A lot of seniors need assistance with normal daily tasks, and this is one of the reasons they hire home health services. Home health services can help seniors remain living in their homes for a longer time by providing the services seniors need at home. If your parent is beginning to need more assistance at home, you could hire a home health care company to help him or her. While there are a lot of services they can help with, assistance with medication is a common need. Here are three important things to know about seniors and the medications they take.

They Rely On Medications For Health Issues

An average senior living at home is on five different medications. These medications are needed to treat a variety of different health problems, but some of the common problems seniors use medications for include the following:

• High blood pressure or cholesterol
• Anxiety and depression
• Allergies and sinus issues
• Major diseases and illnesses
• Muscle spasms

The medications your parent takes are prescribed because he or she needs them, and this is why it is so important for your parent to take the right medication each and every day.

Many Seniors Fail To Take Their Medication As Prescribed

The problem with seniors and medication is that there are a lot of problems that can prevent them from taking the medications as prescribed. Some seniors have a problem with this simply from their memories failing them. If your parent is forgetful or is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's or dementia, he or she may get very confused about the medications he or she needs each day. No matter what you do to help your parent stay organized with this, he or she may end up forgetting to take the pills or taking too many.

Other seniors may have problems picking up their prescriptions from the pharmacy. In this situation, they would not be able to take pills if they do not have them.

Problems Can Occur When Seniors Do Not Take Medication Properly

Mediation issues with seniors is a serious problem. Seniors that end up taking too many pills might overdose or have negative reactions from the medications. When seniors do not take enough pills each day, they may struggle with health issues that would have been regulated with the pills they were supposed to take.

Hiring a home health care company, such as Staff Mates Homecare, can solve this problem if your parent struggles with this issue. You can hire a company to send a home health care worker to your parent's home once a day to distribute his or her pills, and this can help your parent stay healthier and safer.