Important advice if you are one of the many others who need to take a series of medications to maintain or restore good health. Many of the treatment failures are precisely due to non-compliance with the treatments. It is very important to remember that: Do not forget any dose. Have good communication with your doctor.
Errors in compliance with treatments may be due to various causes.
How to take the medication well and follow the treatment
1.-Abandonment or neglect. Sometimes you don’t know what the pills your doctor has prescribed are for or what their benefits are… If this is your case, ask your doctor to explain what each of the tablets, syrups… is for. Take. This way you will know its usefulness and give importance to its correct use.
2.-Unfortunately, medications can sometimes produce undesirable effects such as dizziness, stomach aches… If you have experienced any discomfort that coincides with taking a medication, do not hesitate to tell your doctor. He will confirm if this problem could be a consequence of the treatment and he will find the best solution for you.
3.-Sometimes negative comments about a medication are heard on television, radio, friends or relatives and these cause the abandonment of treatments…. If something similar happens to you, ask your doctor for advice. He will update you on the latest news and if he can harm you with said medicine or not.
4.-It may happen that you stop taking a medication because you don’t like its taste or have difficulty swallowing it... Tell your doctor and, if possible, he will change it for another that is more pleasant or easy to take.
5.-Other times it is because it has not been well understood how medications should be administered, for example inhalers. Do not hesitate to ask the healthcare or pharmacy staff any questions you may have about the method of administration of your medicines.
6.-Sometimes it has not been clear to you when a treatment should end, if it should be reviewed, if you should stop when you run out of the container that you have been prescribed. Try to leave the consultation with clear ideas in this regard, if you should return and when.
7.-Sometimes the failures are due to forgetfulness, forgetfulness or errors. This happens more often to people with memory loss, who require multiple medications, or who have difficulty reading or understanding medical orders…
How to avoid these mistakes
–Pillboxes or medicine dispensers. They come in different sizes and shapes, weekly or daily, some are very imaginative and easy to organize. You can prepare them yourself, your family member or caregiver.
–Treatment sheets. It is about writing down all the medications, their doses (number of pills) and the time they should be taken, in an orderly and easy-to-understand manner. At the bottom of the page you have two examples in a table and a list.
–If you have difficulty reading, cut out a part of the cardboard package where the medicine can be recognized by the colors, the letters… and paste it on the table. You could also draw the shape and color of the tablets, capsules… or even stick one of each.
–If you are clueless or take any medication during sleeping hours, you can set the alarm clock.