Senior citizens have a special set of needs, and this is often accompanied by medications. Because pain management is often needed, opioids are often prescribed more heavily to senior citizens than to other age groups. In the past, it has been reported that this can actually lead to increased mortality in some instances, and this has led to doctors trying to use opioids more sparingly and only in the situations where it has become absolutely necessary. New data is now available regarding just why this type of painkiller is so dangerous. The rate of the misuse of opioids among those that they are legally prescribed to is 25 percent, and 10 percent of those that take opioids are medically addicted to them.
These numbers are for senior citizens as well as everyone else being prescribed this type of drug, but the problems become much more severe in the senior community. Seniors tend to be more susceptible to the ill effects of drug misuse because of weakened physical conditions and lowered immune systems. So, if a problem does come up with the use of opioids, the effects will be much more severe, and this is why seniors have such a high mortality rate when it comes to the use of the painkiller. The problem has the potential to become even more severe because many Baby Boomers are now seniors, and this generation was one of the first groups of people to have illegal drug and alcohol use be more commonly accepted. This isn’t to say that they are going to intentionally misuse opioids if they’re prescribed, but there is a possibility that the warning signs of addiction might never be seen until it is too late to do anything about it. This is obviously something that you will want to prevent in an elderly loved one’s life if at all possible.
You might be wondering what you can do to help a loved one prevent the misuse of medications. For one, realize that most mistakes with a medicine are just that: mistakes. Sometimes it is a simple oversight or something that was just forgotten. Having a pill plan in place will make sure that medications are taken when and how they are supposed to be. Enlisting the care of an in-home caregiver will be helpful, too. A caregiver is a professional that has the ability to help your older mom or dad out around the house, and managing medication is one part of this. Hopefully, you will go with someone with experience and knowledge so that this is not a new or strange request to make of them. Another thing that you can do is to just talk with your loved one about the dangers of the pills they are taking and have them come up with a plan with you to help them remember and to help them stay safe. The plan will often be more effective if they help come up with it since they now have a better chance of remembering it and sticking to it.
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