Posted on 05/02/2022 6:09:08 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
For many Americans managing chronic conditions, taking medications and supplements is an important part of staying healthy. And if you're juggling multiple prescriptions, you may have a special way of storing your meds to keep track of which ones to take, and when. However, a new study published in the journal Health Technology Assessment found that one popular storage method can actually increase your risk of experiencing adverse effects from medications—something researchers found "counterintuitive" given the product's purpose. Read on to find out which storage method could raise the risk of side effects—and why you shouldn't stop using it if you've already started.
(Excerpt) Read more at bestlifeonline.com ...
I have used a pill organizer for 50 years. Not for prescription drugs but for the 12 nutritional supplements I have taken for decades.. Cannot even imagine opening all those bottles every morning. They fill a large shoebox.
I’m 85, had a cold that lasted 5 days many years ago, otherwise completely healthy. My MD didn’t think I needed a vax.
“”It is likely that because the patients had been taking their medication sporadically, they weren’t getting the expected health improvements. The doctor may therefore have increased the dose of the medication to try to get the desired effect,” Bhattacharya explained. “When these patients were switched to a pill organizer and suddenly started taking more of their prescribed medication than previously, they experienced normal side effects of the medication.””
what moron wrote this ridiculous nonsense?
Here is the ONE WEIRD TRICK. I despise clickbait.
*****
Everyone needs a prescription filled from time to time, but you may be surprised to learn just how many prescriptions the average American fills each year.
According to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, over 131 million Americans, or 66 percent of all adults in the U.S., use prescription drugs each year. And the odds of requiring multiple drugs increases with age. “Three-quarters of those aged 50 to 64 use prescription drugs, compared to 91 percent of those aged 80 and older,” their experts write. “The average number of prescriptions filled [annually] also increases with age, from 13 for those aged 50 to 64 to 22 for those aged 80 and older.”
READ THIS NEXT: Never Take These 2 Common OTC Medications at Once, Experts Warn.
Changing the way you store your medications can have adverse effects, one study found.
A Variety of Open Pill Bottles
Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
A study conducted by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) analyzed the impact of seniors storing their prescription drugs in pill organizers. While these are generally touted as a way to minimize adverse effects by lowering the risk of double-dosing or forgetting one’s meds entirely, what the researchers discovered was counterintuitive. Using data from “unintentionally non-adherent older people”—meaning seniors who frequently forgot to take their regular medication—the team learned that people who switched to medication organizers were more likely to experience side effects than those who took their pills directly from the bottles.
“We found that on average, when patients who had previously taken their medication sporadically were switched to a pill organizer, they took all of their medication and became unwell, whilst those who remained on usual medication packaging did not have any adverse effects,” said Debi Bhattacharya, PhD, a lead author of the study from UEA’s School of Pharmacy, via press release.
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Here’s why researchers think it happens.
iStock
While medication organizers can help people take the recommended dosages, the transition from labeled bottles to organizers can cause adverse effects.
“It is likely that because the patients had been taking their medication sporadically, they weren’t getting the expected health improvements. The doctor may therefore have increased the dose of the medication to try to get the desired effect,” Bhattacharya explained. “When these patients were switched to a pill organizer and suddenly started taking more of their prescribed medication than previously, they experienced normal side effects of the medication.”
If you’re already using a pill organizer, don’t stop now.
Senior woman taking meds from pill organizer
Shutterstock
While using pill organizers can increase your risk of adverse effects at the time of transition, researchers stressed that if you’re already using them without any issues, you shouldn’t stop.
In the long term, these products offer considerable benefits. “People who are already using a pill organizer without any ill effects should not stop using it, as they do seem to help some patients take their medication as prescribed,” said Bhattacharya. “It’s the switching stage which appears to be the danger.”
The key, researchers say, is to consult your doctor or pharmacist when you intend to switch storage methods to ensure that you’ve been prescribed appropriate doses. To this end, it’s important to be transparent with your medical providers if you have not been taking all of your medication as recommended before switching to a pill organizer.
You’re supposed to say his name three times to get him to appear.😁
Pill boxes are washable.
Frankly I’m amazed what all “we” find to wash, be it tub, spigot, sink, dishwasher, laundry... it don’t matter! If it needs washin’ and “we” find it? It’s gettin washed!
Pill boxes are washable.
Frankly I’m amazed what all “we” find to wash, be it tub, spigot, sink, dishwasher, laundry... it don’t matter! If it needs washin’ and “we” find it? It’s gettin washed!
True, the site isn’t the same, without him dealing with the trash.
I think what is trying to be said is the same as - don’t pick your nose and wipe your butt and NOT wash your hands and then use your pill box and expect to not get some kind of bacteria.
Same goes for snuff cans too I reckon.
You don’t want the beer and Scotch?
What I do works for me so i’m not changing it.
Ain't that the truth!!
I hope you have life insurance that covers death by pill box.
Using a pill box is NOT a “storage” method.
Pill boxes only hold a week’s worth of meds and that is NOT storing them.
Actually, Lyme disease is pretty much a guarantee you’ll lose a good couple years of quality of life. It’s nothing to mess with.
However, not going out into the woods is not the answer. Tick control, DEET, permethrim sprayed clothes, and tick checks when coming indoors is.
The rest though, pffftttt…. I ‘m going to continue to get all the vitamin D I can through the sun since I can’t through food.
Storage method is not the problem. Improper use of meds is.
Worthless article.
Regards,
“Pill box’’.
Sounds kinda.. WW2 like...
What’re you doing messing around with one of those things?
Good luck, see ya tomorrow.
I thought a ‘’pill box’’ is where the bad guys were hiding out. :-)
Heh, I work in a hospital, and I must wash my hands dozens of times a day. I have habituated myself not to touch my eyes, nose or mouth in any way, so that isn’t an onerous thing for me.
LOL, snuff cans! I remember when I was in the USN, they used to send our laundry back to us in big bags that had to be distributed to the owners, and I always remember taking out the dungarees and seeing the faint, faded outlines in the back pockets where snuff had been carried around!
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