Caregivers of Seniors

Caregiver

A friend, family member or neighbour who helps someone with daily living or health-related activities. There are many ways to help, such as helping with medicine, recognizing problems and discussing them with a health care professional, picking up prescriptions, arranging for transportation to and from appointments. In some situations caregivers may actually administer medicine, not just supervise or assist.

Sometimes caregivers themselves are seniors and the conditions and challenges addressed on this site apply to them as well as the person they are helping. Their attitudes and knowledge about the safe use of medicine are very important.

Medicine

Almost anything a person takes to feel better or become healthier. Tablets, capsules, pills, liquids, puffers (inhalers), creams, patches, drops, needles, even vitamins, herbs, ointments, laxatives, aspirin and antacids are all different types of medicine.

Senior

An older adult, used here to refer to those taking medicine on a regular basis. People react differently to medicine as they age, and older people tend to take more medicine, which means there could be more medicine-related problems.

Compliance

How people follow instructions for taking medicine, following diets or making lifestyle changes.

Home Support Worker

A person who is paid to help someone with daily living or health-related activities. There are many other community resources, such as hotlines, meal services and support groups.

Side Effects

Also known as adverse drug reactions (ADRs), side effects are symptoms or bad reactions a medicine can cause besides what it was meant to do. Dizziness is a dangerous side effect because it can cause a person to fall and injure himself/herself. Mental confusion and dehydration (fluid loss) are other dangerous side effects. Sometimes the side effects go away, and sometimes they’re minor enough to handle until the medicine is finished. Some side effects are expected, and others are found through lab tests or physical exams. If you think someone is having a bad reaction, trust your instincts and take action — call the pharmacist or go to the hospital.

Answers

The Project aims to raise awareness about safe medicine use among family members, friends and/or neighbours who provide care to seniors and children with chronic illness.

Drug therapy, or medicine, is now the most common health care treatment. It is being used to prevent illness and as a substitute for treatments like longer hospital stays. As the Canadian population ages and requires more care, more drugs are being used more often.

Medicine, either prescribed or over-the-counter, can improve health and well-being. Many people, including older adults and children with chronic illness, depend on medicine to provide relief, control their medical conditions and help them lead normal, active or independent lives. But when not taken properly, it can sometimes cause other health-related problems. In fact, up to 30% of all emergency room visits are drug-related. Learning about safe ways to use medicine at home can help reduce drug-related problems.

The safe and responsible use of medicine is important for everyone, but is of particular concern to seniors. Canadian seniors take more medication than any other group in the population. Older adults are more likely to suffer from conditions that need drug treatment. At the same time, the way the body changes with age makes seniors more sensitive to medicine and can affect the way their bodies react to medicine.

Many seniors are also taking several kinds of prescription and non-prescription medicine at the same time. As a result, they are more exposed to the risk of side effects from unnecessary or incorrect treatment and the misuse of medicine. Drug-related problems have become common for seniors.

Caregivers may find themselves helping with, giving and/or managing many different medicines, filling and picking up prescriptions, and monitoring schedules. They see the results of any side effects and must react accordingly. Yet medicine is often considered the responsibility of the health professional and the patient, even though caregivers play a larger role and more drugs are being used outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices.

In some situations caregivers give medicine directly, rather than supervise or assist. Sometimes caregivers themselves are seniors, and the conditions and challenges described on this site apply to them as well as the people they are helping.

Another serious concern is non-compliance. Many people do not take medicine properly, or stick to their routines. The resulting negative health effects cost Canadians billions of dollars every year.

Medicines should not be kept in the bathroom or kitchen because the dampness can affect them. The same goes for any place too warm (near a stove, heater or in the sun). The best place would be a bedroom drawer or a cupboard. Some medicine must be kept in the fridge. Try to keep all medicine together for convenience. The person should be able to get to them but not young children and pets.

Not sharing: Medicine is chosen for one person and that person specifically. Sharing with someone else may make that other person sick, and will mean there is less medicine for the person it was meant for.

Following routine and finishing medicine: Even if a person feels better, all the medicine must be finished, or the person could get sick again. Some medicine has to be taken at certain times to make sure there is the proper amount of medicine in a person’s body (not too much, not too little) and to make sure it works longer. It may help to write a list of all medicine and note the time each has to be taken, or use a calendar. Tools like medicine charts can help you keep track.

Preparing to go to a hospital: Bring a list of all medicine the person is taking, and give it to the admissions staff to put in the person’s chart. Remind doctors and nurses the list is available for their information.

Preparing to leave the hospital: Make sure you have all the instructions and prescriptions for any new medicine needed, or any changes to old medicine. Also find out what to stop, and what to continue — including over-the-counter medicine, vitamins and herbal/natural products. Ask any questions you might have, or write them down for the next time you see a doctor or pharmacist.

Preparing for a doctor’s visit: Prepare or write down any questions you might have. Take a list of all medicine or take the medicine to review with the doctor.

Preparing to talk to a pharmacist or to pick up a prescription: Prepare any questions you might have. Again, take a list of all medicine or take the medicine to review with the pharmacist.

Poison control centres: The first page in the phonebook (white pages) lists the poison information telephone number. If you think there’s been an overdose, or if the person taking medicine is having a bad reaction, call for information. Have the medicine handy to tell the operator its name.

Brand name: The product name of a drug. Every drug has both a brand name and a generic name. One example is brand name: Advil; generic name: ibuprofen.

Generic name: The chemical name of a drug. Every drug has both a generic name and a brand name.

There is some basic information you need to know about the medicine the person you’re helping is taking, especially if you have to act on the person’s behalf with a doctor, pharmacist, specialist or hospital. For instance, what the name is, what it is for, when and how to take it. You can use tools such as a medicine chart to help you keep track and take it along when you visit the doctor or pharmacist.

Other things you need to know include: How many kinds of medicine does the person take? When was the person’s last doctor appointment? When was the last time the person (or you) talked to a pharmacist? If the person sees a specialist, when was the last appointment? What kinds of ailments or conditions does the person have? Tools such as checklists can help you keep track of these things.

Because medicine is now the most common health care tool, the safe use of medicine is increasingly important and complex. Using medicine properly cuts down on health problems later. This website is designed to provide support, information and resources to caregivers of seniors and children with chronic illness.

The Caregivers of Seniors section is intended to provide tools like a guide, a medicine chart and an information checklist.

Service Providers is designed to present a workshop manual for promoting safe medicine use among caregivers of seniors.

Check the Need Help Now? section for other useful areas of the website and various other organizations.

Find out more about the project like the context, goals and objectives, results and products in About the Project.

Your Feedback is your opportunity to share your opinions, comments and suggestions about this website.

Other organizations and resources like poison control centres and government departments can be found in Links.

Definitions

Answers