If you are providing home health care in California for an aging family member, you may find that they need to take at least a few medications, if not several, every couple of hours. Hence, we would understand if you have concerns over the prescriptions they take and any side effects these drugs may have on your loved ones’ well-being. Although medicines can indeed help a person stay healthy, scholars have discovered through various studies that a lot of older adults tend to suffer from problems related to their medications.

So, to address your concerns, we at Modern Home Health Care, Inc. are sharing the common medication-related issues that we see among the elderly:

1. Side effects that interfere with thinking and balance
   It is true that all drugs can cause side effects. However, quite a few of them have been known to make balance and concentration particularly worse in aging adults. Prescriptions called anticholinergics (which are drugs for overactive bladders, etc.), sedatives, and tranquilizers can provoke confusion in your senior relatives. These drugs can also make them more susceptible to falling and slipping, thus increasing their chances of requiring skilled nursing in California. Geriatricians usually recommend minimizing the dosage of these medications or stopping them altogether.
2. Symptoms that persist despite drug treatment
   As a CHAP-Accredited and Medicare-certified home health agency in Chula Vista, California, we are aware that many elderly people are often prescribed with certain medications for certain symptoms (e.g., pain and heartburn). However, because primary care physicians tend to be too busy, they may forget to follow up. Even patients can end up postponing their consultations with their doctors regarding the symptoms they experience.
3. Drug interactions
   There are drugs that can cause interactions with antibiotics and other drugs, such as warfarin. In fact, research has found that warfarin ranks as one of the leading causes of medication-related hospitalizations in the elderly. Yet, despite its risks, warfarin is often an appropriate prescription to help older adults acquire quality home health in San Diego.