Thursday, February 7, 2008

Keep An Eye On Drugs Prescribed For The Elderly - They May Be Wrong

A study by the National Center for Health Statistics reported that doctors are prescribing the wrong drugs for the elderly 1 out of every 12 times that they write a prescription.

While that's only a little over 8% of the prescription being written, keep in mind an elderly person may be taking a dozen different drugs themselves. 

Doctors don't seem to realize that just as some drugs are deemed not appropriate for children, the same applies for drugs for people 60 and older.

The author of the study Margie Goulding said "for every inappropriate drug, there is a safe alternative."

We just recently experienced this situation with my Dad, who is in a nursing home. One medication the doctor prescribed for him made him almost a zombie. Within a couple of days of coming off it, he was normal again.

So...if someone you know, who is elderly, begins to act the least bit different, start talking to the doctor about the side effects of any and all the medications being given to that person.

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