Medication Management

The California Assisted Living Association (CALA) has put together a great guide on how to best manage an elderly person's medications. We've talked about this a little in the past, but this is such an important concept and improper medication management can lead to major problems. The following tips are some of the highlights from the CALA's magazine article on the subject.

Everything starts out with proper communication. Everyone involved in the process needs to be in open dialogue with each other. This will help to eliminate any confusion.

The next step is to choose a time and location that has few distractions. By making medication dispensing a routine, you can expect things to fall into a pattern. This repetition will soon become a daily part of the person's life. If they are supposed to meet you at 8:00 every day in the kitchen area, this will be something that becomes just a routine part of their daily activities.

Having the dispensing process explained often and in a direct fashion will help to further cement the necessity of medications in the patient's mind. This is important because many times the elderly person will question why they must take their medications. Having a logical explanation ready will help alleviate this concern on their end of things. If they realize that taking their prescription is important, they will be more likely to take it.

Finally, you don't want to judge the person in regards to their medication. If they have had past problems with refusing to take their prescription, leave that in the past. Reinforce the idea that meds are important on a regular basis, but don't bring up the past. Treat each session as if it were a new one. This will help the person receiving the meds to see that you are kind and just want to help them out.

Medication Mendacity?

Seventeen million Americans today are taking antidepressants, spending 11.3 billion dollars for the privilege of doing so. Kind of depressing, wouldn't you say? Rather than get depressed, however, I get angry.

Why? Because we have been fed so many phony "facts" about depression, we now simply accept them as true when we should really be applauding the drug companies for a super successful relentless marketing campaign.

You hear the ads everywhere. But here's what you won't hear about anti-depressant drugs.

They don't work for about 86% of patients. (Wow, that's a high number.)

They are least effective for those who are mildly or moderately depressed.

They are sometimes prescribed for children as young as 6 years old.

They have dangerous side effects, including an increased risk of suicide, particularly for the young. (Go figure!)

They have unpleasant side effects. Weight gain and lack of libido are the two big ones. But let's not leave out dry mouth, nausea, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, sweating, fatigue, headaches, diarrhea, constipation. (Are you kidding me? If I weren't depressed before taking these meds, I'd be now!)

It has not been proven to be true that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Repeat something often enough, however, and everyone believes it. If depression is supposed to be caused by low serotonin levels, then how come doctors don't monitor your serotonin and prescribe only when your levels are dangerously low? Answer: Your serotonin levels are in a constant state of flux, depending upon what you're thinking, feeling and doing at the moment. Oh, and one more reason: it would entail an invasive brain procedure. And who wants that? So we operate under an assumption that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin and prescribe medication to fix the problem.

Medication on MS: Beta Interferons

Beta interferons, which are used for treatment of the disease called multiple sclerosis, specifically variations in which frequent relapses occur. Beta interferons have shown that patients who are treated with such typically are experiencing fewer MS related relapses or are able to go longer periods of time between relapses. Multiple sclerosis is a complex inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that results in a myriad number of wide and varied symptoms. By treating MS sufferers with beta interferons, there is hope that the patients will be able to go longer periods of time without multiple sclerosis related flare ups and problems.

Health insurance policies often do cover treatments and medications needed for the patient dealing with MS symptoms as long the diagnosis occurred after the health insurance plan was purchased. This is one of many reasons why it is a good idea to have a well executed health insurance plan in place. Then when something unexpected such as an accident or the onset of serious illness such as MS occurs, there is no danger of not being covered under the family health insurance plan.

Beta interferons have the ability to control and adjust the immune system and therefore play a critical role in keeping the body safe against viruses and other things that do not belong. In recent years, beta interferons have been shown to be quite effective in the treatment and management of multiple sclerosis. The medication on MS Beta Interferons known as Betaseron and Extavia are both often used for treating the many symptoms associated with relapsing forms of MS. Some beta interferon products additionally may be put to use for first clinical episode if MRI results that are consistent with MS are seen as well.

How to Treat Dog Mange

Dog mange is a nasty, debilitating and physically destructive disease if left untreated. Knowing that your dog has mange is the first step to treating it effectively but, unless you check your dog over regularly and take him to the vet at the first sign of anything wrong, the disease can get much worse before it is noticed.

Mange is caused by an infestation of mites and scabies that burrow in to the dog's skin and hair follicles. Whilst a healthy dog will be able to fight off the infestation, if your dog has a poor immune system it will not be able to fight off the disease.

There are many symptoms of dog mange including itching and signs of dandruff, thinning of the hair around the eyes, the mouth and the front of the legs. Left untreated these patches can soon turn to sore, crusted, oozing patches which will cause your dog a great deal of discomfort and pain. As the disease progresses your dog will lose its appetite, leading to severe weight loss and dehydration.

Dog mange can be successfully treated and eradicated with quick intervention and use of the correct products. Shampoos alone will not rid your dog of mange; whilst you may see short term changes, the mange will continue to return until the mite itself has been destroyed. This means treating your home and the all of the dog's bedding as well as the dog itself.

Treating a dog for mange is a fairly straightforward process but don't expect an overnight success story; the process takes time. To treat your dog for mange first find a good natural shampoo. Look for an oil based shampoo such as tea tree or aloe Vera; the oil will smother the mites and kill off the eggs. Using a shampoo containing these products will also soothe irritated skin. This should be used regularly, in conjunction with a medicated topical spray for the lesions and sore patches.