Medicines are a great benefit to our lives. They relieve pain or cure conditions that years ago would have been fatal. However, we should be careful to use medicines as directed. Many may be very dangerous if used improperly. As we age, how we absorb and metabolize drugs changes, too. If you think that a medicine is not working, contact your healthcare provider right away. Also let him know if it makes you feel funny, or if it is causing an unexpected or unpleasant side effect.

• Take prescription medications only if they were prescribed for you. Never take someone else's medicine. Carefully follow the label instructions. Check with your pharmacist or health care provider if you have any questions.
• Make sure that your healthcare provider knows about all of the medications you take. This includes over-the-counter ones. Some medications are ineffective or have dangerous side effects when taken with other medications.
• Discard old medications you are no longer using. A good way is to flush them down the toilet. Also discard any medication if you can no longer read its label.
• Never mix medications in the same container.
• If you cannot use child-resistant caps, be sure to keep all medicine containers away from children and pets.
• Some nonprescription medicines are dangerous when taken in large quantities. Some examples are aspirin and vitamin pills with iron. Before you take over-the-counter medications, check with your healthcare provider.
• If you need your glasses to read, be sure to wear them when taking medicine. This way you can be sure you have the right medicine. For the same reason, be sure to turn on the light when taking medicine at night. With severe vision or memory problems, a responsible person can place daily medications in a box made especially for this purpose. Check with your local drug store to purchase this device.
• Keep the phone number of your poison control center handy. You can call them with any questions about medications, their effects, or about overdoses or accidental poisonings.

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