Forgetting to medications is something a lot of people are used to doing. For some, it can be a daunting task to stick your prescription and complete it accordingly. The reason why people forget to take their medicines might vary. Some simply forget, some procrastinate taking their medications, while some become irregular with their medications immediately they start feeling better. However, if you desire to get healthy, you need to take your medications, as they have been prescribed. You need to learn how to stop forgetting to take your medicines.
This article will show you how to remember to take your medicine. But before that, is there anything wrong with forgetting to take your medicine?
Why You Should Not Forget To Take Your Medicines
Many people think it’s no big deal when they miss a few doses of medication, but that is not true at all. Here are some reasons why you should not miss your medications:
- There could be serious complications: Not adhering to prescribed medications can lead to serious complications for people with some conditions. For example, if you don’t take your blood pressure medications as prescribed, it could increase your chances of a heart attack, heart failure, or any other complications.
- You may experience the side effects numerous times: Some drugs have side effects such as nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and headache. These side effects come and go once you take them at a steady rate. However, if you don’t take them at a steady rate, the side effects can reappear again.
- Your illness may become harder to treat: Some disease-causing viruses can develop resistance to drugs when you don’t them regularly. For example, if skip HIV medication, it might cause the virus strain to develop resistance to the treatment. That will make the infection difficult to treat.
- The illness can resurface sooner: If you have malaria and don’t take your malaria medications accordingly, it might resurface and make you sick again. This can also happen If you don’t finish your antibiotics. The infection might last longer than expected or even come back.
How to Remember to Take Your Medicines
If you want to remember to take your medications and complete it till it finishes, you need to take some simple steps to ensure you do so. You also have to be willing to get better and strictly stick to the prescription.
1. Set an alarm
Digital applications have made it easy for us to stick to our plans and achieve our goals. They could also help you when it comes to taking your medications. You can set an alarm at specific times when you need to take your medicine. You can also download pill reminder apps on your phone and set the schedule of your prescription.
2. Tell your friends or family to remind you
You can get help from family members or friends to remind you to take your medications. You should begin by informing them about your prescription and asking them for help in getting you to stick to it. If you live alone, you can ask your friend to text or call you.
3. Keep your medications somewhere visible
Another thing you can do is to place your medicines somewhere they are constantly visible. You can keep them on the table in the living room or close to the television. Make sure you keep them away from moisture, heat, children, and pets. You should also consider using pillboxes.
Pillboxes are an organization box for your pills that can be found at most pharmacies. They can help you store your medications if you’re taking multiple pills.
4. Add your prescription to your daily routine
You can add your drug doses to your daily routine, as this makes it easier to follow. For example, you can condition yourself to take your medication after brushing your teeth, after taking a shower, or after lunch, or when you are about to sleep.
5. Learn more about your medicines
One strong motivator that can help you adhere to your drug doses is learning more about the medication. Once the pharmacist explains the usefulness of the medicine in treating your ailment, you will not want to forget to take it. So ask your physician to explain each medicine to you, the side effects, and their importance.
Conclusion
Although sticking to your drug doses can be very hard to accomplish, you can successfully achieve this. You need to follow these steps discussed above, as they will help you remember to take your medications.
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Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
