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Managing Your Medicines

Making sure you can get your medicines during cold weather may be difficult -  NHS Choices https://www.nhs.uk/  have some helpful information 

Many of us take medication to manage our health conditions.  As we get older we are more likely to need a range of pills, potions and lotions to help us stay well and to maintain our independence.

Older people make up more than a fifth of the UK population but account for about half of all prescribed medicines dispensed. On average, adults over 65 take two different prescribed medicines every day and this increases the older we get, more than 10% of older people take up to 5 or 6 different types of medication each day.

It is vitally important (and in some cases life saving) that we know what medicines we are taking and what they are for.  Every packet of medicine that is dispensed by the chemist should come with a Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) which is a leaflet explaining what the medicine is for, how it should be taken and any side effects that may be experienced.  Make sure that you read the PIL before you start taking any new medication and if you have any questions ask your doctor or your pharmacist.

If you have problems with the size of the print on the leaflet you can find larger print copies on the xpil. Medicines website, where there is also information about PILs for visually impaired people.