Are Seniors Overmedicated?
A study conducted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that many commonly administered drugs can hasten decline in the elderly. Elderly people who took drugs for incontinence, allergy or high blood pressure walked more slowly and were less able to take care of themselves than others not taking the drugs, researchers found.
The findings, presented at the American Geriatrics Society Meeting in Washington, add to a growing body of research that suggests that anticholinergic medications can hasten functional and cognitive declines in elderly people.
Head researcher Dr. Kaycee Sink explained that many useful drugs from many different classes of medications have anticholinergic properties. The researchers found that the more anticholinergic drugs people had in their systems, the worse their physical function. They also pointed out that in many cases, newer drugs are available that do not have these effects.
This is just one example of what makes medication management often difficult. Treating one symptom, can sometimes lead to several other detrimental side effects. Make sure your records keep track of these, so medications can be adjusted accordingly.