more than half of all prescribed drugs in Germany. Typical diseases in old age that are treated with tablets & Co. are, for example, high blood pressure, senile dementia, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, vascular calcification (arteriosclerosis), joint wear (osteoarthritis) and bone loss (osteoporosis).

The older a person is, the more likely it is that they will have several diseases at the same time and the more medication they will probably have to take. Experts estimate that it is not uncommon for ten medications or more per day. However, there are a few tips that can help those affected when taking their medication.

Adherence to therapy - stick with it

It is important that you take your medicines regularly - in the right dosage and at the right time. However, for many people, compliance is reduced when they have to take several medications at the same time. A common reason to stop medication is fear of side effects. This is often related to the information in the package insert and the long list of possible undesirable effects. They can, but do not have to occur in you at the same time. Ask your doctor and have everything explained to you - this will also make it easier for you to comply with the therapy.

Medication Use Tips

Are you having trouble remembering when, how often or how many tablets to take? Some people get along well if they set the drug dose for the entire day every morning, or rather. keep them in a pill box. You have an even better overview if you sort the medication into a special container (Dosette) for a week. If in doubt, let us help you if you can't do it on your own. This is to make sure that you are not taking too much or too little medication. Dosage plans that are simple and easy to read also provide a good guide for taking medication.

Ask your doctor whether your medication might be available as single doses, as this will keep the daily number of medications manageable.

If you suffer from a visual disorder (e.g. cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration), it is often difficult to distinguish between visually similar dosage forms (red capsules, orange capsules). Ask a family member if you are unsure which medication is the right one. Otherwise, sorting into containers that you can easily see also helps. This will prevent you from taking the wrong medicine at the wrong time.

Those who have motor disorders (e.g. Parkinson's, after a stroke, rheumatism) often find it difficult to open medication packages, count drops or share tablets. Tell your doctor if you have difficulty doing this. Sometimes there are alternatives that will help you cope better. Or maybe you can get help from a family member.

Be sure to take your medication with a glass of water. Under no circumstances should you swallow it "dry", as the active ingredients will be absorbed more poorly in the blood and the effect will set in later.

Tell each of your attending physicians which and how many medications you are taking in total - this also applies to sleeping pills or over-the-counter medications from the pharmacy. This is the only way doctors can quickly identify possible interactions and side effects.

Some complaints are quite normal in old age. You may not need to take medication for every symptom. If you have harmless complaints, such as a sore throat, you can also use a tried and tested home remedy. It is important that existing diseases are adequately treated. This keeps the number of medications you have to take manageable.

Priscus list

Medicines can also cause side effects when used and dosed correctly. There are some drugs that often trigger undesirable effects, especially in old age. This applies, for example, to quinidine (an agent against cardiac arrhythmias), the antibiotic nitrofurantoin, the antidepressant amitriptyline and the sedative diazepam. Experts have compiled a list of such drugs that are potentially unsuitable for the elderly: the so-called Priscus list. Doctors can use this list as a guide when treating elderly patients. The Priscus list not only contains a list of active ingredients that should be avoided in old age, but in many cases also more suitable alternatives. In this way, the risk of side effects from drug therapy for the elderly can be reduced.

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