Although there may be obvious signs that a senior individual needs to take medicine to maintain good health, many still refuse to do so, even when their families beg them to do so!
There are many reasons for this. Some seniors may believe that they are in perfect health—that they do not need any medication. Other seniors may be trying to maintain control of their life, which is why they do not listen to any reasoning behind taking medicines. Still, some others may simply see taking medicine as a way to get poisoned! In other words, they get suspicious about it, doubting the reasoning and the medicine in their hands.
Regardless of the reasoning, getting seniors to take medicines can be a tough challenge. Fortunately, it isn’t impossible. Here are some tips you can follow to motivate your seniors to start taking their medication:
Get a doctor to explain
Many seniors do not listen to their family members simply because the seniors do not see them as a figure of authority. In other words, the words of their family members carry no weight to their experience.
If this is a problem you are facing, then getting a doctor to come and explain the situation will greatly help. The doctors can explain why the medicine is so important and what could possibly happen if it isn’t taken, motivating the senior individual to start taking medicine. As a person with authority, your senior loved one may be more open to the reasoning.
Prioritize critical medicine first
If even trying to get your seniors to take supplements like vitamins is a challenge, then don’t waste your effort in forcing them with those. These things and any other supplements that aren’t recommended by the doctor aren’t a must-take, meaning that trying to get your senior to take these will only waste your time and energy! Your focus should instead be on the medicine (or medicines) that was prescribed, as this medication will play a vital part in improving your senior’s health.
By choosing your battles, your senior may be more open to making concessions for the more important medicines to take.
Keep an eye out for negative effects
Many seniors avoid taking medication because of the negative side effects that come with them. Such side effects include dizziness, stomachache, and many other unpleasant feelings. If this is the same complaint your seniors are making with the medicine they’re taking, take the time to read the label for said side effects and ask the doctor for alternatives.
Improve the taste or change the format
A lot of medication out there is either hard to take because of the format or tastes horrible. This is one of the biggest reasons seniors try to avoid taking their medication.
For instance, your senior may say that the pill is way too large to be taken comfortably, or that the medication tastes horrible and they do not want it anymore. To fix this problem, check in with either the pharmacy or doctor and ask for alternative formats and flavors of the same medication to make taking the medicine much easier. By tackling the reasons one by one, you may be able to convince your loved ones to keep trying till they can get the medicine through!
Conclusion
We understand that you care a lot for your loved ones and are trying your best to ensure your seniors live a happy life till their very last days. However, through all of your efforts, always remember to remain calm and keep a positive attitude! Even if your seniors may talk down on you about how you may be trying to control their lives, know that you are doing it for their own good. Please do your best to be as kind and patient as possible and keep trying different methods until you find something works.
My Medication Log offers a cloud-based medication management system to help patients and caregivers keep track of their medication intake to maintain a healthy life. Use our medicine tracker today to help track your senior’s medication habits!