A pill for sclerosis
How not to forget to take a pillMila Martynova, ABC magazine
According to statistics, almost half of patients with chronic diseases forget to take medications on time.
And if a course of several medications and a complicated schedule is prescribed? Here a healthy person will feel like a sclerotic.
There are many options for dangerous forgetfulness: you can skip taking a pill, swallow it twice, mix up the names, frequency and doses of drugs. Naturally, such mistakes can not only reduce the effectiveness of treatment, but sometimes cause harm to health.
Pick up the phone, your tablet is ringingFortunately, technological progress in medicine does not stand still.
However, mostly not here, but in the advanced abroad. But nevertheless, it is interesting to find out how "their" patients live, and to envy, because, apparently, it's not bad.
For example, special packages for medicines have already been invented with mini-mobile phones with a SIM card, battery, transmitter and electronic chip built into them. As soon as the patient makes a mistake with the time of taking the drug – take the medicine earlier or, conversely, forget to take the pill, an SMS message will be sent at the same moment - to him, his relative, friend or other trusted person and the attending physician.
The principle of operation of the device is simple: when the lid is removed from the bubble, the chip sends a signal to the central server. The latter, using the identification code of each package, finds the right patient in the database and compares the time of receipt of the signal with the doctor's appointments.
This way of reminding is ideal for people with chronic diseases (epilepsy, schizophrenia, diabetes), who are forced to take medications constantly, and skipping a pill can cause health-threatening consequences. The device is not cheap – about $ 300 a year.
Singing BottleThe American company "Vitality" has developed special caps for medicines, which at a certain time give light signals and play melodies until the patient takes the medicine.
Another development is a lid capable of connecting to the Internet and sending weekly reports on the drug intake to the patient's relatives and doctor by e–mail.
Scientists from Europe have gone further, developing a device that will be attached to the teeth like a crown, and automatically inject the right dose of medicine into the oral cavity at a certain time.
The old-fashioned wayIn the Russian open spaces, it did not go further than the production of pillboxes with several compartments.
It's better than nothing, but you can forget a useful thing in a jacket pocket or in a bag, lose it or mix up the compartments.
So our tips will definitely come in handy.
5 tips for the forgetfulGet a notebook, make a sign with all the names, dosages and time of taking medications.
- After taking the pill, tick the appropriate box.
- A reliable and effective way to remind is to set up an alarm clock on a mobile phone or a special reminder program in a computer or communicator.
- Put the drugs in a prominent place where they are sure to catch your eye – on the kitchen table, at the computer, on the shelf in the bathroom. However, remember that not all medicines can be dispensed with this way – many require special storage rules.
- The role of reminders can be performed by colored stickers that can be glued to all prominent places along the route of your constant movements around the apartment.
- Combine taking medications with food or regular daily procedures, for example, brushing your teeth.
If you missed taking medication,
this does not mean that you can then take a double dose.
Such diligence will lead to overdose and side effects.The "Sunday" pill
Manufacturers of medicines are also struggling with the forgetfulness of their patients.
So, new forms and convenient packages are being developed. For example, the names of the days of the week are applied to the blisters of many combined oral contraceptives – this is simple, convenient and does not allow women to get confused.
Prolonged forms of drugs, in which active substances are released gradually throughout the day, allow you to take the medicine only once a day. Agree, it is much easier to forget to take pills 3 times a day than one.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru22.07.2011