Managing Your Medicines

We're all used to getting a prescription from the doctor when we're not well. It's a fact of life that, as we get older, we are more likely to need medicines prescribed by the doctor. In many cases these medicines are prescribed to make sure that we don’t get ill and may need to be taken for the rest of our lives.

Most of the advice given applies to people of all ages. However, there are several reasons why older people should take extra care with medicines. For example, as we become older, we will probably need smaller doses of medicines. This is because our liver and kidneys become less efficient at removing medicines, so that some medicines stay active in the body for longer. Don't worry about this – it's quite normal. It just means that you must be very careful not to take more of a medicine than your doctor tells you to.