Everyone is guilty of forgetting a dose of medication every once in a while. With the many tasks that people must accomplish each day, being forgetful is bound to happen. Many people find that methods, such as putting their medication in pillboxes, help them keep track of what they have and haven’t consumed. Even this, however, is sometimes not enough. At times, you might pop open your pillbox at the start of the week and find that you actually skipped a day’s dosage.
In cases like these, it is not advisable to double a dose without first speaking to your physician. Though it seems like a quick way to get your medication schedule back on track, medication does not work as simple as that. Physicians spend years studying the effects of various chemicals on the body and how they interact with each other. You must consult them about whether or not you should take an extra dose.
How to keep yourself on track
If you are struggling with your medication schedule, there are a few ways to help you remember. The first is by setting an alarm on your phone. Logging the times that you must take your medication into your phone’s alarm clock will serve as a reminder, something that will be very helpful on busy days.
People who have multiple medications might find setting individual alarms cumbersome. In this case, you can use a medication reminder app, which works in the same way. A dedicated medication calendar will help you organize your schedule. Sit down at the start of the week and log in all of your medications for the coming days, so you don’t have to log your doses every day. An app is useful because it doubles as your tracker and alarm at the same time.
You can also put notes in places that you frequent, reminding you to take your pills at certain hours of the day. Asking the help of family members or loved ones is also helpful. You can ask them to check in with you at the start of the week or to help monitor your daily medication log.
Why you must follow the schedule
Physicians give instructions on when you must take medication because your body needs to have an appropriate level of the drug at all times during treatment. Go shorter than the time determined by scientists, and you have higher levels than you need. Take longer, and you run the risk of your body running out of the drug. When this happens, the virus or bacteria is given a chance to mutate and become resistant to the drug. As a result, you might even have to restart your course altogether.
This is especially problematic for antibiotics because taking incomplete courses of them result in antibiotic resistance. This happens when your body no longer recognizes a particular type of antibiotic as a treatment. When you are resistant to a drug, it becomes ineffective against the bacteria it is supposed to fight, and you are left with the infection you’re curing.
Conclusion
Following a course of medication is tricky for people of all ages. The more tablets and capsules you need to take, the harder it is to keep track. When you have trouble remembering your doses for the day, it is good to use memory aids, such as alarms and trackers.
If you are looking for a way to help you keep track of medication, use our medication log app. Our cloud system helps you make lists of current and previous medications and helps you monitor your medication intake. Get in touch