Guide for older people in avoiding problems related to prescription and non prescription drugs. Medicines do a lot to improve health - but they can cause problems too, especially for people taking many different medications. Each year around 24,000 people become so ill from the effects of taking more than one type of medicine that they're admitted to hospital.
Older people are more likely to be affected for two reasons.
One is because they're more likely to take more than one medication - some elderly people take three or more types of medication daily, while others take as many as six. Another reason is that the older your body gets, the higher the risk of having a bad effect from a drug. This doesn't mean you should stop taking medication. If you have a bad reaction from a drug, or if it reacts badly with another drug, your doctor may be able to change the dose or try a different drug. But it's important to be well-informed about medication and know how to take it properly.