Article 34: Precautions for Medication Use and Prevention of Drug Side Effects in the Elderly

4. Observe carefully when taking the medication. If adverse reactions occur, stop taking the medication immediately and consult a doctor.

5. Use antipyretics and analgesics with caution.

For example, antipyretic and analgesic drugs

Taking too large a dose or too close together in time can lead to excessive sweating or even collapse; taking

When taking aspirin, drink plenty of water. Those with stomach problems or impaired liver or kidney function should use caution.

Use or discontinue use; paracetamol should not be used with propantheline bromide; ibuprofen may cause...

Gastrointestinal reactions are possible; caution should be exercised if you have stomach problems, allergies, nasal polyps, or vascular edema.

Do not use if you have swelling.

6. Use antibiotics with caution.

Excessive use of antibiotics by the elderly can easily cause adverse reactions in the body.

It accumulates, causing poisoning reactions and easily leading to secondary infections that are difficult to treat;

Patients with anemia should use chloramphenicol with caution, and patients with liver dysfunction should use tetracycline and neomycin with caution.

Bifidobacterium, cephalosporins, rifampin, and anticancer antibiotics; patients with renal insufficiency.

Neomycin, kanamycin, vancomycin, and gentamicin should be used with caution or avoided altogether.

Cephalosporins and antiviral agents, etc.

7. Use sleeping pills with caution.

Long-term use of sleeping pills can easily lead to dependence.

This leads to increasingly larger drug dosages, resulting in cumulative poisoning.

If suddenly

Discontinuing the medication can also cause dizziness, nausea, muscle tremors, and worsening insomnia.

also,

Glaucoma patients should not use diazepam.

Patients with emphysema should not use sleeping pills.

It is also important to note that when using sleeping pills, different types should be used alternately to avoid [unclear - possibly related to medication use].

Using the same drug at a fixed dosage, but increasing the dosage over time.

8. Use laxatives with caution.

Long-term use of laxatives can lead to dependence; once stopped...

Taking medication can make bowel movements more difficult and can easily lead to the loss of calcium and vitamins in the body.

old

For constipation in older adults, milder laxatives such as liquid paraffin or glycerin should be chosen.

Suppositories, glycerin suppositories, hemp seeds, apricot kernels, hemp seed laxative pills, etc.

9. Expired medicines should not be used.

10. Do not rely on or have superstitious beliefs about anti-aging drugs.

11. It is better for elderly people to take tonics starting from the Beginning of Winter or the Winter Solstice. Taking the medicine for too long...

During the process, eat less raw, cold, and greasy food, and avoid radishes, tea, vinegar, and crabs.

Avoid spicy foods, and discontinue use if you have a cold, cough, fever, or diarrhea.

medicine.

How to avoid adverse drug reactions in the elderly

As people enter middle and old age, almost everyone becomes dependent on medication due to accumulated fatigue and illnesses.

Things have an inextricable connection.

Approximately 40% of people take medication strictly according to their doctor's orders.

While some people rely on medication, many others purchase medicine from pharmacies to alleviate their ailments.

In fact, this approach is extremely dangerous.

Because elderly people are generally not alone

When suffering from one disease, and also experiencing multiple other illnesses, it is often necessary to use multiple medications simultaneously.

Take it.

This increases the risk of adverse drug reactions and drug interactions.

Sexual side effects, and even situations where the drug itself has minimal side effects, but...

Due to the gradual decrease in blood flow to the liver and kidneys and the decline in their function in the elderly, detoxification becomes more difficult.

The toxic effects and excretion processes decrease, and even normal dosages will result in lower drug concentrations in the body.

The corresponding increase in levels of the substance increases the chance of poisoning.

This not only brings to the patient

The pain is unbearable, and it's difficult to distinguish whether it's a toxic reaction to the medication or an underlying medical condition.

The worsening condition makes further treatment more difficult.

Before taking any medication, middle-aged and elderly people should understand that once medication is taken, it is unavoidable to avoid it.

To avoid bearing the toxic side effects of the drug itself.

Clinically, we often see this phenomenon: many middle-aged and elderly people visit the door...

When you go to the doctor, you register for appointments with several departments at the same time, but the doctors in each department don't know your situation.

For medications prescribed in other departments, he only examined the medications from his own department when writing the prescription.

The patient was considering taking medication for a certain illness, which resulted in the simultaneous taking of medications that should not be taken at the same time.

In this way, the patient artificially creates drug poisoning and mutual neutralization for themselves.

The chance of the drug taking effect.

Adverse reactions resulting from daily drug interactions can be categorized as follows:

Using the numbers to represent: 3.5% of patients experienced side effects when using up to 5 different medications; 6 patients experienced side effects when using up to 6 different medications.

~10 types of drugs, with side effects accounting for 10%; 11-15 types of drugs, with side effects accounting for...

28%; 16 to 20 kinds of drugs were used, and side effects accounted for 58%.

So, how can we avoid such problems from happening? Actually, it's quite simple.

Simply tell your doctor what medication you are currently taking (whether it's traditional Chinese medicine) when you see them.

(Regarding Western medicine), giving the doctor a hint can prevent them from prescribing unnecessary medications.

If you are ill, you should go to the hospital for a clear diagnosis and take medication under the guidance of a doctor.

Listen carefully to the instructions for medication, dosage, timing, and precautions, and take notes.

If you don't know what to do, it's best to write it down or have a family member write it down for you, so as to avoid accidental ingestion.

Older adults should try to use "old medicines" (i.e., medicines that have been used for many years).

Because doctors have a thorough understanding of the toxic side effects of "old drugs," and at the same time, "old drugs" have been...

It can withstand the test of time.

Some newly developed drugs are still in the early stages of clinical practice.

During this period, the toxic side effects on middle-aged and elderly people are not yet fully understood, and they are prone to experiencing similar symptoms.

Poisoning and other similar situations may occur.

Of course, maintaining a cheerful mood, increasing physical exercise, and arranging your daily routine reasonably are also important.

Quitting smoking, alcohol, and coffee, and minimizing the occurrence of diseases, are ways to avoid medication use in the elderly.

The most fundamental preventive measure for adverse reactions.

How to decoct Chinese medicine

1. It's best to use a clay pot, but an enamel pot is also acceptable. Avoid using pots with grease buildup (for frying).

(such as cooking pots).

After placing the medicine in the pot, add cold water. The water must be clean and free of impurities.

Some medicines float in the water and should be stirred. The water level should be 1.5 cm to 3 cm above the medicines.

2. It is best to use a low flame when decocting the medicine to prevent it from boiling dry too quickly.

medicine

If the active ingredients are not dissolved, the therapeutic effect will be affected.

Generally, decocting medicine takes 30 minutes.

The decoction time for tonifying herbs should be longer, about 1 hour; clearing and detoxifying...

The application time should be shorter, about 20 minutes.

3. Herbal decoctions should generally be decocted twice, yielding approximately [amount missing] ml of liquid from each decoction.

One medium-sized teacup is needed; the amount of medicine decocted for children should be smaller.

4. Herbal decoctions often contain ingredients that are decocted first, added later, dissolved, taken by dissolving, or wrapped in cloth for decoction.

Products should be treated differently.

Pre-decocting herbs: Before decocting other herbs, decoct them for 10-15 minutes first, then add the other herbs.

Group of medicines.

Add the medicine last: 3-5 minutes before the other herbs are fully decocted, add the medicine last.

Dispense the medicine.

Dissolving medicines: These are gelatinous medicines that are dissolved by heating the decocted medicine before consumption.

Take the medicine with the prepared decoction.

Wrap the medicine in a cloth bag before putting it into the pot to decoct.

---